Dua Lipa has been granted Albanian citizenship.
The 27-year-old pop star was born in London to Albanian parents and moved with her family to Pristina after Kosovo declared independence in 2008 but later relocated to London as a teenager to pursue a career in music and President Bajram Begaj described her as a “simple girl” who has given “great pride” to the country.
He said: “It is a special pleasure to welcome the great artist Dua Lipa today. I say great artist, but she is also a simple girl, who has given the greatest pride to us, Albania, Kosovo and wherever there are Albanians in the world. Albanian youth is an example and a source of inspiration for you and you have shown that dreams can be achieved by working harder. Tomorrow we celebrate the 110th anniversary of the declaration of independence and today the joint meeting of the Assembly of Albania and the Assembly of Kosovo took place. Although art is not related to politics, it brings all people together and with your art, you have brought us together in this jubilee year! On this occasion, I am pleased to grant you Albanian citizenship.”
Following the ceremony, the ‘Levitating’ hitmaker took to social media to alert her millions of Instagram followers of the news as she thanked the President and the Mayor.
Alongside a snap of herself on the day, she wrote: “Thank you President Bajram Begaj and Mayor @erionveliaj for this honour ~ got my Albanian citizenship!! ~ faleminderit, po ndihem shume krenare ????????[heart emoji] [thank you, I am feeling very proud].”