Joe DioGuardi, a former U.S. congressman from New York and longtime advocate for the Albanian cause, and his wife Shirley Cloyes DioGuardi, a writer and foreign policy analyst, are now officially citizens of the Republic of Kosova.
Acting President Albulena Haxhiu handed the couple their citizenship decrees in a special ceremony, honoring decades of advocacy for the Albanian cause.
Haxhiu said Kosova is a young state, but before it was a state — before it even won its freedom — people like the DioGuardis stood by it. She traced Joe DioGuardi’s connection to the cause back to his Arbëreshë family roots in Greci, Italy, a community that kept the Albanian language alive for centuries after leaving the homeland.
In 1986, as a young congressman, DioGuardi raised the issue of Albanian rights in Yugoslavia on the floor of the U.S. Congress — years before the world was paying attention. After leaving office, he founded the Albanian American Civic League in 1989 and, alongside Congressman Tom Lantos, publicly challenged Slobodan Milošević at a time when that took real personal risk.
Shirley Cloyes DioGuardi joined the cause as a writer and foreign policy analyst, documenting Kosova’s history and countering years of distorted narratives about Albanians in the former Yugoslavia. In 2002, both she and Joe traveled to The Hague to testify against Milošević for crimes against humanity in Kosova.
“You have been friends of Kosova long before it became a state,” Haxhiu told the couple. “As of today, you are also its citizens… Welcome to your second homeland, the Republic of Kosova!”
DioGuardi used the moment to sound an alarm about Kosova’s current political situation, warning that the country needs a president as soon as possible.
“I’m here with you to make sure you have a president, and I hope this happens before I leave,” he said. “If it doesn’t happen before I leave, you’ll be in big trouble, because you already have enemies ready to upset the balance in the Balkans.”
Shirley Cloyes DioGuardi added that Kosovar Albanians never started the violence of the 1990s — they were forced to defend those in danger — and that 2026 is a moment to reflect on the decisions still ahead.
Together, the couple spent decades building the bridge between Kosova and Washington, long before Kosova had an embassy, a state, or a seat at the table.
