Atifete Jahjaga is the first female President of Kosovo Republic from 2011 to 2016. Jahjaga is also the first woman and the youngest person to ever hold that status in Kosovo. She is also first consensual and non-partisan President in the history of independent Kosovo. Since 2012 Jahjaga is a member of the Council of Women World Leaders. She holds a law degree and had served as a police officer since the establishment of the Kosovo Police early in 2000. She then became the Deputy General Director of the Kosovo’ Police. She holds the rank of General Lieutenant Colonel which is the most senior among women officers in Southeastern Europe. Till date, she is the only president to be elected on the first round of voting. Earlier she served in different positions in the implementation of law and order, including the professional standards unit, human resource department, personnel department and the administration of the Kosovo Police and border police. Jahjaga has also attended professional and research programs at the European Centre for Security Studies Germany, at the National Academy of the FBI in the USA, and at the Department of Justice in USA. During her presidency, she has steered many initiatives for the furthering of women empowerment. She hosted an international women’s summit in 2012 which was attended by 200 leaders from Kosovo, Europe, North America, Middle East and Africa. These discussions led to the adaptation of the Pristina Principals which affirm the rights of women to political participation, economic resources and access to security and justice. She helped to create and establish the necessary legal infrastructure for survivors of physical violence in order to guarantee their rights.
Jahjaga is the recipient of numerous honors and awards. She received the Two Sicilian Royal Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George Benemerenti Medal 1st class and the Knight Grand Cross of the Royal order of Francis. She received honorary citizen of Panama City. She also received Honoris Causa from the University of Durham in 2013. She was awarded Leadership in Public Service Award from Clinton Global Initiative in 2014. In 2015 she received honorary degree of Doctor of Law from the University of Leicester. Apart from her native Albanian, Jahjaga also speaks Serbian and English.
