TALAT XHAFERI
Talat Xhaferi was born on 15 April 1962 in the village Forino, Gostivar, Republic of North Macedonia. He finished primary education in Chegrane, Gostivar, in the Municipal Primary School “Përparimi”. After finishing primary school he decided on his future profession and enrolled in the Secondary School in Gostivar in 1977, so that in 1978, upon successfully passing the entrance exams in the Military Gymnasium in Belgrade, he continued his education there. In 1981 he enrolled in the Military Academy of Ground Forces – Infantry Branch in Belgrade and Sarajevo. He graduated within timeline, receiving the rank lieutenant. From 1996 to 1998 he dedicated himself to the postgraduate studies – specialization in the area of Command and Staff Duties of the Military Academy "General Mihajlo Apostolski" - Skopje, while in 2013 he received the title Master of Defence Sciences from the Faculty on Philosophy at the “Ss. Cyril and Methodius” University - Skopje.
He started his army career in 1985, first in the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA), and then after gaining independence of the state, i.e. from 1992, he was an active officer in the Army of the Republic of Macedonia (ARM) until 2001.
In 2001 he joined the National Liberation Army (ONA).
He started his political career in 2002, when he ran for the Parliament from the ranks of the political party Democratic Union for Integration. In the same year he was elected a Member the Assembly and coordinator of the parliamentary group of DUI. His term ended on 24 December 2004, when he was appointed Deputy Minister of Defence, a position he held until 2006.
In 2008, he was re-elected as Member of the Assembly from the ranks of DUI and during his active term as MP he was a Member of the Council of the Assembly’s TV Channel, the Committee on Defence and Security, the Finances and Budget Committee, and a Deputy Member of the Committee on Agriculture, Forestry and Water Resources Management, the Committee on Rules of Procedure and Mandate-Immunity Affairs. Xhaferi's mandate was marked by numerous international activities under his Chairmanship of the Delegation of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia to the Parliamentary Assembly of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which organized the Ross-Roth Seminar of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Skopje. Xhaferi also took an active part in the bilateral cooperation of the Assembly with Parliaments through the Parliamentary Group of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia for Cooperation with the Parliament of the Kingdom of Sweden, Parliamentary Group of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia for Cooperation with the Parliament of the Republic of Austria, Parliamentary Group of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia for Cooperation with the Parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In 2011 he was re-elected as Member of the Assembly. During this mandate he drew the attention of the public with his marathon speeches, blocking the adoption of the then disputable Law on Defenders, using the procedural opportunities, he thrived in his intention to defend his position and the position of the political party, and practically introduced the filibustering in the Assembly. His term as Member of the Assembly ended on 18 February 2013, when he was appointed as Minister on Defence. In a statement for the media during the handover of the function Minister of Defence, Xhaferi stated that his goal shall be “the armed forces to become a symbol of co-existence, tolerance and respect of differences”.
In 2016 he was elected Member of the Assembly for the fifth time. In 2017, he was elected as President of the Assembly of the Republic of North Macedonia, and on 21 August 2020, in his sixth mandate as Member of the Assembly, he received the trust from the majority of the Members of the Assembly again, and was re-elected as President of the Legislature.
In his current mandate, Xhaferi is a Chairman of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, Head of the Delegation of the Assembly to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), Head of the Delegation of the Assembly to the South-East European Cooperation Process Parliamentary Assembly (SEECP PA).
Xhaferi holds the position that each Member of the Assembly should fulfill the expectations and justify the trust given by the citizens, and hence, during his career he actively participated in the work of the Inter-Community Relations Committee, the National European Integration Council, the Committee on Constitutional Affairs (Chairman), the Legislative Committee, the Committee on Assessment of the Merits of the Proposal for Initiating a Procedure for Determining the Responsibility of the President of the Republic of Macedonia, the Committee on Defence and Security, Finances and Budget Committee, Committee on Inquiry for the Wiretapping Scandal, Committee on Oversight of the Implementation of Measures for Interception of Communications by the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Defence, the Committee on Oversight of the Security and Counterintelligence Directorate and the Intelligence Agency, the Committee on Elections and Appointments, the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, the Committee on Political System and Inter-Community Relations, Parliamentary Group for Cooperation with the Parliament of the Republic of Kosovo, Parliamentary Group for Cooperation with the Parliament of the Republic of Austria, Parliamentary Group of the Assembly for Cooperation with the Parliaments of the Baltic States: Republic of Estonia, Republic of Latvia and Republic of Lithuania, Parliamentary Group of the Assembly for Cooperation with the Parliament of the Republic of Croatia, Parliamentary Group of the Assembly for Cooperation with the Parliament of the Czech Republic.
