Ditmir Bushati

Ditmir Bushati
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Incumbent
Assumed office 15 September 2013
Prime Minister	Edi Rama
Preceded by	Aldo Bumçi
Personal details
Born	(1977-03-24) 24 March 1977 Shkodër, Albania
Political party	Socialist Party
Spouse(s)	Aida Bushati
Children	Hera Martin
Alma mater	University of Tirana Leiden University

Ditmir Bushati is an Albanian politician who has served in the government of Albania as Minister of Foreign Affairs since 2013. He was previously chair of the parliamentary committee for European Union affairs.^[1]

Career

Bushati was born in Shkodra, Albania on 24 March 1977. He is married to Aida Bushati and they have two children, Hera and Martin.

Bushati was first elected as a Member of Parliament from the Socialist Party for the Tirana District in 2009, and re-elected in the June 23, 2013 parliamentary elections for the same district. As an MP, he chaired the Parliamentary Committee for European Integration (2011-2013) and was a member of the Joint EU-Albania Parliamentary Committee (2009-2013). In November 2011, Bushati was elected Member of the Steering Committee of the Socialist Party of Albania.

Bushati graduated from the Faculty of Law of the University of Tirana in 1999 with the highest honours, and holds a Master's degree in Public International Law (LL.M) from Leiden University in The Netherlands (2001). Bushati is the recipient of various fellowships and research grants, including TEMPUS, NUFFIC, Victor Folsom, Kokkalis, TMC Asser Institute, and has been a researcher on European Affairs at the European Centre for Public Law of the University of Athens, Greece. Furthermore, he has participated in a series of trainings on international affairs at several universities and research centres, including Harvard University, the Academy of International Law in Dallas, USA and the Abo University Academy, Finland.

Prior to his political career Ditmir Bushati was a civil society leader and a Founding Director of the European Movement in Albania. He then served as Director of Legal Approximation at the Albanian Ministry of European Integration. In that capacity he was part of the team negotiating the Stabilization and Association Agreement with the European Union (SAA). Bushati has worked as Advisor on European Affairs to the Deputy Prime Minister, as Legal Advisor to the Constitutional Court, the Office of the President of the Republic of Albania and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

He has also served as analyst for Freedom House (2007-2008) for the Nations in Transition Report, National Reporter for the European Society of International Law (ESIL), and National Coordinator of the Open Society Foundation’s project monitoring Albania's progress in the European integration process (2006-2008). He has worked as consultant for various projects of the EU, WB, USAID, GIZ, OSI, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, IOM, SNV.

Bushati has lectured on European Law and the EU enlargement process at different institutions and universities in Albania and Kosovo. He has published numerous scientific papers and articles in areas related to the EU enlargement process, public international law and European law.

He is fluent in English and Italian, and has good knowledge of French.

References