Liza Gashi

Liza Gashi is the Acting Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora in Kosovo and an elected member of the Parliament of the Republic of Kosovo. She is a leader, innovator, social entrepreneur, and policy analyst with expertise in migration, diaspora engagement, public and digital diplomacy, and civic advocacy.

Liza is the founder and former executive director of GERMIN, a leading nonprofit focused on diaspora engagement in the Western Balkans. GERMIN has played a pivotal role in shaping national policies on diaspora matters and advancing the development and democratization of home countries. She also founded KosovoDiaspora.org, a digital platform that has promoted Kosovo’s statehood internationally, and previously led UWC Kosova, an education initiative that helped place Kosova’s youth leaders into top international institutions.

Her extensive experience spans international organizations such as the United Nations Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (UNDPA), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and IREX. Gashi’s work has consistently aimed at strengthening migration and foreign policy, as well as fostering innovation in global diplomacy.

Fluent in Albanian, English, and Spanish, Gashi holds a Master of Public Administration (MPA) from Arizona State University and a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations, Political Science, and Spanish from Wartburg College in Iowa. She is also an alumna of United World College in Costa Rica and the National University of Córdoba in Argentina.