Donika Gërvalla-Schwarz facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Donika Gërvalla-Schwarz
Official portrait, 2022
Second Deputy Prime Minister of Kosovo
Incumbent
Assumed office 22 March 2021
President	Glauk Konjufca (Acting) Vjosa Osmani
Prime Minister	Albin Kurti
Preceded by	Driton Selmanaj
8th Minister of Foreign Affairs
Caretaker from 23 March 2025
Assumed office 22 March 2021
President	Glauk Konjufca (Acting) Vjosa Osmani
Prime Minister	Albin Kurti
Preceded by	Meliza Haradinaj-Stublla Besnik Tahiri (Acting)
Personal details
Born	Donika Gërvalla (1971-10-16) 16 October 1971 (age 53) Skopje, SR Macedonia, SFR Yugoslavia
Political party	Guxo (2021–present)
Other political affiliations	Democratic League of Kosovo (until 2020)
Spouse	Stefan Schwarz
Children	5
Parent	Jusuf Gërvalla (father)
Alma mater	University of Hamburg
Signature

Donika Gërvalla-Schwarz (born on October 16, 1971) is a politician from Kosovo. She is a member of the Guxo political group, which is part of the Vetëvendosje political party. Since 2021, she has been the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Second Deputy Prime Minister in the government led by Albin Kurti. Donika Gërvalla-Schwarz is also the daughter of Jusuf Gërvalla, a well-known Albanian activist who was killed. She leads the centre-right political party called Guxo!.

Early Life and Education

Donika Gërvalla-Schwarz was born in Skopje, which is now part of North Macedonia. Her family was Kosovo Albanian. Her father, Jusuf Gërvalla, was an activist who believed in strong ideas for his people.

In 1980, when Donika was young, her family had to leave their home in Pristina. They moved to West Germany because her father was in danger from the government's secret police in Yugoslavia. In 1982, her father was killed in Untergruppenbach. After this sad event, her family moved to Tirana, Albania.

Donika grew up mostly in Tirana. She took part in student protests against the government in Albania at that time. She studied music in Tirana. In 1992, she went back to Germany to finish her studies. Later, she earned a law degree from the University of Hamburg.

Political Career

Donika Gërvalla-Schwarz became an honorary member of the Democratic League of Kosovo in 1991. She then served as the deputy leader of the party from 1993 to 1997. After that, she was the spokesperson for the party's branch in Germany until 1999.

During the Kosovo War, she often spoke in German media and to politicians about Kosovo's situation. In 2015, she returned to politics and was again chosen to lead the party's German branch. She worked closely with another Kosovan politician, Vjosa Osmani, to try and make changes within the party.

In 2018, Donika Gërvalla-Schwarz left all her leadership roles in the party. She officially left the party in 2020. In 2021, she joined a new political group called Guxo. She ran as a candidate in the 2021 Kosovan parliamentary election and was elected to the Assembly.

However, she resigned from her seat in the Assembly. This was because Albin Kurti chose her to be the Second Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister in his government. When Vjosa Osmani became president of Kosovo in April 2021, Donika Gërvalla-Schwarz became the leader of Guxo!. This happened because the rules in Kosovo say that the president cannot lead a political party.

Donika Gërvalla-Schwarz has spoken about how people were given jobs in the Foreign Ministry because of who they knew, not because they were good at the job. She said this made Kosovo's diplomats not taken seriously by other countries. She wants to make sure that people get jobs in the ministry based on their skills. She knows this will take time to fix.

Personal Life

Donika Gërvalla-Schwarz is married to Stefan Schwarz, who is a German politician. They have five children together. Stefan Schwarz was a member of the German parliament, called the Bundestag, from 1990 to 1994. He was part of the Christian Democratic Union party.

The family lived in Bonn, Germany. However, Donika Gërvalla-Schwarz moved back to Kosovo in 2021 before the election.