Ethem Çeku (born 1962) is a historian and former soldier and politician in Kosovo. He was an officer in the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) in the 1998–99 Kosovo War and a minister in the government of Kosovo from 2002 to 2008. Çeku is a member of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK).
He is a cousin of former Kosovan prime minister Agim Çeku.Scott Taylor, "'One of the most dangerous place on Earth': Secret guerrilla armies. Neighbours stoning school buses. Two peoples living in terror and hatred: Three years later, war-ravaged Kosovo remains a powderkeg," Ottawa Citizen, 22 June 2002, B1.
Kosovo War Çeku was a commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army in the area of Peja during the Kosovo War."FOCUS-Italians find child corpses in Kosovo," Reuters News, 16 June 1999."Italian troops stop armed Serbs as KLA takes over Pec," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring Newsfile, 16 June 1999 (Source: ANSA news agency database, Rome, in English 16 Jun 99). After the end of the war in June 1999, he brought reporters to what he said was a torture chamber operated by Serbian police in the city. He said that 395 ethnic Albanians had been brought to a jail next to the police station in the final three months of the war and that their current whereabouts were unknown."KLA leader reveals Serb torture chamber in Pec," Reuters News, 18 June 1999.
Politician Interim leader of Peja (1999–2000) At the end of the Kosovo War, the Kosovo Liberation Army appointed Çeku as interim mayor of Peja."Kosovo Albanians set up civilian authorities in several western Kosovo towns," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European – Political, 18 June 1999 (Source: Albanian TV, Tirana, in Albanian 1635 gmt 18 Jun 99). He continued to wear his combat fatigues to work and carried an AK-47, despite demands from international forces that the KLA disarm.John Reed with James M. Dorsey, "Into the Void: Justice Gets Rough In Kosovo as Serbs Flee, KFOR Arrives," The Wall Street Journal Europe, 21 June 1999, p. 1.
In response to an attack on a Serbian Orthodox church in Peja in July 1999, Çeku said, "I feel very sorry about that church, and we're all for preserving the old buildings. But we're very allergic to churches built since 1990. They are churches of politics, not churches of religion."Richard Lloyd Parry, "Churches `symbols of occupation'," The Independent, 1 August 1999, p. 9.
Çeku met with United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan during the latter's visit to the province in October 1999.Pierre Briand, "Annan visiting devastated eastern Kosovo by," Agence France Presse, 14 October 1999.
The United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) appointed Jose Manuel Sucre as municipal administrator of Peja later in 1999, and Çeku was reassigned as chairman of the Peja municipal council."Kosovo hunger strikers demand the release of prisoners from Serbian jails," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European – Political, 9 May 2000 (Source: Kosovapress news agency web site in Albanian 8 May 00). In May 2000, Çeku signed a statement on behalf of the council that there was not yet any possibility of allowing Serb refugees to return to the area."Ethnic Albanian official says the return of Serbs to western Kosovo premature," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring Service: Central Europe & Balkans, 15 May 2000 (Source: Kosovapress news agency web site in Albanian 12 May 00). He attended talks in Washington, D.C., in July 2000; the talks did not deal with the status of Kosovo but rather with ending the ongoing violence between the Serb and Albanian communities and creating conditions for democratic institutions."Group names Kosovo Serbs, Albanians participating in Washington conference," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European - Political, 19 July 2000 (Source: Beta news agency, Belgrade, in Serbo-Croat 1334 gmt 18 Jul 00)."Kosovo Serbs and Albanians sign declaration to end violence - agency," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European - Political, 26 July 2000 (Source: Beta news agency, Belgrade, in Serbo-Croat 1418 gmt 25 Jul 00).
The Peja region was threatened by serious forest fires in August 2000, and Çeku was described as deploying all of the forces of the municipality to prevent an environmental catastrophe."Forest fires in Pec region threaten Kosovo with 'environmental catastrophe'," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring Service: Central Europe & Balkans, 31 August 2000 (Source: Kosovapress news agency web site in Albanian 26 Aug 00).
Çeku appeared in the second position on the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo's electoral list for Peja in the 2000 Kosovan local elections and placed first among the party's candidates, winning election to the local assembly.Zgjedhjet për Kuvende Komunale 2000 – Fletëvotimet dhe listat e kandidatëve (Pejë – Lista e kandidatëve) , Central Election Commission, Republic of Kosovo, accessed 13 January 2022.ZGJEDHJET PËR KUVENDE KOMUNALE 2000 – Rezultatet dhe Statistikat (Kandidatët e zgjedhur sipas subjekteve) , Central Election Commission, Republic of Kosovo, accessed 22 January 2022. The Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) won a majority victory in the city, and his term as council leader came to an end.
