Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Kosovo
conventional short form:
Kosovo
local long form:
Republika e Kosoves (Republika Kosovo)
local short form:
Kosova (Kosovo)
Government type:
republic
Capital:
name: Pristina (Prishtine, Prishtina)
geographic coordinates:
42 40 N, 21 10 E
time difference:
UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
daylight saving time:
+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Administrative divisions:
37 municipalities (komunat, singular - komuna (Albanian); opstine, singular - opstina (Serbian)); Decan (Decani), Dragash (Dragas), Ferizaj (Urosevac), Fushe Kosove (Kosovo Polje), Gjakove (Dakovica), Gjilan (Gnjilane), Gllogovc (Glogovac), Gracanice (Gracanica), Hani i Elezit (Deneral Jankovic), Istog (Istok), Junik, Kacanik, Kamenice/Dardana (Kamenica), Kline (Klina), Kllokot (Klokot), Leposaviq (Leposavic), Lipjan (Lipljan), Malisheve (Malisevo), Mamushe (Mamusa), Mitrovice (Mitrovica), Novoberde (Novo Brdo), Obiliq (Obilic), Partesh (Partes), Peje (Pec), Podujeve (Podujevo), Prishtine (Pristina), Prizren, Rahovec (Orahovac), Ranillug (Ranilug), Shterpce (Strpce), Shtime (Stimlje), Skenderaj (Srbica), Suhareke (Suva Reka), Viti (Vitina), Vushtrri (Vucitrn), Zubin Potok, Zvecan
Independence:
17 February 2008 (from Serbia)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 17 February (2008)
Constitution:
previous 1974, 1990; latest (postindependence) draft finalized 2 April 2008, signed 7 April 2008, ratified 8 April 2008, entered into force 15 June 2008; amended 2013 (2013)
Legal system:
evolving legal system; mixture of applicable Kosovo law, UNMIK laws and regulations, and applicable laws of the Former Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia that were in effect in Kosovo as of 22 March 1989
International law organization participation:
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
[see also: Suffrage country ranks ]
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Atifete JAHJAGA (since 7 April 2011);
head of government:
Prime Minister Hashim THACI (since 9 January 2008)
cabinet:
ministers; elected by the Kosovo Assembly
elections:
the president is elected for a five-year term by the Kosovo Assembly; election last held on 7 April 2011; note - the prime minister elected by the Kosovo Assembly
election results:
Atifete JAHJAGA elected in one round (Atifete JAHJAGA 80, Suzana NOVOBERDALIU 10); Hashim THACI reelected prime minister by the Assembly
Legislative branch:
unicameral national Assembly (120 seats; 100 seats directly elected, 10 seats guaranteed for ethnic Serbs, 10 seats guaranteed for other ethnic minorities; members to serve four-year terms)
elections:
last held on 12 December 2010 with runoff elections in a few municipalities in January 2011 (next expected to be held in 2015)
election results:
percent of vote by party/coalition - PDK 32.1%, LDK 24.7%, VV 12.7%, AAK 11.0%, KKR 7.3%, SLS 2.1%, KDTP 1.2%, and others 8.9; seats by party/coalition - PDK 34, LDK 27, VV 14, AAK 12, KKR 8, SLS 8, JSL 4, KDTP 3, VAKAT 2, PDAK 1, NDS 1, BSDAK 1, IRDK, 1, PAI 1, SDSKIM 1, GIG 1, PREBK 1
Judicial branch:
highest court(s): Supreme Court (consists of the court president and at least 15 percent of judges to reflect Kosovo's territorial ethnic composition); Constitutional Court (consists of the court president, vice president, and 7 judges)
judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court judges nominated by the Kosovo Judicial Council, an independent body staffed by judges and lay members, and also responsible for overall administration of Kosovo's judicial system; judges appointed by the president of the Republic of Kosovo; judges appointed until mandatory retirement age; Constitutional Court members nominated by the Kosovo Assembly and appointed by the president of the republic to serve single, 9-year terms
subordinate courts: Court of Appeals (organized into 4 departments: General, Serious Crime, Commercial Matters), and Administrative Matters; Basic Court (located in 9 municipalities, each with several branches)
Political parties and leaders:
Albanian Christian Democratic Party of Kosovo or PNDSH [Uke BERISHA]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Council for the Defense of Human Rights and Freedom (human rights)
International organization participation:
IBRD, IDA, IFC, IMF, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Akan ISMAILI (since 23 April 2012)
chancery:
1101 30th Street NW, Suites 330/340, Washington, DC 20007
telephone:
202-380-3581
FAX:
202-380-3628
consulate(s) general:
New York
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Tracey Ann JACOBSON (since 26 July 2012)
embassy:
Arberia/Dragodan, Nazim Hikmet 30, Pristina, Kosovo
mailing address:
use embassy street address
telephone:
[381] 38 59 59 3000
FAX:
[381] 38 549 890
Flag description:
centered on a dark blue field is the geographical shape of Kosovo in a gold color surmounted by six white, five-pointed stars arrayed in a slight arc; each star represents one of the major ethnic groups of Kosovo: Albanians, Serbs, Turks, Gorani, Roma, and Bosniaks
National anthem:
name: "Europe"
lyrics/music: none/Mendi MENGJIQI
note: adopted 2008; Kosovo chose to not include lyrics in its anthem so as not to offend minority ethnic groups in the country
NOTE: 1) The information regarding Kosovo on this page is re-published from the 2014 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Kosovo Government 2014 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Kosovo Government 2014 should be addressed to the CIA.
2) The rank that you see is the CIA reported rank, which may habe the following issues:
a) They assign increasing rank number, alphabetically for countries with the same value of the ranked item, whereas we assign them the same rank.
b) The CIA sometimes assignes counterintuitive ranks. For example, it assigns unemployment rates in increasing order, whereas we rank them in decreasing order
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This page was last modified 06-Nov-14