Blerta kllokoqi rugova

The President of Kosovo, Ibrahim Rugova, died on 21 January 2006, after losing a battle with lung cancer.

The once chain-smoking, haggard and dishevelled man with his trademark scarf around his neck, had spent more than 16 years at the centre of Kosovan politics, pushing to establish the province as a democratic, sovereign state independent of Serbia.

Ibrahim Rugova led passive resistance in Kosovo in the 1990s

The United Nations - still administering Kosovo - has launched talks on the final status of the province.

Mr Rugova's long-held vision of a new Balkan future will face a crucial test after his death - largely because of the iconic - if slightly mysterious - aura surrounding his life.

Hailed as the "comeback kid" of Balkan politics when he won Kosovo's presidency in 2002, Mr Rugova's Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) party was forced to share power after parliamentary elections in 2001.

An atmosphere of mutual distrust has soured relations between the L