Behgjet Pacolli
Encyclopedia
Behgjet Isa Pacolli is a former President of the Republic of Kosovo
Republic of Kosovo
Kosovo , officially the Republic of Kosovo is a partially recognised state and a disputed territory in the Balkans...

, and is now First Deputy Prime Minister serving in the cabinet of Hashim Thaçi
Hashim Thaci
Hashim Thaçi is the Prime Minister of Republic of Kosovo, the leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo , and former political leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army .-Early life and education:...

. Pacolli was one of the signatories of 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence
2008 Kosovo declaration of independence
The 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence was adopted on 17 February 2008 by individual members of the Assembly of Kosovo acting in personal capacity and not binding to the Assembly itself...

.

On 30 March 2011 the Constitutional Court of Kosovo
Constitutional Court of Kosovo
The Constitutional Court of Kosovo is the final authority for the interpretation of the Constitution of Kosovo and the compliance of laws in accordance with the constitution....

 declared that the constitution was broken during his election as President and he is no longer President of the Republic of Kosovo
Republic of Kosovo
Kosovo , officially the Republic of Kosovo is a partially recognised state and a disputed territory in the Balkans...

 with immediate effect.http://www.gjk-ks.org/repository/docs/ko_29_11_agj_om_ang.pdf Pacolli stated the he respects the decision of the Constitutional Court of Kosovo and that he will not offer his resignation but he will leave his offices from 30 March 2011.

He is the President and CEO of Mabetex
Mabetex
The Mabetex Group, founded in 1990, is the mother company of Mabetex and other companies founded and owned by Behgjet Pacolli. The headquarters are located in Lugano, Switzerland. The company is specialised in construction and renovation of large buildings. The Mabetex Group has had many projects...

 Group, a Swiss-based construction and civil-engineering company. Pacolli was also the President of the tenth biggest political party in Kosovo the New Kosovo Alliance
New Kosovo Alliance
New Kosovo Alliance is a political party in Kosovo which is in the current coalition government made up by the PDK and AKR. The party was founded on 3 May 2006, by Behgjet Pacolli the founding owner of Mabetex,the Swiss based project engineering firm responsible for some of the most significant...

. For the past four years, he has been involved in Kosovar politics. He is believed to be the world's richest Albanian.

Behgjet was the second of a family of 10 children who grew up, like most in Kosovo at the time, in the poor countryside. Similarly to thousands of other Albanians from Kosovo, Pacolli moved to Western Europe in search of job opportunities.

As a young man, Pacolli contacted companies throughout Austria and Germany seeking work and, soon after his release, he joined an Austrian company, where he worked as a sales representative for Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Poland and Russia. Two years later, he moved to Switzerland and joined a Swiss company he had gotten to know in Moscow.

Early life and career

Behgjet is the son of Isa and Nazmije. He is Kosovan
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...

-Albanian
Albanians
Albanians are a nation and ethnic group native to Albania and neighbouring countries. They speak the Albanian language. More than half of all Albanians live in Albania and Kosovo...

 by ethnicity but has additional Swiss
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

 citizenship. In the 1970s, he emigrated to Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...

, West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....

 where he achieved a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics, specializing in Marketing
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...

 and Management
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...

. In 1974, he completed his military service in Yugoslav army and returned to Kosovo. In 1976, Pacolli moved to Switzerland where he became one of the top managers of Inter plastic, an engineering and trading company dealing in chemicals and plastics and cooperating with the countries of the Soviet bloc.

In 1990, he founded Mabetex
Mabetex
The Mabetex Group, founded in 1990, is the mother company of Mabetex and other companies founded and owned by Behgjet Pacolli. The headquarters are located in Lugano, Switzerland. The company is specialised in construction and renovation of large buildings. The Mabetex Group has had many projects...

 Project Management, a construction company based in Lugano
Lugano
Lugano is a city of inhabitants in the city proper and a total of over 145,000 people in the agglomeration/city region, in the south of Switzerland, in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino, which borders Italy...

