The prime minister of the Republic of Kosovo (, ) is the head of government of the partially recognized Republic of Kosovo.
The prime minister and the Government of Kosovo, which they head, are responsible for their actions to the Assembly of Kosovo, of which they must all be members. The current prime minister of Kosovo is Albin Kurti, who assumed office on 22 March 2021.
Officeholders
Prime ministers
Political parties:
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan=2|
! rowspan=2| Portrait
! rowspan=2| Name<br />
! colspan=3| Term of office
! rowspan=2| Political party
! rowspan=2| Election
|-
! Took office
! Left office
! Time in office
|-
! colspan=8| Republic of Kosova
|-
|-
! colspan=8| UN-administered Kosovo
|-
|-
! colspan=8| Republic of Kosovo
|-
|}
Timeline
Deputy prime ministers
The deputy prime minister of the Republic of Kosovo (, ) is the deputy head of government of Kosovo. In the absence of the prime minister, a deputy prime minister assumes the functions of chairman of the cabinet. The office is the second-highest ranking position in the executive branch of the Government of Kosovo within the country's parliamentary system.
The position of deputy prime minister did not exist when Kosovo's Provisional Institutions of Self-Government institutions were established in 2002. During the UNMIK period, the first elected government – the Cabinet of Bajram Rexhepi (4 March 2002 – 3 December 2004) – consisted only of the prime minister and ministers. No deputy prime minister was appointed.
The office was created for the first time on 3 December 2004, when the First Haradinaj cabinet took office. Adem Salihaj of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) became the first deputy prime minister. He continued in the role during the subsequent Kosumi cabinet (2005–2006). In the Çeku cabinet (formed 10 March 2006), Lutfi Haziri (also LDK) replaced Salihaj as the single deputy prime minister.
The practice of having more than one deputy prime minister began on 9 January 2008 — still during the UNMIK administration and more than a month before Kosovo's declaration of independence on 17 February 2008. In the Second Thaçi cabinet, two deputy prime ministers were appointed simultaneously: Hajredin Kuçi (PDK) and Ramë Manaj (LDK). This marked the start of the multi-deputy model, which has been the norm ever since.
After Kosovo declared independence and adopted its Constitution in 2008, the legal framework explicitly allowed for one or more deputy prime ministers. Article 92 states that "The Government consists of the Prime Minister, deputy prime minister(s) and ministers." Since then, nearly every cabinet has included two to five deputy prime ministers, usually reflecting coalition agreements between political parties. The number and specific responsibilities of the deputies (e.g., for dialogue with Serbia, European integration, or national minority issues) are decided by the prime minister when forming the government and are approved by the Assembly of Kosovo.
Today, the deputy prime ministers are senior members of the cabinet who support the prime minister in coordinating government policy and often hold additional ministerial portfolios. The position remains an important tool for political balance in Kosovo's multi-party coalitions.
Political parties:
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
!
!Portrait
!First deputy<br />prime minister<br />
!colspan="2"|Term of office
!colspan="2"|Portrait
!Deputy<br />prime minister<br />
!colspan="2"|Term of office
|-
!colspan="10"|UN-administered Kosovo
|-
!colspan="10"|Haradinaj cabinet
|-
!style="background-color:; color:white;"|1
|60px
|Adem Salihaj<br /><br />45px
|3 December 2004
|8 March 2005
!colspan="5" style="background-color:#D3D3D3; color:black; text-align:center;"|No second deputy prime minister was appointed
|-
!colspan="10"|Kosumi cabinet
|-
!style="background-color:; color:white;"|(1)
|60px
|Adem Salihaj<br /><br />45px
|25 March 2005
|10 March 2006
!colspan="5" style="background-color:#D3D3D3; color:black; text-align:center;"|No second deputy prime minister was appointed
|-
!colspan="10"|Çeku cabinet
|-
!style="background-color:; color:white;"|2
|60px
|Lutfi Haziri<br /><br />45px
|10 March 2006
|9 January 2008
