December 28, 2001
The chief United Nations administrator in Kosovo, Hans Haekkerup, has resigned.
Mr Haekkerup, 56, said in a statement he was stepping down due to family reasons as his wife was expected to give birth in February. "After a very intensive year in Kosovo, I look forward to spending more time with my family before taking up new challenges."
In praise of his own record, he said he had established substantial autonomy for Kosovo, initiated dialogue with Yugoslavia, strengthened law enforcement and revived the province's economy.
A UN statement said General Secretary Kofi Annan "greatly regretted Mr Haekkerup's departure, although he respected his decision". Mr Annan added that the deputy UN representative in Kosovo, Charles Brayshaw, would be in charge of the mission until a successor was appointed.
Tributes
The United States said it regretted Mr Haekkerup's decision, noting his role in bringing peace and democracy to Kosovo.
Mr Haekkerup's announcement also came as a surprise to the people of Kosovo. An official from Kosovo's main political party said they had mixed feelings about Mr Haekkerup's departure.
"We supported Mr Haekkerup's activity at the beginning, but we also strongly rejected some of the documents he signed with Belgrade," Alush Gashi, of the Democratic League of Kosovo, told Reuters news agency.
The head of the Serbian group in the Kosovan assembly, Rada Trajkovic, however, praised Mr Haekkerup's record. "I think that it is not good that this happened at this moment. I am sorry he is leaving," she said.
Key player
Mr Haekkerup, a former Danish defence minister, became Kosovo's UN administrator last January after replacing Bernard Kouchner, and he was expected to renew his contract for another year. He played a key role in the political process leading to Kosovo's first general elections in November after the Nato bombing campaign against Yugoslavia in 1999.
His office drafted a UN blueprint for new provisional institutions and also helped to persuade Belgrade to encourage Kosovo Serbs to participate in the vote.
Mr Haekkerup's resignation comes two weeks before the second session of the Kosovo parliament, which failed to elect a president earlier this month.
Some ethnic Albanians criticised him for the way he handled the inaugural session, which was marred by a walkout of the province's second largest party.
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