United Nations Administered Kosovo in the context of "United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo"

The Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija (Serbian: Косово и Метохиja, romanized: Kosovo i Metohija; Albanian: Kosova dhe Metohia), commonly known as Kosovo (Serbian: Косово; Albanian: Kosova) and abbreviated to Kosmet (from Kosovo and Metohija; Serbian: Космет) or KiM (Serbian: КиМ), is an autonomous province that occupies the southernmost corner of Serbia. However, the territory is the subject of an ongoing political and territorial dispute between the Republic of Serbia and the partially recognised Government of Kosovo, with the APKM being viewed as the de jure interpretation of the territory under Serbian law; however, the Serbian government currently does not control the territories because they are administered by the Republic of Kosovo. Its claimed administrative capital and largest city is Pristina.

The territory of the province, as defined by Serbian laws, lies in the southern part of Serbia and covers the regions of Kosovo and Metohija. The territory was previously an autonomous province of Serbia during Socialist Yugoslavia (1946–1990), and acquired its current status in 1990. The province was governed as part of Serbia until the Kosovo War (1998–99), when it came under United Nations (UN) administration in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244, but still remained internationally recognized as part of the then Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. On 17 February 2008, representatives of the people of Kosovo (Albanian: Udhëheqësit e popullit tonë, të zgjedhur në mënyrë demokratike) unilaterally and extra-institutionally declared Kosovo's independence, which is internationally recognized by 108 UN members. While it is de facto independent from Serbia, Serbia still regards it as its province.

The United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK; Albanian: Misioni i Administratës së Përkohshme të Kombeve të Bashkuara në Kosovë; Serbian: Привремена административна мисија Уједињених нација на Косову, romanized: Privremena administrativna misija Ujedinjenih nacija na Kosovu) is an officially mandated United Nations mission in Kosovo. UNMIK describes its mandate as being to "help the United Nations Security Council achieve an overall objective, namely, to ensure conditions for a peaceful and normal life for all inhabitants of Kosovo and advance regional stability in the Western Balkans."

The UNMIK was established pursuant to Security Council Resolution 1244, which was passed on 10 June 1999. The Resolution authorised an international civil and military presence in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. In that Resolution, the UN decided to "[deploy] in Kosovo, under United Nations auspices, [an] international civil and security [presence]".

The United Nations Temporary Executive Authority (UNTEA) was established on 1 October 1962 in accord with Article two of the New York Agreement to administer the former Dutch colony of West New Guinea until it was handed over to Indonesia on 1st May 1963.

This was the first time in its history that the United Nations assumed direct administrative responsibility for a territory, as opposed to monitoring or supervising. The United Nations would go on to undertake similar missions in Cambodia (UNTAC), Croatia (UNTAES), Kosovo (UNMIK) and East Timor (UNTAET).

Ibrahim Rugova (Albanian pronunciation: [ibɾahim ɾugova]; 2 December 1944 – 21 January 2006) was a Kosovo-Albanian politician, scholar, and writer, who served as the President of the partially recognised Republic of Kosova, serving from 1992 to 2000 and as President of Kosovo from 2002 until his death in 2006. He oversaw a popular struggle for independence, advocating a peaceful resistance to Yugoslav rule and lobbying for U.S. and European support, especially during the Kosovo War.

He founded the political party Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) in 1989. The LDK, which had the support of 90% of the ethnic Albanian population of Kosovo, advocated for Kosovo's independence by peaceful means. The party established a shadow government that provided basic government and social services to the Kosovo Albanian population, including education and health care, in effect creating a parallel state. In May 1992, Rugova was elected President of this parallel state. In March 2002, with a United Nations mission administering Kosovo, he was elected President of Kosovo. He held this position until his death in January 2006, and was posthumously declared a Hero of Kosovo. He is sometimes referred to as Ati Kombit ("Father of the Nation") in Kosovo. He is also referred to as the Gandhi of the Balkans due to his strategy of non-violent resistance.

Resolution 2803 adopted by the United Nations Security Council on 17 November 2025 contains provisions for the transitional governance of the Gaza Strip in the aftermath of the Gaza war. The resolution, incorporating the Gaza peace plan, authorises an international body, known as the Board of Peace, to act as a transitional administration for Gaza and allows for the deployment of an International Stabilization Force (ISF) into the territory. Both bodies are mandated until 31 December 2027, but this can be extended by the Security Council.

The administration is modelled on earlier United Nations mandated transitional authorities such as those in West New Guinea (UNTEA), Cambodia (UNTAC), Eastern Slavonia (UNTAES), Kosovo (UNMIK) and East Timor (UNTAET).