Known For: Deputy prime minister of Kosovo
Dates: 1956 CE —
Country: Kosovo

About

Edita Tahiri was born July 29, 1956 in the city of Prizren in the south of what is now Kosovo.  Living through the violence and upheavals that have transformed her homeland again and again in the 20th and 21st centuries, Edita has actively participated in bringing justice and stability to Kosovo. 
 
In the 1990s, Edita played a vital role in the movement for Kosovo’s independence.  She was a founding member of the Democratic League of Kosovo and a leader of its Women’s Forum. In 1999, she made an “extraordinary contribution” to the work of the Kosovar delegation to the Rambouillet Conference that led to the Rambouillet Agreement, an international framework for “peace and self-government” in Kosovo.¹ She has held a number of ministerial positions before and since independence. These include minister of foreign affairs, minister of public administration, and her current role as deputy prime minister.

Her commitment to democratic reform in Kosovo led her to form the Kosovo Democratic Alternative party (ADK) in 2004. ADK, which continues under Edita’s direction, enjoyed marked success in 2007 parliamentary elections.

Edita has also had an active role in the Regional Women’s Lobby for Peace, Security and Justice in Southeast Europe, an organization she, together with other female regional leaders, created in 2006 to empower women politically. 
 
In addition to her political roles, Edita is an accomplished academic. She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Prishtina and went on to study and complete several advanced degrees in the United Kingdom and the United States.  For her academic achievements, Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government named her “Outstanding Student of 2002.”²

[1] “Edita Tahiri,” Office of the Prime Minister, Kosovo.
[2] ibid.