She was elected by 81 members of parliament after Prime Minister Albin Kurti proposed her as a candidate late on October 6. She took the oath shortly after midnight, just minutes after the deadline set by the Constitutional Court.
Shiroka Pula is an economist and academic who has headed the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Kosovo* since 2025. Born in Pristina in 1953, she graduated from the University of Pristina’s Faculty of Economics before completing postgraduate studies in economic development theory at the University of Zagreb. She later earned a doctorate at the University of Pristina and pursued postdoctoral studies in Austria and the United States.
Her career has combined academia, public service and politics. She worked at the National Bank of Kosovo* and later held senior positions within the Academy of Sciences and Arts.
From 2008 to 2011, she served as Minister of Energy and Mining in Hashim Thaçi’s government, and from 2011 to 2014 she was a member of parliament representing the Democratic Party of Kosovo* (PDK). She also has experience working with non-governmental organisations focused on women’s empowerment, gender equality, business and entrepreneurship.
In her first address as president, Shiroka Pula said she would be a president for all citizens and pledged to work on unity, justice, development and stronger institutions. She also stressed Euro-Atlantic orientation. Her election followed a political agreement between Kurti’s Self-Determination Movement and the PDK, which also involved amendments to the law governing the Kosovo* Specialist Chambers. The Assembly approved those amendments in a separate vote on the same evening.
