Gëzim Ostreni (born 1 November 1942) is a former KLA and NLA general. Ostreni is known for participating in the

Kosovo War The Kosovo War (; sr-Cyrl-Latn, Косовски рат, Kosovski rat) was an armed conflict in Kosovo that lasted from 28 February 1998 until 11 June 1999. It ...

and the

2001 insurgency in the Republic of Macedonia , combatant2 = Macedonia , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = 2,000–3,000+ militants (beginning of the war) Unknown , strength2 = 20,000 soldiers and policemen 60 T-55 tanks 4 Su-25 aircr ...

Life

Gëzim Ostreni was born in the city of Debar (Diber) in present-day

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

on 1 November 1942. After finishing primary school, he also finished the school of reserve officers as well as some military courses at the Military Academy. He graduated from the Faculty of Philosophy and Sociology in

Pristina Pristina or Prishtina ( , ), . is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. It is the administrative center of the eponymous municipality and District of Pristina, district. In antiquity, the area of Pristina was part of the Dardanian Kingdo ...

(Prishtina). In the military field, he served as the commander of the territorial defense in Diber. He participated in the

Kosovo War The Kosovo War (; sr-Cyrl-Latn, Косовски рат, Kosovski rat) was an armed conflict in Kosovo that lasted from 28 February 1998 until 11 June 1999. It ...

and gradually started climbing up the ranks. In 2000, he was promoted to Major General. As part of the

Kosovo Liberation Army The Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA; , UÇK) was an Albanians, ethnic Albanian separatist militia that sought the separation of Kosovo, the vast majority of which is inhabited by Albanians, from the Republic of Serbia (1992–2006), Republic of R ...

(KLA), he commanded the group's operations in the

Metohija Metohija (), also known in Albanian as Dukagjini, (, ) is a large drainage basin, basin and the name of the region covering the southwestern part of Kosovo. The region covers 35% (3,891 km2) of Kosovo's total area. According to the 2024 ce ...

(Dukagjin) plain of western Kosovo. After the war, he served in the

Kosovo Protection Corps The Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC; , TMK) was a civilian emergency services organization in Kosovo active from 1999 until 2009. The KPC was created on 1999, through the promulgation of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo ...

before returning to Macedonia. Ostreni was also a military historian, having studied the Second World War partisan resistance in Macedonia. Like many ethnic Albanians, he saw no future for himself in the new Macedonian Army, whose officer corps were dominated by Macedonians. In the spring of 2001 he joined the National Liberation Army (NLA), where he united guerrilla groups from

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

and North Macedonia. With the start of the armed conflict in Macedonia he assumed the role of Chief of the General Staff of the National Liberation Army which was created by

Albanians in North Macedonia Albanians in North Macedonia (, ) are ethnic Albanians who constitute the second largest ethnic group in North Macedonia, forming 446,245 individuals or 24.3% of the resident population. Of the 2,097,319 total population in the 2021 census (incl ...

. Until April 2001, he was also a deputy commander in the Kosovo Protection Corps. Ostreni played a prominent role in the battle of Tetovo. He cited discrimination against Albanians as a motive for participating in the conflict in Macedonia. After the

Ohrid agreement The Ohrid Framework Agreement (, ) was the peace deal signed by the government of the Republic of Macedonia (now North Macedonia) and representatives of the Albanian minority on 13 August 2001. The agreement was signed by the country's four poli ...

was signed, he left the National Liberation Army. In June 2002, he became part of the presidium of the newly founded

Democratic Union for Integration The Democratic Union for Integration (, ) is the largest ethnic Albanian political party in North Macedonia and the third largest political party in the country. It was formed immediately after the country's 2001 armed conflict between the Nat ...

(DUI). In 3 October, he became a deputy of the Assembly of Macedonia. In 2004, he became a candidate of DUI for the presidency of the Macedonian state, but was defeated by

Branko Crvenkovski Branko Crvenkovski (, pronounced ; born 12 October 1962) is a Macedonian politician who served as the President of Macedonia (now North Macedonia) from 2004 to 2009. He previously served as Prime Minister of Macedonia from 1992 to 1998 and from ...

and Sasko Kedev. From 2002 to 2006, he was the vice president of the Macedonian Assembly. In 2015, along with Zulfi Adeli, he created a new political party called "Unity". The party was later merged into

Alliance for Albanians The Alliance for the Albanians (, ASH; , AA) is a centre-right political party founded in 2015 in North Macedonia by Ziadin Sela. The party has as its main goal the achievement of the full national equality between Albanians and Macedonians i ...

(AA).

References

External links

Gezim Ostreni's biography on Assembly of North Macedonia's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ostreni, Gëzim 1942 births Living people People from Debar Albanian generals 21st-century Macedonian politicians Kosovo Liberation Army soldiers National Liberation Army (Macedonia) soldiers