Gëzim Ostreni
Personal details
Born(1942-11-01)1 November 1942
Debar, Italian protectorate of Albania (today North Macedonia)
NationalityMacedonian
Political partyAA
Other political
affiliations		DUI
EthnicityAlbanian
Military service
Allegiance Kosovo Liberation Army
National Liberation Army
Years of service1998–2001
RankCommander
Battles/wars

Gëzim Ostreni (born 1 November 1942) is a former KLA and NLA general. Ostreni is known for participating in the Kosovo War and the 2001 insurgency in the Republic of Macedonia.

Life

Gëzim Ostreni was born in the city of Debar in present-day North Macedonia[1] on 1 November 1942. After finishing primary school, he also finished the school of reserve officers as well as some military courses at the Military Academy. He graduated from the Faculty of Philosophy and Sociology in Prishtina. In the military field, he served as the commander of the territorial defense in Diber. He participated in the Kosovo War and gradually started climbing up the ranks. In 2000, he was promoted to Major General. As part of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), he commanded the group's operations in the Dukagjin plain of western Kosovo.[2] After the war, he served in the Kosovo Protection Corps before returning to Macedonia. Ostreni was also a military historian, having studied the Second World War partisan resistance in Macedonia.[3] Like many ethnic Albanians, he saw no future for himself in the new Macedonian Army, whose officer corps were dominated by Slavs.[4] In the spring of 2001 he joined the National Liberation Army (NLA),[5] where he united guerrilla groups from Kosovo and North Macedonia.[6] With the start of the armed conflict in Macedonia he assumed the role of Chief of the General Staff of the National Liberation Army which was created by Albanians in North Macedonia. Until April 2001, he was also a deputy commander in the Kosovo Protection Corps.[4] Ostreni played a prominent role in the battle of Tetovo. He cited discrimination against Albanians as a motive for participating in the conflict in Macedonia.[2] After the Ohrid agreement was signed, he left the National Liberation Army. In June 2002, he became part of the presidium of the newly founded Democratic Union for Integration (DUI).[7] In 3 October, he became a deputy of the Assembly of Macedonia. In 2004, he became a candidate of DUI for the presidency of the Macedonian state,[8] but was defeated by Branko Crvenkovski and Sasko Kedev.[9] From 2002 to 2006, he was the vice president of the Macedonian Assembly.[10] In 2015, along with Zulfi Adeli, he created a new political party called "Unity".[11] The party was later merged into Alliance for Albanians (AA).[12][13]

References

  1. ↑ Danaj, Koço (2008). Kryengritje e pambaruar (in Albanian). Albao. p. 136.
  2. 1 2 "Macedonia: Members Of Disbanded UCK Look Back At Last Year's Fighting". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 17 April 2002.
  3. ↑ James Pettifer; Miranda Vickers (2007). The Albanian Question: Reshaping the Balkans. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 250. ISBN 9781860649745.
  4. 1 2 John Phillips (2004). Macedonia: Warlords and Rebels in the Balkans. Yale University Press. p. 90. ISBN 9781860648410.
  5. ↑ Kola, Paulin (2003). The Search for Greater Albania. Hurst & Company. p. 378. ISBN 978-1-85065-596-1.
  6. ↑ Peshkopia, Ridvan (2015-03-01). Conditioning Democratization: Institutional Reforms and EU Membership Conditionality in Albania and Macedonia. Anthem Press. p. 65. ISBN 978-1-78308-422-7.
  7. ↑ "Macedonia: Former UCK Commanders Found Political Party". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 6 June 2002.
  8. ↑ "Guide to Macedonian presidential poll". BBC News. 13 April 2004.
  9. ↑ "Macedonia Election Heads for Run-Off". Deutsche Welle. 15 April 2004.
  10. ↑ "Gjeneral Gëzim Ostreni, heroi i dy luftëra në Kosovë dhe Maqedoni, libër për luftën dhe paqen në Shkup". Gazeta Sot (in Albanian). 9 October 2014.
  11. ↑ "Gezim Ostreni's new political party, "Uniteti" is now official". Meta.mk. 3 October 2015.
  12. ↑ "One less party in Macedonia, Unity merges into the Alliance for Albanians". Koha Ditore. 12 July 2017.
  13. ↑ "Political Parties Sign Code for Fair and Democratic Elections". Meta.mk. 20 November 2016.
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