The new Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) defence minister Talat Xhaferi assumed office in a ceremony held in the presence of the outgoing minister Fatmir Besimi, also ethnic Albanian.
Talat Xhaferi (aka Commandant Forina) was born in the area of Gostivar in 1962. Educated in Belgrade, he joined the Yugoslav National Army, and after independence in 1991,
Xhaferi went on to become a high-ranking officer in the ARM, in command of the Tetovo Barracks. When war broke out in 2001, Xhaferi deserted his post, and joined an NLA terrorist cell, calling itself the 116th Brigade, in the mountains surrounding Gostivar. After the war, the Amnesty Law legally absolved him of his crimes, and he became a Member of Parliament for the DUI, a political party and governing coalition partner, headed by former NLA terrorist leader Ali Ahmeti.