Justina Shiroka-Pula, from economist and university professor to head of the Academy of Kosovo

Justina Shiroka-Pula is an economist, university professor and former minister of Energy and Mining of Kosovo. In December 2025, she was elected to lead the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Kosovo, becoming the first woman to hold the position.

Born in Pristina in 1953, Shiroka-Pula completed her primary and secondary education in her hometown. She graduated from the Faculty of Economics at the University of Pristina in 1976, while in Zagreb, in 1984, she completed postgraduate studies in the theory and policy of economic development. Later, at the University of Pristina, she defended her doctoral dissertation on “Demographic investments and the economic development of Kosovo.”

She began her career at the People’s Bank of Kosovo. Two years later, in 1978, she began her academic career at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Pristina. Her teaching and research activities have focused on areas such as management, entrepreneurship and business decision-making.

Her work has not been limited to the university. Shiroka-Pula served as minister of Energy and Mining from 2008 to 2011, as a representative of the Democratic Party of Kosovo. From 2011 to 2014, she was a deputy from that party in the Assembly of Kosovo.

After the war, she also became involved in civil society activities, working to empower women, promote gender equality and develop entrepreneurship. According to information in her biography, she completed postdoctoral studies at the University of Linz and the University of Arizona.

Pula-Shiroka has been a member of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Kosovo since 2016. As chairwoman, she succeeded academician Mehmet Kraja.