United Nations–administered Kosovo refers to the period when the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo was directly responsible for the governance of Kosovo between 1999 and 2008. This period began on 10 June 1999 with the adoption of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 and effectively ended on 17 February 2008 with the unilateral declaration of independence of Kosovo.

Background

In 1945, at the conclusion of the Second World War, Kosovo was organised within the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) as the Autonomous Region of Kosovo and Metohija. In 1963 the region was reorganised as the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija with increased autonomy and was renamed as the Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo in 1968. In 1975 Kosovo was granted significantly increased levels of autonomy. In 1990, under the regime of Slobodan Milošević, the level of autonomy was reduced and the official name reverted to the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija.

In 1991, during the breakup of Yugoslavia, ethnic Albanian representatives of the Provincial Assembly unilaterally declared the Republic of Kosova and established parallel instructions for education, medical care, and taxation. Serbia and Montenegro formed the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) in April 1992. Ethnic tensions increased between Yugoslav authorities and the Ethnic Albanian guerilla movement, the Kosovo Liberation Army, resulting in the Kosovo War breaking out in February 1998. In March 1999, NATO proposed the Rambouillet Agreement which would have granted Kosovo substantial autonomy within the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The agreement was accepted by the Kosovo Albanian side but rejected by the Yugoslav side prompting the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia on 24 March 1999. On 9 June 1999, NATO and the Federal Republic Yugoslavia reached the Kumanovo Agreement whereby Kosovo would be placed under United Nations administration. This arrangement was formalised by the passing of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 on 10 June 1999 which established the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo.

Kosovo unilaterally declared independence on 17 February 2008 as the Republic of Kosovo. Serbia continues to claim Kosovo as the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija.

Administrative history

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 allowed for the "[deployment] in Kosovo, under United Nations auspices, [an] international civil and security [presence]". The first regulation passed by the Special Representative of the Secretary General, on 25 July 1999, established that UNMIK was responsible for all legislative and executive authority in Kosovo. That regulation also stated that all laws applicable in Kosovo prior to 24 March 1999 would continue to apply in Kosovo insofar as they do not conflict with "internationally recognized human rights standards and shall not discriminate against any person on any ground such as sex, race, colour, language, religion, political or other opinion, national, ethnic or social origin, association with a national community, property, birth or other status". This was later amended to state that the law applicable would be that as it stood on 22 March 1989.

Initial arrangements A twelve-member Kosovo Transitional Council was formed on 16 July 1999. Chaired by the SRSG, the KTC was the described as being the highest political consultative body within the United Nations administration. Its purpose was to offer the main political parties and ethnic communities in Kosovo an opportunity for direct input into the decision-making process of UNMIK.

Joint Interim Administrative Structure

A more formal system of administration was put in place on 30 January 2000 when a Joint Interim Administrative Structure was established. The membership of the Kosovo Transitional Council was expanded and it assumed the role of a deliberative assembly. A transitional cabinet, known as the Interim Administrative Council, was established with eight members, four of which were appointed by UNMIK and four by political parties in Kosovo.

Provisional Institutions of Self Government

Resolution 1244 permitted the United Nations to establish and oversee the development of "provisional, democratic self-governing institutions" in Kosovo. To achieve this aim, a Constitutional Framework for Self-Government in Kosovo was promulgated in May which would established Provisional Institutions of Self-Government. The institutions included establishing a directly elected Assembly of Kosovo which would nominate a President and a Government led by a Prime Minister. Elections for the new assembly were held on 17 November 2001 and on 4 March 2002, Ibrahim Rugova was appointed as President and a cabinet was formed led by Bajram Rexhepi as Prime Minister.

Office Holders

Special Representative of the Secretary-General

No.NameLifespanTerm of officeState—Sérgio Vieira de Mello1948–200313 June 199915 July 19991Bernard Kouchner1939–15 July 199912 January 20012Hans Hækkerup1945–201313 January 200131 December 2001—Charles H. Brayshaw1942–1 January 200214 February 20023Michael Steiner1949–14 February 20028 July 2003—Charles H. Brayshaw1942–8 July 200325 August 20034Harri Holkeri1937–201125 August 200311 June 2004—Charles H. Brayshaw1942–11 June 200416 August 20045Søren Jessen-Petersen1945–16 August 200430 June 2006—Steven P. Schook1953–30 June 200631 August 20066Joachim Rücker1951–1 September 200617 February 2008

President of Kosovo

Parties

NamePortraitElectedTerm of officePolitical partyPresidents1Ibrahim Rugova20024 March 200221 January 2006Democratic League—Nexhat Daci—21 January 200610 February 2006Democratic League2Fatmir Sejdiu2006200810 February 200617 February 2008Democratic League

Prime Minister of Kosovo

Parties

NamePortraitElectedTerm of officePolitical partyPrime Ministers1Bajram Rexhepi20014 March 20023 December 2004Democratic Party2Ramush Haradinaj20043 December 20048 March 2005Alliance for the Future—Adem Salihaj—8 March 200525 March 2005Democratic League3Bajram Kosumi—25 March 200510 March 2006Parliamentary Party4Agim Çeku—10 March 20069 January 2008IndependentAlliance for the Future5Hashim Thaçi20079 January 200817 February 2008Democratic Party

