Avni Zogiani

Avni Zogiani (born 5 July 1970) is a Kosovan activist, politician and deputy government minister. A member of Vetëvendosje, he is currently serving as Deputy Minister of Environment, Spatial Planning and Infrastructure.

Early life and career Zogiani was born on 5 July 1970 in Graboc in Fushë Kosova municipality. He studied media and public relations at Indiana University and has a Master's degree in Contemporary European Studies from the University of Sussex. He worked as a journalist from 1997 to 2002, including reporting on the Kosovo War and Kosovan elections for local and international media such as CNN , Time and Balkan Insight.

Activism The anti-corruption Levizja Çohu movement was founded in September 2005 by a group of young scholars and journalists including Zogiani. Çohu's work antagonised powerful interests in organised crime and politics and Zogiani and his family have received numerous threats. He was a candidate in the 2021 Kosovan parliamentary election but was not elected. He was appointed Deputy Minister of Finance, Labour and Transfers in November 2023. In October 2025 Prime Minister Albin Kurti nominated Zogiani to be Minister of Education in his proposed government but the government failed to receive enough support in the Assembly. Kurti was appointed First Deputy Minister of Environment and Spatial Planning in February 2026.

In May 2026 the Basic Court in Pristina partly upheld a defamation case brought against Zogiani by Ferat Shala, CEO of Trepça Mines, in relation to a Facebook post.