Cabinet minister (2002–08) Minister of Environment and Urban Planning (2002–04) Çeku oversaw the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo's election headquarters in the 2001 Kosovan parliamentary election and introduced its election list to the media in September 2001."Party led by Haradinaj names candidates for parliamentary elections," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring – European, 21 September 2001 (Source: KosovaLive web site, Pristina, in English 21 Sep 01). He himself appeared in the eleventh position on the list.LISTA E KANDIDATËVE PËR ZGJEDHJET PARLAMENTARE 2001 NE KOSOVË, , Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, accessed 21 March 2024. The election was held under closed list proportional representation; the AAK won eight seats, and he was not elected.
The AAK joined Kosovo's coalition government after the election and received two cabinet positions. When the new ministry was formed on 4 April 2002, Çeku was appointed as minister of environment and urban planning."Kosovo Assembly votes in president, prime minister, government," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European – Political, 4 March 2002 (Source: RTK television, Pristina, in Albanian 0950 gmt 4 Mar 02). Following his appointment, he said his first priority would be the development and implementation of a legal structure for his ministry; once this was in place, his focus would turn to building industrial zones and infrastructure, environmental protection, and management of natural resources. He said that Pristina's growing illegal construction sector was a serious problem and also accused neighbouring Macedonia of "invading" 2,500 hectares of Kosovo's territory."Kosovo environment minister discusses priorities with British diplomats," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European – Political, 24 March 2002 (Source: Kosovapress news agency web site, Pristina, in Albanian 22 Mar 02).
In a November 2003 interview, Çeku highlighted his ministry's work in promulgating laws on environment and spatial planning and expressed hope that the assembly would soon approve further laws on water supply, housing, and the Bjeshkët e Nemuna range. He identified limited finances and a lack of qualified employees as his department's main challenges and called for additional funding from international donors."Kosovo minister complains of lack of financial means to solve citizens' problems," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 26 November 2003 (Source: KosovaLive web site, Pristina, in English 24 Nov 03).
Çeku was injured in a February 2004 car bomb attack in Peja. The injuries were minor, and he was treated at a local hospital. Police did not identify a motive for the attack."Top U.N. official, government condemn attack on Kosovo minister," Associated Press Newswires, 22 February 2004.
In May 2004, Çeku met with Albanian public works and tourism minister Bashkim Fino in Pristina. Their talks covered illegal housing construction, tourism, and the integration of Kosovo's highway system with Albania and Macedonia."Kosovo, Albanian ministers discuss cooperation in planning issues, tourism," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 16 May 2004 (Source: KosovaLive web site, Pristina, in Albanian 14 May 04). The following month, Çeku presented Kosovo's Strategy for Sustainable Environmental Development at a public event at the University of Pristina, and the Kosovo assembly approved his ministry's bill on Kosovo's waters."Kosovo ministry presents strategy for sustainable environmental development," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 1 June 2004 (Source: KosovaLive web site, Pristina, in English 1 Jun 04)."Kosovo Assembly passes laws on contracts, inheritance, water assets," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 19 June 2004 (Source: KosovaLive web site, Pristina, in English 17 Jun 04).
Çeku and Turkish environment minister Osman Pepe signed a protocol on environmental cooperation in September 2004."TURKEY AND KOSOVO SIGN ENVIRONMENTAL COOPERATION PROTOCOL," Anadolu Agency, 15 September 2004.
Minister of Energy (2004–08) Çeku was given the eighth position on the AAK's electoral list in the 2004 Kosovan parliamentary election and was elected when the list won nine seats.ZGJEDHJET PËR KUVENDIN E KOSOVËS 2004 – Fletëvotimi për Zgjedhjet për Kuvend të Kosovës 2004 (Lista e Kandidatëve për Zgjedhjet për Kuvend të Kosovës 2004), Central Election Commission, Republic of Kosovo, accessed 21 January 2022. His first parliamentary term was brief; the Democratic League of Kosovo formed a new coalition government with the AAK after the election, and Çeku was appointed as minister of energy when the ministry was formed on 3 December 2004."Serbia's Kosovo New Cabinet," SeeNews, 3 December 2004. He was also appointed to a lead role in the development of Kosovo's economic development strategy."Official says Kosovo government neglecting previous development strategy," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 3 May 2005 (Source: Koha Ditore, Pristina, in Albanian 2 May 05 p 5).
Shortly after his appointment as energy minister, Çeku took part in a public debate with Nexhat Daci, who was then president of the Assembly of Kosovo. Daci proposed shutting down the Kosovo A Power Station, which he described as obsolete, and replacing it with a series of smaller plants. Çeku argued for revitalizing Kosovo A and restarting the Kosovo B plant, and for targeting unmetered connections to Kosovo's power grid."Kosovo energy minister rejects idea of pulling down existing power station," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 5 February 2005 (Source: KosovaLive web site, Pristina, in English 4 Feb 05).