Cabinets

Assumed officePrime MinisterCompositionCabinetElection15 December 1999n/aInterim4 March 2002Bajram RexhepiRexhepi cabinet20013 December 2004Ramush HaradinajFirst Haradinaj cabinet200425 March 2005Bajram KosumiKosumi cabinet10 March 2006Agim ÇekuÇeku cabinet9 January 2008Hashim ThaçiSecond Thaçi cabinet2007

Elections

Central Prior to the declaration of independence of Kosovo in February 2008, three elections were held for the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government: 2001 Kosovan parliamentary election 2004 Kosovan parliamentary election 2007 Kosovan parliamentary election

Local Three local elections were held in Kosovo during the period of direct UN administration: 2000 Kosovan local elections 2002 Kosovan local elections 2007 Kosovan local elections

Local government

At the start of the period of United Nations administration Kosovo had been divided into five districts. Reforms initiated by UNMIK in 2000 increased the number of districts to seven which were; District of Mitrovica, District of Peja, District of Gjakova, District of Pristina, District of Ferizaj, District of Prizren and District of Gjilan. Each region was overseen by a Regional Administrator appointed by UNMIK.

The districts of Kosovo are divided into municipalities. In 2000, UNMIK merged the municipalities of Gora and Opolje to form the new municipality of Dragash and created a new municipality, Malisheva in Prizren district. New Serb majority municipalities were subsequently created along with the Turkish majority municipality of Mamusha. By 2008, the number of municipalities stood at 38 of which 27 had an Albanian ethnic majority, 10 Serb and 1 Turkish.

Initially, municipalities were administered by Municipal Administrative Boards headed by Municipal Administrators appointed by UNMIK. Local elections were first held on 28 October 2000 to elect Municipal Assemblies for each municipality. Each Municipal Assembly was headed by an Assembly President elected by the members of its Municipal Assembly from within its membership. Further local elections were held on 26 October 2002 under the same model. At the final set of local elections held under United Nations administration on 17 November 2007, each municipality directly elected a Mayor in addition to its Municipal Assembly.

Security and law enforcement The Kumanovo Agreement, which ended the Kosovo War, and Resolution 1244 required that the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia withdrew its military, paramilitary forces and police from Kosovo. The resolution also required that the Kosovo Liberation Army and other armed Kosovo Albanian armed groups be disbanded. Security in Kosovo was to be provided by a NATO-led international peacekeeping force known as the Kosovo Force (KFOR).

On 21 September 1999, UNMIK established a civil defence service known as the Kosovo Protection Corps to assist in emergency situations such as major fires, industrial accidents, search and rescue operations, humanitarian assistance and demining. The KPC could have up to 3000 full time officers and 2000 reservists of which 10 percent should be from ethnic minority groups. The KPC would not have any role in law enforcement.

Initially law and order in Kosovo was maintained by a United Nations International Police Force. On 6 September 1999, UNMIK established a police school in Vushtrri to train officers for the new Kosovo Police Service which would gradually take over policing duties as it expanded in size and developed further capabilities.

International relations

Membership of international organizations

During the period of direct administration by UNMIK, Kosovo gained membership of the following international organisations:

International OrganisationPolitical Entity RepresentedApplication dateAdmission dateStatusSoutheast European Cooperative Initiative (SECI)UNMIK ObserverSouth East Europe Transport Observatory (SEETO)UNMIK 11 June 2004MemberEnergy Community UNMIK 1 July 2006MemberEuropean Common Aviation Area (ECAA)UNMIK 30 November 2006MemberCentral European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA)UNMIK 6 April 2006 26 July 2007Member

Free trade agreements UNMIK signed several free trade agreements with other countries on behalf of Kosovo:

International treaty or conventionPolitical Entity RepresentedSignatureRatificationFree Trade Agreement with AlbaniaUNMIK7 July 20031 October 2003Free Trade Agreement with North MacedoniaUNMIK2 February 2006Free Trade Agreement with CroatiaUNMIK28 September 20061 November 2006Free Trade Agreement with Bosnia and HerzegovinaUNMIK19 October 20061 December 2006Provisional application

International summits and conferences A delegation representing Kosovo, led by SRSG Michael Steiner, participated in the 2003 EU-Western Balkans Summit in Thessaloniki, Greece on 21 June 2003. The members of the delegation included president Ibrahim Rugova, prime minister Bajram Rexhepi and the Inter ministerial Co-ordinator for Returns Milorad Todorovic.

Travel documents

Between 2000 and 2008, UNMIK issued passport-sized travel documents to habitual residents of Kosovo for the purpose of foreign travel. The document carried UNMIK travel document/titre de voyage on the cover, contained 32 pages and was valid for two years. The document contained a machine readable strip with the three-letter code "UNK" in place of a country code.

Liaison Offices

The following countries and international organizations opened Liaison offices in Kosovo during the period of United Nations administration:

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