, Switzerland, which has developed into a large business group now called the Mabetex Group, with interests in insurance, media, construction, etc.

Russia

In 1992, during construction projects in Yakutia, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

, Pacolli closely cooperated with the Yakutsk
Yakutsk
With a subarctic climate , Yakutsk is the coldest city, though not the coldest inhabited place, on Earth. Average monthly temperatures range from in July to in January. The coldest temperatures ever recorded on the planet outside Antarctica occurred in the basin of the Yana River to the northeast...

 mayor Pavel Borodin
Pavel Borodin
Pavel Pavlovich Borodin is a Russian official and politician.Born in the town of Shakhunya, near the city of Nizhny in the Nizhny Novgorod Region....

. When Borodin had become the presidential property manager, Mabetex was given several important contracts to reconstruct, renovate and refurbish the former Russian Federation Parliament
White House, Moscow
The White House , also known as the Russian White House, is a government building in Moscow. It stands on Krasnopresnenskaya embankment. Construction started in 1965 and ended in 1981. Originally called The House of Soviets, it was designed by the architects Dmitry Chechulin and P. Shteller...

, the Russian Opera House, State Duma
State Duma
The State Duma , common abbreviation: Госду́ма ) in the Russian Federation is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia , the upper house being the Federation Council of Russia. The Duma headquarters is located in central Moscow, a few steps from Manege Square. Its members are referred to...

 and the Moscow Kremlin
Moscow Kremlin
The Moscow Kremlin , sometimes referred to as simply The Kremlin, is a historic fortified complex at the heart of Moscow, overlooking the Moskva River , Saint Basil's Cathedral and Red Square and the Alexander Garden...

. Mabetex also constructed the first luxury hotel, the Swiss Diamond Hotel, in the new Russian era. In 1998, Prosecutor General of Russia Yuri Skuratov opened a bribery investigation against Mabetex which was dropped after he left his office, and accused Pacolli personally of bribing President Boris Yeltsin
Boris Yeltsin
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin was the first President of the Russian Federation, serving from 1991 to 1999.Originally a supporter of Mikhail Gorbachev, Yeltsin emerged under the perestroika reforms as one of Gorbachev's most powerful political opponents. On 29 May 1990 he was elected the chairman of...

’s family members. In 2000 Pacolli sued Skuratov in a Russian court for defamation. He won the case and Skuratov was ordered to pay one million Russian ruble to Pacolli for damages.

Kazakhstan

Mabetex is currently working in Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...

 where it has played and important role in the construction of the new capital Astana, one of the awarded projects completed there was the new Presidential Palace
Ak Orda Presidential Palace
The Ak Orda Presidential Palace is the official workplace of the President of Kazakhstan. Ak Orda Presidential Palace was built within three years, and officially opened in 2004...

. One of the greatest symbols of Mabetex’s achievements in Kazakhstan has been the transformation of the President’s residence. It is now a luxurious presidential residence whose splendour is a delight to visiting foreign dignitaries and to dictatorial President Nursultan Nazarbayev
Nursultan Nazarbayev
Nursultan Abishuly Nazarbayev has served as the President of Kazakhstan since the nation received its independence in 1991, after the fall of the Soviet Union...

, who works there. Situated on the left bank of the river Essy, its architecture combines classic, modern and ethnic influences. The president’s residence is part of a complex of modern administrative buildings in the new center of the city – and its main purpose is to symbolize the new face of Kazakhstan.
The Group, is a major player in the Kazakhstan construction sector having built nearly 40% of the buildings in the New Astana City.

Italy

In Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, the Mabetex Group was responsible in the study and project for the refurbishment of the La Fenice
La Fenice
Teatro La Fenice is an opera house in Venice, Italy. It is one of the most famous theatres in Europe, the site of many famous operatic premieres. Its name reflects its role in permitting an opera company to "rise from the ashes" despite losing the use of two theatres...

 theatre in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

 after it was burned.

