19 October 2022 – The GPM is proud to welcome Mayor Shqiprim Arifi of Presevo (Serbia) as newest member of the GPM. Mayor Arifi was elected president of the municipality of Presevo in 2016, was re-elected in 2018 and again in April 2022.
Mayor Arifi was born in Mannheim, Germany, where he started his own business in the field of logistics. Very soon he achieved to open branches of his company in Stuttgart, Leipzig, Hamburg, Bratislava and Kumanovo. From 2002, he was very active in advancing the integration of Albanians in Mannheim. During this period he participated in several Albanian institutional organizations and worked in close cooperation with municipality of Mannheim and other local institutions in the Mannheim region.
In 2006, he was one of the founders and Vice President of the “Center of Solidarity and Advancement” that currently has branches in six countries. The total value of the projects implemented by the center in Presevo and Kumanovo exceeds 1 million euro.
In 2015, Shqiprim Arifi founded a new political party in Presevo called “Alternativa për Ndryshim” (Alternative for Change) with the aim to change the socio-political and economic situation in Presevo and elected mayor in 2016.
The municipality of Presevo belongs to the Pcinj District and covers an area of 264km2. It is situated near the border with Macedonia and the international E-10 corridor, which connects Belgrade, Skopje, Thessaloniki and Athens. In addition to the urban core, which is a community center, the municipality includes 35 settlements.