Jakup Krasniqi (born 1 January 1951) is a Kosovo-Albanian politician and former acting president of Kosovo. He is former chairman of the Assembly of Kosovo. In 2020, he was indicted for war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Kosovo War.

Early life

Jakup Krasniqi was born near Glogovac, Kosovo, at the time in Yugoslavia, to Albanian parents of the Krasniqi tribe. He finished elementary school in his birthplace, Negroc, in 1965 while he finished high school in Pristina in 1971. He attended the Faculty of Philology of the University of Pristina and graduated in 1976.

Political career

During the Kosovo War, he was the spokesman for the Kosovo Liberation Army (UÇK). As of 28 September 2010, Jakup Krasniqi served as the acting president of Kosovo, following the resignation of Fatmir Sejdiu during a constitutional crisis. As of 31 March 2011, Jakup Krasniqi was the acting president of Kosovo, following the resignation of Behgjet Pacolli. He did not effectively assume office until April 2, 2011; a ceremony is yet to take place on Monday, April 4. On April 7 Atifete Jahjaga was elected as President of Kosovo thus ending Jakup Krasniqi's serving as the acting president of Kosovo. In November 2020 he was arrested for charges of crimes against humanity and war crime filed before the Kosovo Specialist Chambers. The four defendants (Krasniqi, Hashim Thaci, Kadri Veseli, and Rexhep Selimi) were accused of pursuing a policy of torture and murder against civilians suspected of opposing the UÇK during and after the Kosovo War. All four men have pleaded not guilty and the trial opened on April 4, 2023.

Personal life

Krasniqi is married to Sevdije (Shala) Krasniqi and has four children; three daughters and one son.

Books