Uzbekistan

In Tashkent
Tashkent
Tashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan and of the Tashkent Province. The officially registered population of the city in 2008 was about 2.2 million. Unofficial sources estimate the actual population may be as much as 4.45 million.-Early Islamic History:...

, the capital of Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....

, his group constructed the award winning project for the City Hall.

Politics

On 17 March 2006, Pacolli founded the political party New Kosovo Alliance
New Kosovo Alliance
New Kosovo Alliance is a political party in Kosovo which is in the current coalition government made up by the PDK and AKR. The party was founded on 3 May 2006, by Behgjet Pacolli the founding owner of Mabetex,the Swiss based project engineering firm responsible for some of the most significant...

 (AKR), which took part in the 2007 parliamentary election and came third. During these elections he declared property worth €420 million.
Pacolli became a deputy in the Assembly of Kosovo and a member of the Committee for Budget and Finance.

Since 2004, Behgjet Pacolli has continued his lobbying efforts on behalf of Kosovo by supporting numerous institutions and advocacy groups and lobbying foreign governments, institutions and international agencies to support Kosovo's full independence and recognition. Pacolli is an international councilor of the CSIS (Center for Strategic and International Studies)
Center for Strategic and International Studies
The Center for Strategic and International Studies is a bipartisan Washington, D.C., foreign policy think tank. The center was founded in 1962 by Admiral Arleigh Burke and Ambassador David Manker Abshire, originally as part of Georgetown University...

.
Since Kosovo's declaration of independence in February 2007, Pacolli has been working diligently lobbying countries to officially recognize Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...

 as an independent state. Pacolli has travelled to several countries to lobby for recognition of Kosovo's independence and is continuing to do so. Pacolli continues his lobbying activities all around the world, where he meets senior leaders of world countries in an attempt to convince them of the arguments in favor of recognizing Kosovo’s independence.

Presidency of Kosovo

On 22 February 2011, Behgjet Pacolli was elected President of Kosovo
Kosovan presidential election, 2011
Indirect presidential elections were held in Kosovo on 22 February, 2011.-Background:As stipulated in the coalition agreement between the Democratic Party of Kosovo and the New Kosovo Alliance , the AKR's leader Behgjet Pacolli was to be elected president by the coalition's MPs...

 as a part of a power sharing agreement with Hashim Thaçi
Hashim Thaci
Hashim Thaçi is the Prime Minister of Republic of Kosovo, the leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo , and former political leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army .-Early life and education:...

. The same day the parliament of the Republic of Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...

 chose Pacolli as the President of the Republic. Pacolli submitted his resignation. Pacolli bribed Finish envoy Marti Ahtisaari millions of dollars for the recognition of the Serbian province of Kosovo as a pure ethnic albanian state of Kosova. Behgjet plans the integration of Kosova with Albania for a greater albanian republic dreamed by Albanian statesman centuries past. The Constitutional Court’s opinion was that he did nothing wrong. He announced he would run for presidency again in the immediate election. Later, he agreed to have Atifete Jahjaga
Atifete Jahjaga
Atifete Jahjaga is the fourth and current President of Kosovo. She is the first female, the first non-partisan candidate, and the youngest to be elected to the office. She is also the first female head of state in modern Balkans...

 elected as president until 2012 when a constitution reform would mandate new direct presidential elections. Pacolli is expected to run in the 2012 election.

Personal life

Pacolli was married to Anna Oxa
Anna Oxa
Anna Oxa is an Italian singer of Albanian descent, well-known through her numerous appearances in the televised Italian song contest, the Sanremo Music Festival. In 1978, at the age of sixteen, she took second place with the song "Un'emozione da poco" at the Sanremo Festival...

, an Italian-Albanian singer, from 1999 to 2002. At present he is married to Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n Maria (Masha) Pacolli (nee Sichkova) and is the father of a son and four daughters.

