Bashkim Jashari
Bashkim Jashari (born November 15, 1977) is a Kosovan Albanian three-star general, who has served as the Commander in Chief of the Kosovo Security Force since 30 November 2021. He is also concurrently a member of the Security Council of Kosovo.
Bashkim Jashari | |
|---|---|
 Lt. Gen. Bashkim Jashari | |
| Commander of Kosovo Security Force | |
| Assumed office 30 November 2021 | |
| President | Vjosa Osmani |
| Ministry of Defence | Armend Mehaj |
| Preceded by | Rrahman Rama |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 15 November 1977 Prekaz i Poshtëm, Skenderaj, SAP Kosovo, SFR Yugoslavia (present-day Kosovo) |
| Nationality | Kosovar Albanian |
| Alma mater | University of Prishtina |
| Profession | Military officer |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Kosovo |
| Branch/service | Kosovo Liberation Army Kosovo Protection Corps Kosovo Security Force |
| Years of service | 1998–1999, 1999–2009, 2009–current |
| Rank | Lieutenant General  |
| Battles/wars | Kosovo War |
Biography
Bashkim Jashari was born on November 15, 1977, in the Prekaz i Poshtëm village in the Skenderaj municipality in Kosovo. The nephew of Adem Jashari, Bashkim Jashari joined the ranks of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) in early 1998. On March 5–7, 1998, the Jashari family compound was attacked by the Special Anti-Terrorism Unit of Serbia, with the goal of eliminating KLA suspects and their families.[1][2] Jashari was one of the two survivors of the massacre, along his cousin Besarta Jashari. He fought until March 7, 1998, and managed to get out of the compound, where 60 members of his family were killed. After the Attack on Prekaz, Jashari continued to serve in the KLA and served as deputy commander of the First Operative Zone, in Drenica.
After the end of the Kosovo War and the dissolution of the KLA, Jashari joined the Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC). In 1999 he was appointed deputy commander of the First Defense Zone, and in June 2001 his position was upgraded to commander of that zone. He remained a member of KPC until its dissolution in 2009.
Jashari joined the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) in January 2009, being in the first batch of recruits of the new army. At the same time, he joined the Kosovo Ministry of Defense and served as the inspector general of the KSF. In March 2018, Jashari's rank was upgraded to the two-star Major General. In November 2021 he was appointed commander of the KSF and his rank was upgraded to a three-star Lieutenant General by President Vjosa Osmani.
Jashari graduated from the "Spiro Moisiu" Defense Academy in Albania and he additionally holds a degree in law from the University of Prishtina. He is married and has four children.
Medals and Honors
- (2008) The “Presidential Military Medal” from the President of the Republic of Kosovo.
References
- Krieger, Heike (2001). The Kosovo Conflict and International Law: An Analytical Documentation 1974–1999. Cambridge University Press. p. 96. ISBN 0-521-80071-4.
- Abrahams & Andersen 1998, p. 27: "The police attacked prekaz and the Jashari compound again on March 5, 1998, this time in a more determined manner. All evidence suggests that the attack was not intended to apprehend armed Albanians, considered "terrorists" by the government, but as Amnesty international concluded in its report on violence in Drenica, "to eliminate the suspects and their families."
Works cited
- Abrahams, Fred; Andersen, Elizabeth (1998). Humanitarian Law Violations in Kosovo. Human Rights Watch. pp. 30–32. ISBN 978-1-56432-194-7.