H.E. Atifete Jahjaga

ATIFETE JAHJAGA is the first female President of the Republic of
Kosovo, serving as Head of State from 2011 to 2016. Elected at the
age of 36, she was the youngest female head of state in the world at
the time, and the first woman to hold such office in the modern
Balkans.
Born in 1975 in Gjakova, Jahjaga graduated from the Faculty of Law
at the University of Prishtina . From 2006 to 2007, she attended a
postgraduate certification program in Police Management and Penal
law at the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom, and received
a Postgraduate Certification in Crime Science from the University of
Virginia in the U.S.A. Before her presidency, she had a distinguished
career in the Kosovo Police, rising to the rank of General Lieutenant Colonel and serving as Deputy Director.
As President, Jahjaga championed democratic development, women’s empowerment, and the rights of
survivors of wartime sexual violence. In 2012, she convened the International Women’s Summit, leading to
the adoption of the Pristina Principles, which emphasize women’s participation, justice, and security.
President Jahjaga mobilized public opinion in support of the socially stigmatized survivors of sexual violence,
included Kosovo in global initiatives on the prevention of sexual violence as a tool of war, and helped to
create and establish the necessary legal infrastructure for survivors in order to guarantee survivors their
rights.
She is a member of the Council of Women World Leaders and the UN Women Leaders Network. In 2018,
she founded the Jahjaga Foundation, dedicated to youth and women’s empowerment. Jahjaga has received
numerous international honors, including Doctor Honoris Causa degrees and global leadership awards