Reports that Bekim Sejdiu’s name is being considered in talks between Albin Kurti and Lumir Abdixhiku for the post of President of the Republic have brought the former Constitutional Court judge back into Kosovo’s political spotlight.
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At this stage, there is no official confirmation that Sejdiu will be the final candidate. However, he has a profile that differs from those usually associated with party politics.
His experience, built over more than two decades, encompasses three fields directly related to the presidential office: diplomacy, constitutional law and academia.
The combination of legal expertise and public service may explain why he is being viewed as a figure who could potentially be accepted by more than one political camp.
Bekim Sejdiu’s institutional career in Kosovo’s diplomatic service began alongside the first steps taken by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs following the declaration of independence.
He joined the initial group that worked to establish the new state’s diplomatic structures, also serving as a senior adviser at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
At that stage, the ministry was headed by Skënder Hyseni, while Kosovo was building its network of embassies and overseas missions from the ground up.
On September 2, 2008, just a few months after the declaration of independence, President Fatmir Sejdiu approved the Government’s proposal to appoint Kosovo’s first diplomatic representatives.
Bekim Sejdiu was among the ten chargés d’affaires who were to be posted to major international capitals, and he was assigned to serve in Ankara.
At the time, Kosovo had only just begun establishing its diplomatic missions, while Turkey was one of the first countries where Pristina decided to open an embassy.
Bekim Sejdiu was entrusted with establishing Kosovo’s diplomatic mission in Ankara.
He began his service as chargé d’affaires, and on August 20, 2009, President Fatmir Sejdiu formally appointed him ambassador of the Republic of Kosovo to Turkey.
With this appointment, he became Kosovo’s first ambassador in Ankara, as well as one of the first generation of diplomatic representatives of the new state.
His mission was not limited to diplomatic representation. In practice, he had to establish and make operational the mission of a country that had only just declared independence.
This took place at a time when expanding international recognition and establishing international relations were two of Kosovo’s main priorities.
Sejdiu served in Turkey until 2012.
After completing his term in Ankara, his diplomatic service moved to the United States.
From 2012 to 2014, he served as Consul General of the Republic of Kosovo in New York.
Through this role, Sejdiu was part of the country’s institutional representation in one of the world’s principal centers of diplomacy and politics.
Documents from that period show that he was also involved in the activities of Kosovo’s highest-level state delegations during their visits to New York.
In September 2012, for example, Sejdiu was a member of the Kosovo delegation at a meeting held by President Atifete Jahjaga and Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
Following his service in New York, he was also appointed Kosovo’s ambassador-designate to Canada for the 2014-2015 period.
In 2015, Bekim Sejdiu’s career shifted from the diplomatic service to constitutional justice.
After the Kosovo Assembly elected him as a judge of the Constitutional Court, President Atifete Jahjaga formally appointed him to the position on April 15, 2015.
This transition placed him in one of the key institutions responsible for interpreting Kosovo’s constitutional order, where he served for more than six years.
During his time at the institution, the Constitutional Court reviewed a series of cases with direct consequences for the country’s institutional life and political developments.
Among the best-known cases was the one concerning MP Etem Arifi’s vote during the formation of Avdullah Hoti’s Government.
In its ruling, the Constitutional Court found that the vote of an MP convicted by a final court decision could not be counted as valid for the election of the Government, thereby producing immediate political consequences.
Following this ruling, Kosovo held early parliamentary elections on February 14, 2021.
Bekim Sejdiu was the judge-rapporteur in this case.
He left the Constitutional Court on May 25, 2021, when he resigned from his position as a judge.
Even after the end of his term at the Constitutional Court, Sejdiu remained involved in legal and institutional matters.
At the end of 2021, it was reported that he had been engaged by the Office of the President of Kosovo as an external expert.
Sejdiu clarified at the time that this engagement was part of a project supported by the Norwegian Embassy and that he was not part of President Vjosa Osmani’s political cabinet.
His work was primarily related to legal and constitutional issues.
This is also significant in the current discussions because it shows that, after leaving the Constitutional Court, he did not align himself with any party but continued his work mainly in the academic and professional spheres.
Alongside his state roles, Bekim Sejdiu’s academic background forms an important part of his profile.
He completed his law studies in 1999 at the Faculty of Law of the University of Pristina.
In 2001, he completed a master’s degree in Democracy and Human Rights through a joint program offered by the University of Sarajevo and the University of Bologna.
Four years later, in 2005, he also earned a master’s degree in International Relations from Bilkent University in Ankara.
He later completed a doctorate in International and Diplomatic Studies at the Faculty of Government and European Studies of Nova Univerza in Kranj, Slovenia.
Sejdiu is a professor of international law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Pristina. He has published academic papers and worked on topics related to international relations, state-building and European integration.
One distinctive feature of his biography is that his institutional roles have taken place under different political leaders and majorities.
At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he worked during the period when the ministry was headed by Skënder Hyseni.
He was sent on his first diplomatic mission to Ankara following a proposal by the Government led by Hashim Thaçi, while the decree was signed by President Fatmir Sejdiu.
He later served as Consul General in New York when the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was headed by Enver Hoxhaj and Atifete Jahjaga was President.
It was also President Jahjaga who, following the vote in the Assembly, formally appointed Sejdiu as a Constitutional Court judge in 2015.
After resigning from the Constitutional Court, he worked as an external expert on projects that also involved the Office of President Vjosa Osmani.
Thus, over a career spanning more than 20 years, Bekim Sejdiu has held responsibilities in institutions led by different political figures and majorities.
Such a track record does not in itself prove that there is political consensus over his name. However, it may help explain why Sejdiu is perceived as less polarizing than a candidate directly affiliated with a political party.
Under the Constitution, the President of Kosovo represents the unity of the people.
When no political force has the ability to elect the head of state on its own, finding a candidate necessarily requires a degree of cross-party cooperation.
In these circumstances, Sejdiu’s professional and institutional profile may become significant.
He is not known to have held an active role in any political party, while his experience spans diplomacy, international representation, constitutional law and academia.
Throughout his career, Sejdiu has worked with institutions led by representatives of the LDK and PDK, as well as, later, with the Office of President Vjosa Osmani.
If reports that Kurti and Abdixhiku have reached an agreement in principle are accurate, a figure with an institutional profile, rather than an active party politician, may be the option under consideration for overcoming disagreements over the presidency.
However, for the time being, this remains only a possibility and not a confirmed decision.
Neither Albin Kurti nor Lumir Abdixhiku has publicly announced any final agreement related to Bekim Sejdiu’s candidacy.
Their meetings have continued, while after their latest discussion Kurti said only that the results would be made public once they had been achieved.
For this reason, the discussion now goes beyond the question of who Bekim Sejdiu is.
The answer expected in the coming days is whether his journey—from the establishment of Kosovo’s first diplomatic service to the Constitutional Court and academia—will also lead him toward candidacy for the country’s highest state office.
