The Kosovo Transitional Council, (sq|Këshilli Tranzitor i Kosovës, sr|Прелазни савет Косово, Prelazni savet Kosovo), was an advisory body that existed in Kosovo between July 1999 and November 2001 during the period that the United Nations was directly responsible for the governance of Kosovo. The council was replaced by the Assembly of Kosovo following elections held in November 2001.
| First Kosovo Transitional Council | |
| House Type: | Unicamaral |
| Leader1 Type: | Chair |
| Leader1: | Bernard Kouchner |
| Members: | 12 |
| Voting System1: | Appointed |
| Meeting Place: | Pristina |
A twelve member transitional council was formed on 16 July 1999. Chaired by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, the council was the described as being the highest political consultative body within the United Nations administration. Its purpose was to offer the main political parties and ethnic communities in Kosovo an opportunity for direct input into the decision-making process of UNMIK.[1] The first meeting of the council was at the former MUP headquarters in Pristina and subsequent meetings were held at UNMIK headquarters.[2]
The membership of the first transitional council was as follows:
| Name | Role | |
|---|---|---|
| Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Kosovo Ex-officio chairman of the council | ||
| Ibrahim Rugova[3] [4] | Representative of the Democratic League of Kosovo (Albanian) | |
| Vacant | Representative of the Democratic League of Kosovo (Albanian) | |
| Representative of the Kosovo Liberation Army (Albanian) | ||
| Representative of the Kosovo Liberation Army (Albanian) | ||
| Representative of the United Democratic Movement (Albanian) | ||
| Mehmet Hajrizi | Representative of the United Democratic Movement (Albanian) | |
| Independent representative of the Albanian community | ||
| Blerim Shala | Independent representative of the Albanian community | |
| Bishop Artemije | Representative of the Serbian Orthodox Church (Serb) | |
| Momcilo Trajkovic | Representative of the Serbian Resistance Movement (Serb) | |
| Numan Balic | Representative of the Party of Democratic Action (Bosniak) | |
| Sezair Shaipi | Representative of Turkish People's Party (Turk) | |
| Commander of the Kosovo Force Observer |
| Second Kosovo Transitional Council | |
| House Type: | Unicamaral |
| Leader1 Type: | Chair |
| Members: | 36 |
| Voting System1: | Appointed |
| Meeting Place: | Pristina |
In January 2000, Joint Interim Administrative Structure was established.[5] The membership of the transitional council was expanded to 35 and it assumed the role of a deliberative assembly. A transitional cabinet, known as the Interim Administrative Council, with eight members, four of which were appointed by UNMIK and four by political parties represented in the transitional council was also established at this time.[6] [7]
The council had 36 members[8] and would meet on a bi-weekly basis. It had four committees, each made up of 15 members; Tolerance and Protection of Local Communities, Detainees and Missing Persons, Economic Affairs and Education.[9]
The membership of the second transitional council was as follows:[10]