Kosovo's Hashim Thaci: from rebel leader to president-elect

Hashim Thaci, elected Kosovo's new president on Friday, is a former insurgent known as the "Snake" who swapped combat fatigues for a politician's suit and now dreams of taking Kosovo into the European Union.

For nearly two decades he has played a dominant role in Kosovo's political scene, making his name during the 1998-1999 war with Serbia as political leader of the pro-independence ethnic Albanian Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA).

The tall, grey-haired 47-year-old, who served more than seven years as prime minister is currently foreign minister, saw his popularity soar when Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 just three months after he won an election.

But his image has been tarnished by a 2011 Council of Europe report that linked him to organised crime and organ smuggling during and after the war with Serbia -- charges he strongly denies.

The father-of-one is also accused of corruption by protesters, who took to the streets to try to stop him from becoming president amid anger over Kosovo's slow development and lack of jobs.

Thaci nevertheless remains upbeat about his profile, telling AFP earlier this month that as president he would be "the symbol of unity for all citizens of Kosovo".

Born on April 24, 1968 in the Drenica region of central Kosovo -- a hotbed of ethnic Albanian separatism ?- Thaci was involved in passive resistance to the Belgrade authorities from the early 1990s as a student.

He later moved to Switzerland -- home to a large Albanian nationalist diaspora -- where he studied history.

Together with ultra-leftists in the diaspora, he quickly became frustrated by the policy of peaceful opposition to Belgrade followed by late Kosovo president Ibrahim Rugova.

Instead he corralled other like-minded ethnic Albanians into an underground guerrilla army, the KLA, to take on the forces of then Serbia strongman Slobodan Milosevic.

Thaci earned the nom de guerre of "Snake" during the conflict, which ended after the 1999 NATO intervention that ousted Serbian forces and established UN administration over Kosovo.

- 'Gerry Adams of Kosovo' -

Thaci downed his guns and donned a suit, becoming known in the West as the "Gerry Adams of Kosovo" after his counterpart in Sinn Fein, the political wing of the Irish Republican Army.

He won elections in November 2007 after the death the previous year of Rugova, who was regarded as the father of the nation and had proved unbeatable in all post-war polls.

Three months later, under Thaci's leadership, Kosovo declared independence from Serbia.

He has since sought to promote himself as a moderate politician and has cultivated a casual image, often dressing down and taking to Facebook in a bid to attract younger voters.

Recently he has devoted his energies to EU-brokered talks with his former foe Serbia that culminated in a landmark April 2013 deal to normalise ties.

After the marathon negotiations, he admitted that signing the agreement with Serbia was his "most difficult moment".

The controversial deal, which includes plans to give more powers to Kosovo's Serb minority, has proved a tipping point for protests in and outside parliament against Thaci and his government colleagues.

While improved relations with Serbia are a step towards Thaci's dream of joining the EU, many are sceptical about whether he is the man to unite Kosovo and lead it into the bloc.

"I am afraid that we will continue to see consolidated chaos," said political analyst Bekim Kupina.

"Kosovo will continue on the path to Europe with the speed of a turtle."