Who is Ardian Gjini, the new AAK chairman?

Ardian Gjini today has been confirmed as the new party chairman in the Electoral Assembly.

Former soldier of The KLA, and known for years as the right-wing and Haradinaj's number two within the party, is already hosting the election list for prime minister at the country's level, in elections expected to be held on June 7th.

In public and local opinion, Ardian Gjini is known as the man who has radically transformed Gjakova.

He has been leading this municipality since 2017, while in the last local elections, he won the citizens' trust by securing his third consecutive mandate.

During its rule, Gjakova has undergone major structural changes through hundreds of miles of roads built in city and village, new road rings and numerous capital projects that have turned it into a model of local government.

This long management experience comes after a rich political and institutional journey that Djind has started early.

Born on 18 January 1970 in Gjakova, Ardian Gjini is veteran of the Kosovo Liberation Army (UÇK), as well as one of the signatories of the Kosovo Declaration of Independence.

He served as a member of the Strategic Political Group in Vienna's talks for the Ahtisaari Plan and as a member of the first constitutional commission of the Republic of Kosovo.

He has also held the position of Minister of Environment and Spatial Planning and has been deputy for two mandates in the Kosovo Assembly, where he also led the AAK parliamentary group.

Along with its institutional career, Jean holds the Master title in International Relations and European Studies from the University of Kent to Canterbury, the United Kingdom.

To focus fully on the national race and the domestic party elections aimed at the AAK leadership, Djind has recently been relieved of the post of president of the party branch in Gjakova.

Ardian Gjini is married, has two daughters and one son.