From Soldier To Politician
After demilitarization of the UÇK following NATO's entry into Kosovo in 1999, the UÇK was transformed into the Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC). In this new force, Haradinaj was appointed as a deputy commander, under Agim Çeku.
He retired from the KPC on 11 April 2000, and announced that he was entering politics. With support from the former communist leader Mahmut Bakalli, Haradinaj founded the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), on 29 April 2000. He was elected president of the party.
Some former UÇK supporters had hoped to see Haradinaj enter a political alliance with Hashim Thaçi, the political leader of the UÇK. By 2000 Thaçi led the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK). They formed the chief opposition to the Ibrahim Rugova-led Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), which had been opposed to the UÇK. Haradinaj said he had formed a new party to create a new paradigm for the future of democratic politics in Kosovo, to leave wartime divisions behind.
Haradinaj enjoyed limited electoral success up to and including the elections of 2004. Following the Kosovo elections of October 2004, he entered into coalition talks with the LDK, led by Dr. Rugova, then President of Kosovo. Rugova formed a government and nominated Haradinaj as Prime Minister. In the Kosovo Assembly, Haradinaj’s candidacy for Prime Minister won the support of 72 members out of 120, with only three opposing.
Some observers considered Haradinaj’s coalition with the Rugova-led LDK to be a reconciliation of the animosities of the war and immediate post-war periods. The PDK opposed the coalition. Haradinaj appeared to form a close and productive working relationship with Ibrahim Rugova and other senior figures in the LDK.
In February 2009 the Ugandan Rebel Group "Allied Democratic Forces," a Muslim group, asked Haradinaj to mediate peace talks with the central government in Kampala.
On 10 November 2012 Albanian President, Bujar Nishani decorated Haradinaj with the Skanderbeg's Order.
Read more about this topic: Ramush Haradinaj
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