JUSUF OSMANI, archivist (1986)
Archival material on the agrarian reform and colonization in Kosovo 1918–1941. Mentor: Jože Žontar. Promotion: November 18, 1986
He received his doctorate in Archival Science from the Department of History in 1986 and became the first doctor of Archival Science in Kosovo. He dedicated his work to the field and published several works on the subject. Since 2001, he has been the director of the Kosovo Archive in Priština.
I received my Ph.D. in 1986 from Professor Jože Žontar on the topic of agrarian reform and colonization in Kosovo in 1918-1941. The dissertation opened the path to research for me. The resulting methodology for researching and publishing archival material has helped me to work in numerous archives and publish over 80 books with archival materials. I have made many friends in the field of Archival Science in Slovenia, Croatia, all over Yugoslavia and abroad. I have shared experiences and literature with them, and we are still in touch. Archival Science matters most to me and made me what I am.
Photo from the doctoral ceremony. Jusuf Osmani sits third from the right. At the same time, the following students received the title of Doctor of Science: Boris Kožuh in Pedagogy, Jože Muhović in Philosophy, Radmila Petrović in Musicology, Tomislav Šola in Museology, Mihajlo Božović in Law, Leopoldina Bregar in Economics, Jure Banovec in Civil Engineering, Jadran Lenarčič in Robotics, and Andrej Pehani in Electrical Engineering. Source: Personal archive of Jusuf Osmani.
Ibrahim Gashi, historian and former Rector of the University of Priština:
Thanks to the knowledge gained by Professor Osmani during his doctoral studies in Ljubljana, our faculty obtained a master's degree in Archival Science. The students who completed it now work in public institutions that are part of the National Archives and are responsible for storing and editing our documents.
Jusuf Osmani at the Faculty of Arts, University of Pristina.
Bujar Dugolli, historian and Dean of the Faculty of Arts, University of Priština:
The faculty has a good relationship with Professor Osmani. His studies were very relevant to the composition of the master’s program in Archival Studies. He is also a valuable contributor to us, even after his retirement. As a doctoral student at the University of Ljubljana, he proved himself an intellectual, a professor who has devoted his entire life to books, archives, and the dissemination of knowledge in Kosovo.
Jusuf Osmani based three of his books on colonization in Kosovo on his dissertation.