Prof. Dr. h.c. Ferid Agani, MD, PhD is a neuropsychiatrist, academic, politician and public figure from Kosovo, widely recognized for his pioneering contributions to post-war mental health reform, integration of spirituality into psychiatry and substantial political contribution. Born in Prishtina in 1959, he graduated top of his class in medicine at the University of Prishtina and completed specialization in neuropsychiatry in Zagreb. He later earned both a Master of Medical Sciences (2003) and a PhD in Psychiatry (2009) at the University of Prishtina (UP), focusing his doctoral research on the reform of mental health services in Kosovo.
Prof. Agani has served as Professor of Psychiatry and Psychology at the UP, and previously as Adjunct Professor at Clemson University, USA. His academic work includes influential publications on trauma, resilience, and psychiatric genetics, with articles appearing in leading journals such as JAMA, Journal of Traumatic Stress, and American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. He is the author of the forthcoming book Critical Response to Contemporary Personality Theories Based on Religious Psychology and Spirituality (2025).
In the public sector, he played a central role in rebuilding Kosovo’s health system, serving as Director of Strategic Management at the Ministry of Health (2002–2004), Member of the Kosovo Parliament (2004 – 2007) and later as Minister of Health (2011–2014) and Minister of Environment and Spatial Planning (2015–2016) in the Kosovo Government. His reforms strengthened primary health care, established completely new system of community based mental health services, and hospital governance based on the purchaser – provider split.
As a political leader, he founded and presided over the Justice Party (1999–2025) and is co-founder of the new political party New National Force (FRK) (2025).
Prof. Agani has been recognized internationally, receiving the Max Hayman Award (2005), an honorary doctorate from Niğde University (2012), and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Albanian Psychiatric Association (2023). From 2016, he is elected Member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts (AEASA), Salzburg.
He continues to lecture, publish, and practice psychiatry at his private clinic in Prishtina, with a particular focus on trauma, spirituality, and community family based resilience.