Besnik Bislimi

Besnik Bislimi is the first deputy prime minister for European integration, development and dialogue. During his first mandate in the Kosovo government February – June 2020, he served as the minister of finance and transfers. He was born on 19.05.1971 in Bukovik, Gjilan. He is married, father of one girl, and lives in Prishtina. Besnik studied Macroeconomics Analysis at the University of Zagreb, during the period from 1990 to 1994. He finished his PhD studies on Macroeconomics at Freiburg University in Germany focusing on fiscal policies and transition towards market economy. Through the Fulbright scholarship program he attended his post-doctoral studies at Georgia State University, Atlanta, US, at Andrew Young School for Policy Studies, focusing on asymmetrical fiscal decentralization. Since 2004 he is part of American University in Kosovo (RIT Kosovo), lecturing the subject of Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, Monetary Policies, and Labor Market Economics. Prior to that he worked at the University of Freiberg, Germany, as a researcher and assistant professor of Macroeconomics and Public Finance. He taught Macroeconomics 1 and 2 at the Regional Credit Academy in Veles, North Macedonia, for six consecutive years. For three consecutive years - from 2001 to 2003 - he also supported the University of Pristina with Stability Pact programs, DAAD and WUS Austria, teaching "Macroeconomics for Developing Countries" as well as "Public Finance in Developing Countries." Besnik has served as an UNDP fiscal policy advisor within the CBF project; an advisor on several GIZ projects; Worked as a public finance expert for the FAO Kosovo office; consultant, researcher, supporter and expert on projects as in: HLSP, Helvetas, OECD, Bertelsman Foundation. Since 2010 he is a member of Vetëvendosje Movement where he headed the Finance Committee. In December 2013 he served as Acting Director of Finance and Property in the Municipality of Prishtina. In the 2014 parliamentary elections he was elected a deputy of the Kosovo Assembly, where he headed the Parliamentary Committee on Oversight of Public Finances. From 2018 he holds the position of Vice President of the Vetëvendosje Movement. He has knowledge of fiscal and monetary policies, labor market policies, fiscal decentralization, public debt, privatization and anti-corruption.