Donika Gërvalla-Schwarz
Donika Gërvalla-Schwarz | |
|---|---|
Second Deputy Prime Minister of Kosovo | |
| Assumed office 22 March 2021 | |
| President | Glauk Konjufca (Acting) Vjosa Osmani |
| Prime Minister | Albin Kurti |
| Preceded by | Driton Selmanaj |
| 8th Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
| Assumed office 22 March 2021 | |
| President | Glauk Konjufca (Acting) Vjosa Osmani |
| Prime Minister | Albin Kurti |
| Preceded by | Meliza Haradinaj-Stublla Besnik Tahiri (Acting) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Donika Gërvalla 16 October 1971 Skopje, SR Macedonia, SFR Yugoslavia |
| Political party | Guxo (2021–present) |
| Other political affiliations | Democratic League of Kosovo (until 2020) |
| Spouse | Stefan Schwarz |
| Children | 5 |
| Parent |
|
| Alma mater | University of Hamburg |
| Signature | .svg) |
Donika Gërvalla-Schwarz (born 16 October 1971) is a Kosovan politician. A member of the
Early life and education
Gërvalla-Schwarz was born in
Gërvalla-Schwarz spent the remainder of her upbringing in Tirana, where she participated in student-led protests against the communist regime in Albania. Gërvalla-Schwarz studied music in Tirana until returning to Germany in 1992, in order to finish her education. She later received a law degree from the University of Hamburg.[1]
Political career
Gërvalla-Schwarz became an honorary member of the Democratic League of Kosovo in 1991. She later served as deputy chairperson of the party from 1993 until 1997, and then served as speaker of the party's German branch until 1999. As speaker of the party in Germany, Gërvalla-Schwarz made frequent appearances in German media and politics on behalf of Kosovo during the Kosovo War.
In 2015, Gërvalla-Schwarz returned to politics and was elected chairperson of the party's German branch again. Working closely with Kosovan politician
Gërvalla-Schwarz criticized the politicization in the
Personal life
Gërvalla-Schwarz is married to German politician Stefan Schwarz, and together they have five children. Schwarz is a former member of the Bundestag from 1990 until 1994, representing the Christian Democratic Union. The family resided in Bonn, although Gërvalla-Schwarz returned to Kosovo in 2021, ahead of the 2021 Kosovan parliamentary election.[3]
References
- ^ "Donika Gërvalla" (in Albanian). Vetëvendosje. Archived from the original on 31 January 2021. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
- ^ "Kush është Donika Gervalla, kandidatja që braktisi LDK-në për të hyrë me Vjosa Osmanin në listën e Albin Kurtit" (in Albanian). Kosova.Info. 2021-01-29. Archived from the original on 2021-04-21. Retrieved 2021-03-31.
- ^ a b Robelli, Enver (2021-03-24). "Eine scharfzüngige Juristin aus Bonn wird Aussenministerin" (in German).
- ^ "Donika Gervalla: 'We are not an experiment, we are a sovereign state.'". March 31, 2021. Archived from the original on April 6, 2021. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
- ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20210321005001if_/http://www.kryeministri-ks.net/repository/docs/Constitution1Kosovo.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ "Donika Gervalla-Schwarz: Childhood Emigrant Becomes Kosovo's Top Diplomat". Balkan Insight. 14 April 2021. Retrieved 14 April 2021.