Talat Xhaferi is fluent in Albanian, Macedonian, Serbian, Croatian and English. He is married to Ms Mereme Xhaferi, father of Barlet and Besijana, and a proud grandfather of Frasher and Ajola.
Current activities in the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia:
- Committee on Constitutional Affairs – Chair
- Delegation of the Assembly to the Interparliamentary Union (IPU), Head of Delegation
- Delegation of the Assembly to the Parliamentary Assembly of the South East European Process for Cooperation, Head of Delegation
Previous activities in the Assembly:
- Coordinator of the parliamentary group of DUI
- Inter – Community Relations Committee, Member
- National European Integration Council, Deputy-member
- Legislative Committee, Member
- Committee for Assessing the Grounds of the Proposal for Initiating Procedure Determining the Accountability of the President of the Republic of Macedonia, Member
- Committee on Defence and Security, Member
- Committee on Financing and Budget, Member
- Committee on Political System and Inter-Ethnic Relations, Deputy-Member
- Inquiry Committee on the Wiretapping Scandal, Member
- Committee for Supervising the Work of the Security and Counter-Intelligence Directorate and the Intelligence Agency, Deputy-Member
- Committee on Elections and Appointment Issues, Deputy-Member
- Committee for Supervising Implementation of Measures to Monitor Communications by the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Defence, Member
- Committee on Constitutional Affairs, Deputy Member
- Delegation of the Assembly to the Parliamentary Assembly of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization with a status of accompanying delegation (NATO PA), Head of Delegation
- Parliamentary Group of the Assembly for Cooperation with the Parliament of the Republic of Kosovo, Chair
- Delegation to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), Member
- Parliamentary Group of the Assembly for Cooperation with the Parliament of the Republic of Austria, Member
- Parliamentary Group for Cooperation with the Parliaments of Baltic countries: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, Member
- Parliamentary Group of the Assembly for Cooperation with the Parliament of the Republic of Croatia, Member
- Parliamentary Group of the Assembly for Cooperation with the Parliament of the Czech Republic, Member
Career:
- 2016 Member of the Assembly, political party DUI
- 2014-2016 Member of the Assembly, political party DUI
- 2013-2014 Minister of Defence
- 2011-2013 Member of the Assembly, political party DUI
- 2008-2011 Member of the Assembly, political party DUI
- 2004-2006 Deputy Minister of Defence
- 2002-2004 Member of the Assembly, political party DUI
- 1992-2001 Officer in the ARM
- 1985-1991 Officer in the NAY
Education
- 2013 Master’s degree in Defence
- 1996-1998 Postgraduate studies – Specialization in Command and Staff Duties - Military Academy “General Mihailo Apostolski” - Skopje
- 1981-1985 Military Academy of Land Army – Infantry, Belgrade and Sarajevo
- 1977-1981 Secondary education: Military High School, Belgrade
- 1969-1977 Primary education: “Përparimi” Chegrane, Gostivar
Orders and Titles
- 11 November 2016 - Presidential Medal of Merits awarded by the President of the Republic of Kosovo for National Contribution and Merits
- Medal “Peace Hero of the World" awarded by the International Organization “Balkan Club of Peace”
- “Honorary citizen of Municipality Suhareka” for personal contribution and dedication to peace, freedom and stability in the Region
- Title Honorary Citizen of Municipality of Lezha As another symbol of the bridges and unbreakable ties we cherish with the Republic of Albania
- Order of Jaroslav the Wise from the President of Ukraine and the Ukrainians, for significant personal merits in strengthening interstate cooperation, support of state sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, significant contribution to the popularization of the Ukrainian state in the world
- Title „Doctor Honoris Causa“ from "Qiriazi University College" ("Kolegji Universistar Qiriazi") for the particular contribution to the formalization of the Albanian language, for the freedom and rights of Albanians in the Republic of North Macedonia, for wisdom and high intellectual and statehood values in defense of our national identity. For the spiritual connections with the icons of national education Sevasti & Parashqevi Qiriazi and Kristo Dako, who are the historical legacy and continuity of the Qiriazi University College.
E- mail: pretsedatel@sobranie.mk