Rrahman Morina (; 1943 – 12 October 1990) was a Yugoslav police officer and

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

politician. As a

Kosovo Albanian The Albanians of Kosovo (, ), also commonly called Kosovo Albanians, Kosovan Albanians or Kosovars (), constitute the largest ethnic group in Kosovo. Kosovo Albanians belong to the ethnic Albanian sub-group of Ghegs, who inhabit the north of ...

, he is remembered as being an opponent of

Albanian separatism Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

Early career

Morina had a career as an agent of the

Ministry of Interior An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, th ...

SFR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

, and later on as a party official in the League of Communists of Kosovo. He rose through the ranks and was in 1981 appointed as Kosovo's interior minister, and thereby held the top law enforcement office in the province. In March the same year, in the wake of the 1981 riots in Kosovo, he called in the national police to quell the uprising, without informing or consulting the provincial government. This act contributed to the resignation of Kosovan party boss

Mahmut Bakalli Mahmut Bakalli (19 January 1936 – 14 April 2006) was a Kosovo Albanians in Kosovo, Albanian politician. Bakalli began his political career in the youth organization of the League of Communists of Kosovo, eventually becoming its leader in 1961. ...

, as the latter did not prove himself accountable enough in the eyes of the government in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

Leadership in Kosovo

In 1988, Morina was installed as leader of the Kosovan wing of the

League of Communists of Yugoslavia The League of Communists of Yugoslavia, known until 1952 as the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, was the founding and ruling party of SFR Yugoslavia. It was formed in 1919 as the main communist opposition party in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats ...

due to the Anti-bureaucratic revolution in support of the policies of

Slobodan Milošević Slobodan Milošević ( sr-Cyrl, Слободан Милошевић, ; 20 August 1941 – 11 March 2006) was a Yugoslav and Serbian politician who was the President of Serbia between 1989 and 1997 and President of the Federal Republic of Yugos ...

, and the subsequent removal of

Azem Vllasi Azem Vllasi (born 23 December 1948) is a Kosovo Albanian politician and lawyer. He served as the president of the presidency of the Provincial Committee of the League of Communists of Kosovo (LKK) from 29 April 1986 to 27 April 1988. A critic ...

and

Kaqusha Jashari Kaqusha Jashari (' Fejzullahu; 16 August 1946 – 6 May 2025) was a Kosovan politician and engineer. She was a member of the Assembly of Kosovo on the Democratic Party of Kosovo list from 2007 onwards. From 1986 until November 1988, she and Az ...

from the Kosovan party leadership, as he was one of very few Albanian opponents of Kosovo Albanian separatism. Morina came to be seen as a loyalist of the Serbian leader

, although Milošević originally despised Morina. Years earlier, Milošević approached the Yugoslavian president

Lazar Mojsov Lazar Mojsov (; 19 December 1920 – 25 August 2011) was a Macedonian journalist, communist politician and diplomat from SFR Yugoslavia. Biography Mojsov was born on 19 December 1920 in Negotino, Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. Mojsov re ...

, furiously demanding Morina's removal from the Kosovan government (and the rest of it). Milošević even threatened to resign from his office as leader of the

League of Communists of Serbia The League of Communists of Serbia (, abbr. SKS), known as the Communist Party of Serbia (, abbr. KPS) until 1952, was the Ruling party, ruling List of political parties in Serbia, political party of Socialist Republic of Serbia, Serbia from 19 ...

, if Morina was not ousted. In 1989 Morina resigned from Kosovo's political structures during the

miners' strike The following is a list of miners' strikes. Miners' strikes are when miners conduct strike actions. See also *List of strikes *History of coal mining in the United States References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miners' strikes Miners' labor disputes, ...

Death

He died in 1990, at the age of 47 after suffering a heart attack 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 ...

, while attending the constituent convention of the Kosovan branch of the

Socialist Party of Serbia The Socialist Party of Serbia (, abbr. SPS) is a populist political party in Serbia. Ivica Dačić has led SPS as its president since 2006. SPS was founded in 1990 as a merger of the League of Communists of Serbia and Socialist Alliance ...

Personal life

He was married to Bratislava "Buba" Morina, a

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

, government minister, and Commissioner for Refugees of Serbia who died in 2022.

References

Bibliography

Raif Dizdarević Raif Dizdarević (born 9 December 1926) is a Bosnian politician who served as Yugoslavia's first Bosniak president of the Presidency from 1988 to 1989. He participated in the armed resistance as a Yugoslav Partisan during World War II. Dizdarev ...

, ''Od smrti Tita do smrti Jugoslavije'' (Sarajevo: Svjetlost, 2000) *Viktor Meier, ''Yugoslavia - A History of its Demise'' (London: Routledge, 1999) {{DEFAULTSORT:Morina, Rrahman 1943 births 1990 deaths Politicians from Peja Yugoslav police chiefs League of Communists of Kosovo politicians Ex officio members of the Presidency of the 13th Congress of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia Members of the Central Committee of the 13th Congress of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia Socialist Party of Serbia politicians Kosovo Albanians Death conspiracy theories Burials at Belgrade New Cemetery