Who is Who – Hekuran Murati: Kurti’s “accountant” who knows how to “fix the numbers”

Former Self-Determination MP Aida Dërguti once remarked that the current caretaker Minister of Finance, Hekuran Murati, had turned into an “accountant who knows how to adjust the numbers for the auditors.” Yet numbers did not work in his favor when the Kosovo Assembly voted on his candidacy for Speaker of Parliament.

Murati, the caretaker Minister of Finance, became Self-Determination’s third unsuccessful nominee for Speaker, after Albulena Haxhiu and Donika Gervalla. He received 57 votes in favor, 52 against, and six abstentions.

“An illegal minister”

For many, Murati’s failure came as no surprise, given the sharp criticism he often faces from the opposition. Recently, LDK MP Hikmete Bajrami called on the prosecution to investigate Murati, alleging that since March 27 he had been continuously engaged in criminal activity. She claimed that both Murati and caretaker Prime Minister Albin Kurti had not only acted unlawfully but had rendered other institutions unconstitutional.

These accusations followed the Supreme Court’s annulment of an administrative directive signed by Murati, which had suspended the sale and subscription of fiscal cash registers for 60 days. The Court ruled that Murati appeared simultaneously as both an MP and a minister, a situation it deemed incompatible.

Unfulfilled promises

Ferat Shala, Chair of the Assembly’s Committee on Economy, criticized Murati for failing to fulfill any campaign promises.

“It is true that the government, and specifically the Minister of Finance, has not kept a single promise made during the campaign,” Shala said.

He further accused Murati of failing to regulate the market, while also raising property taxes on businesses, making it harder for them to operate.

Clash with the President

In April this year, Murati clashed with President Vjosa Osmani after her request to the government to abolish tariffs on U.S.-origin products was posted on social media almost simultaneously with its official submission. Murati claimed he only learned of the request “after working hours,” as it had been sent to the government at 17:39, but added that fiscal policy falls under the competence of the executive.

Osmani’s advisor, Bekim Kupina, responded that Murati was “the last person in Kosovo who can speak of seriousness.”

Brawl in the Assembly

Murati is not known only for numbers. In July 2023, he was involved in a physical altercation in the Kosovo Assembly. A year later, after a political agreement between PDK MPs and Self-Determination ministers, the case was dropped.

The fight involved PDK MPs Mergim Lushtaku, Bekim Haxhiu, and Hajdar Beqa, alongside Deputy Prime Minister Besnik Bislimi and Minister Hekuran Murati. The incident began when PDK MP Lushtaku poured water on Prime Minister Albin Kurti during his address. Bislimi retaliated by throwing a bottle of water, triggering a broader scuffle with shoving and punches. Murati later claimed it was a premeditated action by PDK deputies intended to provoke an incident.

World Bank report controversy

Murati also came under fire last year after claiming that a World Bank report had been misrepresented in Kosovo and that unemployment had in fact seen the fastest decline by the end of 2023.

“A few days ago we witnessed how media close to the opposition attempted to misuse the World Bank report, misquoting it and claiming that it contradicted government data,” Murati wrote on Facebook.

According to him, during this government’s mandate almost twice as many jobs were created as under all previous governments combined. Nevertheless, the World Bank report ranked Kosovo last in the region in terms of employment rate—only 37 percent. Experts attributed this to workforce emigration and inadequate economic policy.

Six years in politics

Hekuran Murati was born in 1987 in Ferizaj/Urosevac. He entered politics in 2019 after graduating from the American University in Kosovo. In the 2021 elections, he was among the MPs who won the highest number of votes. He describes himself as an investment expert and holds shares in companies such as Volkswagen, Netflix, and Tesla.