In 2004, three United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

 workers were taken hostage in Kabul
Kabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...

, Annette Flannigan, Angelito Nayan and Shqipe Hebibi, whom was from Kosovo and had neither representation nor support from the outside. Behgjet Pacolli traveled to Afghanistan for one month of intensive personal work and negotiations on their behalf and has been credited with securing their release. It was two years later that the whole story repeated itself when the Italian citizen, Gabrielle Torsello was kidnapped in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

. Behgjet Pacolli was contacted by the Italian services in order to negotiate her liberation and was successful in doing so.

In 1993, Pacolli established "Les Enfants du Sakha", a fund with the stated goal of providing help in the medical care, education and recreation of children.
Since the end of the war, Pacolli has set up in Lugano, the Foundation for the Organisation and Reconstruction of Kosovo (FORK), through which he has been channelling aid to the province.
Pacolli has employed several thousand Kosovar Albanians in projects across the world, as well as building houses, providing food, and opening schools for famililes.

Pacolli’s humanitarian foundation “Behgjet Pacolli” has constructed and furnished the American University in Kosovo
American University in Kosovo
The American University in Kosovo is located in the Germia district of Pristina, Kosovo. It is affiliated with Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York....

, in Pristina.http://www.aukonline.org/?cid=1,129 and now students from around the world attend including the ones from Kosovo.

Pacolli also financially supports the SEED Foundation (South East European Development) and is an international councillor of the CSIS (Centre for Strategic and International Studies)
Center for Strategic and International Studies
The Center for Strategic and International Studies is a bipartisan Washington, D.C., foreign policy think tank. The center was founded in 1962 by Admiral Arleigh Burke and Ambassador David Manker Abshire, originally as part of Georgetown University...

.

On July 2010, International Union for Peace honoured the president of AKR (New Kosovo Alliance), Mr. Behgjet Pacolli with the special price "Cavaliere della Pace", (Cavalier of Peace). Mr. Pacolli is well known for his humanitarian activities during the last decades toward the people not only in Kosovo, but also around the world.

Honours and awards

  • Honorable titles from Technology University in Rochester
  • Certificate of Thanks from AUK ( American University in Kosova)
  • Highest honors of the country of Russian Federation
  • Honorable citizen of Astana
    Astana
    Astana , formerly known as Akmola , Tselinograd and Akmolinsk , is the capital and second largest city of Kazakhstan, with an officially estimated population of 708,794 as of 1 August 2010...

    , Kazakhstan
    Kazakhstan
    Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...

     Republic
  • Honors of TMK
    TMK
    TMK was the designation of a Soviet Union space exploration project to send a manned flight to Mars and Venus without landing....

  • Highest honors of Country of Peru
    Peru
    Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

    , President of Peru
  • Recognition from Nelson Mandela Foundation
  • Recognition from President Clinton
  • Honorable Diplomat of country Liberia
    Liberia
    Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...

  • Doctor honoris causa of European University of Tirana
    European University of Tirana
    The European University of Tirana is a private university in Tirana, Albania. It was established in 2006 by six Albanian intellectuals: the four academics, Adri Nurellari, Blendi Kajsiu, Ermal Hasimja and Henri Çili; the manager Laert Duraj and the journalist Robert Rakipllari.UET has been...

    : On 21 March 2011 received a copy of the key of the city of Tirana
    Tirana
    Tirana is the capital and the largest city of Albania. Modern Tirana was founded as an Ottoman town in 1614 by Sulejman Bargjini, a local ruler from Mullet, although the area has been continuously inhabited since antiquity. Tirana became Albania's capital city in 1920 and has a population of over...

     on the occasion of his state visit to Albania.
  • Gusi Peace Prize
    Gusi Peace Prize
    The Gusi Peace Prize is a Philippines based award recognising individuals working toward the attainment of peace and respect for human life and dignity....

    , Philippines
    Philippines
    The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...


External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK