Saturday, April 14, 2007

Arifhikmet Xhemaili elected new culture minister

The Macedonian Parliament elected DPA member Arifhikmet Xhemaili as the new Minister of Culture, replacing Ilirijan Bekiri from the post. A total of 63 MPs voted in favor of Xhemaili's election. Earlier, SDSM deputies left the session claiming they did not want to take part in a debate where their discussions were being censored.

Xhemaili replaces Ilirijan Bekiri, who submitted his resignation on April 2 following the affair regarding ban of theater play "Tito, Certain Diagrams of Hope".

Xhemaili is a member of DPA Central Presidency and former vice president on instruction at Tetovo State University. He was born on November 17, 1953, lives in village Bogovinje, married with three children. He graduated at the Pristina Music Academy in 1981, followed by an M.A. degree in choir conducting at the Novobugarski University in Sofia. Xhemaili has conducted over 50 concerts in Macedonia and abroad, receiving a number of awards and recognitions.

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