ABSTRACT
During the dissolution of Yugoslavia, Ibrahim Rugova struggled with the abolishment of his native Kosovo's autonomy and the nation's transition from communism to political pluralism. Widely regarded by Kosovars as the "father" of the Kosovo nation, he helped establish the first legal political party after the collapse of communism, a party that became a national movement for Kosovar Albanians who sought equality and self-determination within Yugoslavia. Rugova was born on December 2, 1944, in Cerrca, a village in Istok, Kosovo. Weeks later, he became an orphan when communist partisans executed his father and grandfather in January 1945. During the late 1980s, Kosovo went through a series of tumultuous events. After Serbia revoked Kosovo's autonomy, Kosovar Albanians strongly opposed the Serbian regime. Rugova's Writers Union became the center of the anti-Serbian movement. In April 1988, the organization presented a draft of the national Albanian program and emerged as the main voice of Kosovo to the national and international communities.