!colspan="5" style="background-color:#D3D3D3; color:black; text-align:center;"|No second deputy prime minister was appointed
|-
!colspan="10"|Republic of Kosovo
|-
!colspan="10"|Second Thaçi cabinet
|-
!style="background-color:; color:black;"|3
|60px
|Hajredin Kuçi<br /><br />45px
|9 January 2008
|15 April 2011
!style="background-color:; color:white;"|
|60px
|Ramë Manaj<br />
|9 January 2008
|18 October 2010
|-
!colspan="10"|Third Thaçi cabinet
|-
!rowspan="5" style="background-color:; color:white;"|4
|rowspan="5"|60px
|rowspan="5"|Behgjet Pacolli<br /><br />45px
|rowspan="5"|15 April 2011
|rowspan="5"|9 December 2014
!style="background-color:; color:white;"|
|60px
|Mimoza Kusari-Lila<br /><br />45px
|22 February 2011
|2 October 2013
|-
!style="background-color:; color:white;"|
|60px
|Hajredin Kuçi<br /><br />45px
|22 February 2011
|9 December 2014
|-
!style="background-color:; color:white;"|
|60px
|Bujar Bukoshi<br /><br />45px
|22 February 2011
|9 December 2014
|-
!style="background-color:; color:white;"|
|60px
|Edita Tahiri<br /><br />45px
|22 February 2011
|9 December 2014
|-
!style="background-color:; color:white;"|
|60px
|Slobodan Petrović<br />
|22 February 2011
|9 December 2014
|-
!colspan="10"|Mustafa cabinet
|-
!style="background-color:; color:black;"|5
|60px
|Hashim Thaçi<br /><br />45px
|9 December 2014
|7 April 2016
!style="background-color:; color:white;"|
|60px
|Kujtim Shala<br />
|9 December 2014
|24 August 2016
|-
!rowspan="2" style="background-color:; color:black;"|(3)
|rowspan="2"|60px
|rowspan="2"|Hajredin Kuçi<br /><br />45px
|rowspan="2"|2 June 2016
|rowspan="2"|9 September 2017
!style="background-color:; color:white;"|
|60px
|Branimir Stojanović
|9 December 2014
|9 September 2017
|-
!style="background-color:; color:white;"|
|60px
|Ramiz Kelmendi<br />
|27 October 2016
|9 September 2017
|-
!colspan="10"|Second Haradinaj cabinet
|-
!rowspan="4" style="background-color:; color:white;"|(4)
|rowspan="4"|60px
|rowspan="4"|Behgjet Pacolli<br /><br />45px
|rowspan="4"|9 September 2017
|rowspan="4"|3 February 2020
!style="background-color:; color:white;"|
|60px
|Enver Hoxhaj<br /><br />45px
|9 September 2017
|3 February 2020
|-
!style="background-color:; color:white;"|
|60px
|Fatmir Limaj<br /><br />45px
|9 September 2017
|3 February 2020
|-
!style="background-color:; color:white;"|
|60px
|Dardan Gashi<br /><br />45px
|9 September 2017
|3 February 2020
|-
!style="background-color:; color:white;"|
|60px
|Dalibor Jevtić<br />
|9 September 2017
|3 February 2020
|-
!colspan="10"|First Kurti cabinet
|-
!style="background-color:; color:black;"|6
|60px
|Avdullah Hoti<br /><br />45px
|3 February 2020
|25 March 2020
!style="background-color:; color:white;"|
|60px
|Haki Abazi<br /><br />45px
|3 February 2020
|3 June 2020
|-
!colspan="10"|Hoti cabinet
|-
!rowspan="3" style="background-color:; color:white;"|7
|rowspan="3"|60px
|rowspan="3"|Besnik Tahiri<br /><br />45px
|rowspan="3"|3 June 2020
|rowspan="3"|22 March 2021
!style="background-color:; color:white;"|
|60px
|Driton Selmanaj<br />
|3 June 2020
|22 March 2021
|-
!style="background-color:; color:white;"|
|60px
|Albulena Balaj-Halimaj<br />
|3 June 2020
|22 March 2021
|-
!style="background-color:; color:white;"|
|60px
|Goran Rakić<br />
|3 June 2020
|22 March 2021
|-
!colspan="10"|Second Kurti cabinet
|-
!rowspan="2" style="background-color:; color:white;"|8
|rowspan="2"|60px
|rowspan="2"|Besnik Bislimi<br /><br />45px
|rowspan="2"|22 March 2021
|rowspan="2"|11 February 2026
!style="background-color:; color:white;"|
|60px
|Donika Gërvalla-Schwarz<br /><br />45px
|22 March 2021
|11 February 2026
|-
!style="background-color:; color:white;"|
|60px
|Emilija Redžepi<br />
|22 March 2021
|26 August 2025
|-
!colspan="10"|Third Kurti cabinet
|-
!rowspan="2" style="background-color:; color:white;"|9
|rowspan="2"|60px
|rowspan="2"|Glauk Konjufca<br /><br />45px
|rowspan="2"|11 February 2026
|rowspan="2"|Incumbent
!style="background-color:; color:white;"|
|60px
|Donika Gërvalla-Schwarz<br /><br />45px
|11 February 2026
|Incumbent
|-
!style="background-color:; color:white;"|
|60px
|Fikrim Damka<br />
|11 February 2026
|Incumbent
|}
See also
- President of Kosovo
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Kosovo
- President of the Executive Council of SAP Kosovo
References
External links
- Official website in Albanian, Serbian and English