Tak for lån , Hr. Petersen

UNMIK head, Mr. Soren Jessen-Petersen, has finally made public the fact that he is leaving Kosovo at the end of June. He states personal - most likely family health reasons for leaving. He will be joining his family in Washington. Jessen-Petersen took over two years ago fromhis fellow Dane, Hans Haekkerup Harri Holkeri to become the most beloved UNMIK head.

Outshining Haekkerup Holkeri was not hard. He is remembered as the least effective man to have run UNMIK. He was notorious for taking helicopter flights when visiting out of Pristina, for spending as much time visiting with Belgrade leaders as he did with those in Prishtina, for consulting New York on every matter, and for the March riots which awoke him and his administration from the deep sleep.

But Jessen-Petersen went above and beyond. He engaged the local leaders in a personal level and was able to ask for more out of them in return. Under his leadership Kosovo did not face fewer challenges, just the opposite. There have been two more years with power cuts, two more with unemployment at high levels, and two more years with an economy in shambles and hostage of Serbia - that’s two more years too many.

But Jessen-Petersen was able to get the processes going and recognize that devolution of authority to the local leadership was the way to go. On the ground he was quick to recognize that independence was the only way possible. And that the real issue at hand was the rights of Serb minority under this independence. Going ahead with privatization took guts too, although it was far from a perfect execution.

Among his failures, I would list the ongoing corruption problem and his failure to punish it. Judicial system has also not gotten much attention and remains virtually inoperative. During his reign Serbs for the most part have remained out of the institutions. Today they bluntly declared that their situation has not improved since he took over, although statistics show a remarkably different picture. They are right to expect more.

Because I recognize how tough it is to act and at the same time represent the interests and feelings of UN member states, Jessen-Petersen's bold leadership become the more powerful. On June 12, the 7th anniversary of the entrance of NATO forces, I thank him for the time he took far away from his family and wish him the best of luck on whatever needs his immediate attention.