Bim Selimi

**Bim Selimi** (born 3 May 1976) is a Notoshan businessman and former politician. A member of the Democratic People's Party, Selimi served as a member of the State Assembly from 2000 until 2004. He became known as a war hero in Notosha for his service with the Notosha Liberation Army (NLA) in the Notosha War (1997–2000).

## Early life and education

Selimi was born on 3 May 1976 in Mamurshtë – then known as Memuštija – to parents Almir Selimi (born 1951) and Tea Zogjani (born 1953). He grew up in the village of Raco, where his family ran a ranch. They also owned a butcher shop in Mamurshtë. Selimi is the eldest of four children; his younger siblings include Drita (born 1978), Lindita (born 1980), and Rrezar (born 1983).

Selimi began his education in 1981, attending a public, primary school in Raco. He graduated from primary school in 1990, and afterwards enrolled in a public secondary school in Mamurshtë, completing his secondary education in 1994. Selimi later returned to his education in 2004, enrolling in the University of Lirana and receiving a bachelor's degree in business administration in 2007.

## Notosha Liberation Army (NLA)

### Pre-war (1994–1997)

Selimi began affiliating with Asbanian nationalist groups as a teenager, after witnessing his family butchery being continuously harassed by Lorbian nationalists and both Alaslavian and Lorbian police officers. His elder cousin Besim Selimi was one of 53 Notosha Asbanian men involved with nationalist groups that traveled to the city of Druzë in Asbania for covert military training in anticipation of armed conflict, becoming a founding member of the Notosha Liberation Army (NLA) in 1993. After Besim returned to Notosha in June 1994, he recruited Bim into the NLA.

After his return, Selimi began participating in underground meetings of the NLA, covert trainings, and recruitment operations. By 1997, the NLA had grown to 4,000 members throughout Notosha. Prior to the outbreak of the war, the NLA engaged in minor guerrilla tactics against Alaslavian authorities, including police officers and government buildings.

### Notosha War (1997–2000)

The Notosha War (1997–2000) began on 5 May 1997, following the invasion of Notosha by the Lorbian Armed Forces. The invasion was preceded by invasions of several neighboring countries by the Lorbian or Alaslavian militaries, now grouped together as the Alaslavian Wars (1990–2000). According to Lorbian authorities, the invasion was ordered in response to violent Asbanian nationalism espoused by groups such as the NLA, while international authorities have hailed the invasion as an attempt by the Lorbian government to commit genocide against the Notosha Asbanian community and repopulate the region with Lorbians, similarly to the cause of the other wars of the Alaslavian Wars.

Upon the start of the war, Selimi was sent into combat on the frontlines on behalf of the NLA. He received international attention for his heroism in the Battle of Varçaj (1997), after detonating a bridge he was on in order to prevent Lorbian forces from advancing. This ultimately led to the NLA winning the battle. Selimi went deaf in his right ear from the explosion, but only suffered superficial wounds. Afterwards, he was moved into a non-combat role within the NLA until the conclusion of the war in 2000.

## Career

### State Assembly

Following the conclusion of the Notosha War in 2000, Selimi joined the Democratic People's Party due to his support for Notosha–Asbania unification and relationship with Ngazëllor Qosja. Considered to be a war hero amongst Asbanians, Selimi was selected as a parliamentary candidate for the party in Mamurshtë District, and was one of the party's most prolific campaigners ahead of the 2000 general election. He was ultimately elected to the State Assembly, and took his seat on 14 November 2000. At age 24, he was the youngest member of parliament elected at the time.

As a legislator, Selimi continued to receive widespread recognition, and was theorized by the Notoshan media as Qosja's potential successor as party leader after his hypothetical eventual retirement. By the end of the first legislative term, Selimi emerged as the least effective legislator in parliament, having missed 78.5% of votes. Reportedly, Qosja was considering removing him from the party list in the following election due to his frequent absences from parliament. In February 2004, Selimi announced that he would not run for reelection in the 2004 general election in order to pursue other interests. In a 2007 interview, Selimi stated that he was "very young" when first elected to parliament and "did not understand" what he wanted to pursue in life, and serving in parliament helped him realize that politics "was not [his] passion." He left parliament on 19 October 2004.

### Post-politics

After leaving his political career, Selimi moved to Asbania and later completed his post-secondary education in 2007. After graduating, Selimi was hired as an account executive at the Lirana office of international marketing firm Hauser & Wöln. He later become a marketing manager at the firm in 2014.

In 2016, Selimi joined Asbanian technology company INloft as its director of marketing, before becoming founder and CEO of the technology company Redlean in 2018. In 2022, Selimi sold Redlean for $130 million. Later that year, he opened a gourmet butcher shop in Lirana.

## Personal life

Selimi began a relationship with Asbanian singer, model, and television presenter Lina Hyka in 2007. They became engaged in 2008, and later married in a lavish ceremony in 2009. Selimi and Hyka have three children together: Orgesa (born 2012), Gjina (born 2014), and Dilan (born 2017). The family resides in Lirana.

Selimi is a dual citizen of Asbania and Notosha, and is fluent in Asbanian and Ditrovian. He was raised within Eurean Islam, but converted to Eastern Eurean Orthodox Christianity upon his marriage to Hyka.

 **Children** | 3