Isa Mustafa

Isa Mustafa (; born 15 May 1951) is a Kosovar retired politician. Mustafa was the mayor of Pristina from December 2007 to December 2013 and served as the prime minister of Kosovo between December 2014 and September 2017. He was the leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) between 2010 and 2021.

Early life Mustafa was born in the village of Prapashtica, in the Gollak Highlands of the District of Pristina, Kosovo on 15 May 1951, to Kosovo Albanian parents. He and his family speak Albanian in the Gheg dialect of the language. He finished primary and high school in Pristina, and attended the University of Pristina in the Faculty of Economics, where he obtained a master's degree and a PhD. He won a second term as Mayor of Pristina in November 2009.

On 1 December 2013, he lost re-election to the position of Mayor of Pristina, in what was seen as a major upset, to upcoming politician Shpend Ahmeti. The upset was especially dramatic seeing as it happened in what had been historically known as a Democratic League of Kosovo stronghold.

On 8 December 2014, he became the Prime Minister of Kosovo in a coalition with the Democratic Party of Kosovo. With a PhD in Economics, he claimed his government would be focused on the economic development of the country.

While addressing the Assembly of Kosovo on 22 September 2015 regarding an agreement with Serbia on autonomy for Kosovo's ethnic Serb minority and another agreement defining the border between Kosovo and Montenegro, Mustafa was pelted with eggs by opposition Assembly lawmakers. He later continued his address while being shielded with an umbrella by his bodyguards.

On 10 May 2017, Mustafa lost a vote of no-confidence and decided not to stand in the next election. Instead he nominated Avdullah Hoti as the Democratic League candidate for prime minister. Mustafa stayed on as Prime Minister until his successor Ramush Haradinaj was elected by parliament in September 2017 following a parliamentary election.

In January 2018, Isa Mustafa was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré Syndrome. After being diagnosed in Kosovo, he began treatment in at a hospital in Pforzheim, Germany, and his health condition improved.

On 3 August 2019, Isa Mustafa was re-elected as leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo for the third time.

On 10 July 2020, Mustafa announced on his Facebook page that he was diagnosed with COVID-19. On 1 August 2020, he revealed on his Facebook page that he had fully recovered from the disease.

On 15 February 2021, Mustafa announced he would be standing down as the leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo after a poor result in the 2021 elections. He officially resigned at the LDK convention on 14 March 2021, and was succeeded by Lumir Abdixhiku, who named Mustafa as the honorary president of LDK the same day.

Government

Personal life Mustafa is married to Qevsere Mustafa and has two sons and a daughter. He has also stated himself to be a Muslim who has fasted for Ramadan.