Senior official of the ruling Kosovo Democratic Party Fehmi Mujota confirmed on Tuesday that he has been appointed as Kosovo's first defense minister.

"I have the confirmation from Prime Minister (Hashim Thaci), I was appointed as a defense minister," Mujota said.

Mujota, 45, is currently serving as a deputy in the Kosovo parliament. He was formerly a member of the Kosovo Liberation Army(KLA) and later served as mayor of Shtime, a small municipality inthe south-east Kosovo. Mujota holds a double citizenship of Kosovo and Sweden.

According to Comprehensive Status Proposal of former UN envoy Marti Ahtisaari, a new professional and multi-ethnic Kosovo Security Force (KSF) with 2,500 active and 800 reserve members will be established.

Mujota will lead the establishment of KSF. Meanwhile, he has to dissolve Kosovo Protection Corps, a security force with over 5,000 members that emerged after the KLA transformation.

Despite the emerging KSF, NATO-led 16,000-strong peacekeepers will remain in charge of security in the ethnic Albanian-dominated Kosovo.

Kosovo, which unilaterally declared independence from Serbia on Feb. 17, has been recognized by 43 countries including the United States and most EU nations, but is fiercely opposed by Serbia and Russia.

(Xinhua News Agency August 6, 2008)