Talks at Copenhagen Democracy Summit 2024
Dr. Vjosa Osmani Sadriu is the sixth President of the Republic of Kosovo.
President Osmani was elected on 4 April 2021, having previously served as the Speaker of Parliament and after being elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) of the Republic of Kosovo in five consecutive mandates. She graduated from the Faculty of Law of the University of Prishtina, and received her Masters and Doctorate degrees in international law from the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, United States.
The President of the Republic of Kosovo is also the Commander-in-Chief of the Kosovo Security Force and leads the country’s foreign policy, as per Kosovo’s constitution. As a staunch advocate for an impartial and professional justice system, President Osmani has strongly supported extensive rule of law reforms in Kosovo. As President, Vjosa Osmani has relentlessly championed women’s rights, in particular with regards to their participation in processes of peace and security as well as their economic and political empowerment. The President is devoted to raising awareness for and supporting children with special needs. She is also committed to the empowerment of disadvantaged and marginalized groups in Kosovo. The President’s work has also focused on ensuring that action on climate change starts from the individual and gains further support at the highest political levels. In addition, empowerment of youth in different areas, from information technology to political decision making, has been an important part of the work of the President.
In the February 2021 elections, she achieved a historic level of popular support, becoming the most voted politician in the history of elections in the Republic of Kosovo. Prior to that, Vjosa Osmani was the first woman to have served as the Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Kosovo having been elected to the post on 3 February 2020, and has also served as Acting President of the Republic of Kosovo between November 2020 – March 2021. In previous terms as an MP, she chaired the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on European Integration and was the Deputy Chair of the Committee on Constitutional Reform.
From 2006 to 2010 Vjosa Osmani served as Chief of Staff to President Fatmir Sejdiu and Senior Advisor on Legal and International Affairs, and represented the President in the Commission which drafted the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo. She also served in the team that represented Kosovo before the International Court of Justice in the historic case regarding Kosovo’s declaration of independence.
Since 2006, President Osmani taught at the Faculty of Law of the University of Prishtina, and later she also joined the faculty of the American University in Kosovo (RIT). Moreover, she taught at the University of Pittsburgh in the U.S. as a visiting professor. In 2017, she was awarded the Sheth International Award by the University of Pittsburgh. During her political career she has also received a number of other recognitions.
President Osmani previously served as a member of the Board of the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund and a member of the Steering Committee of the Global Young MP’s Initiative of the World Bank and the IMF.
Vjosa Osmani was born on May 17, 1982 in Mitrovica, and also completed her studies in elementary and high school in her hometown. Apart for her mother tongue Albanian, President Osmani speaks English and a few other foreign languages. She is married to Prindon Sadriu and they have two twin daughters, Anda Elisa Sadriu and Dua Tiara Sadriu. President Osmani and her family live in Prishtina.