I was lucky: I had done my specialization together with Angela Merkel’s husband at the Moscow University. […] Some of the professors who taught us there, English-speaking, American professors, had taught me earlier in Zagreb. I distinguished myself very much. Believe me, when I went to see Merkel after I became Minister of Albanian-language schools [for the Government in Exile], the Serbian state seal was still dominating. I took the seal of the Republic of Kosovo and told them… As soon as he saw the request with my name, her husband asked, ‘Were you at Moscow University?’ The government’s secretary came running, together with Merkel’s staff, and said, ‘ Merkel will receive you at this hour.’ Ilaz said, ‘So fast? Not even two hours have passed.’ I said, ‘He recognized me as a professor.’ I hadn’t even reached Merkel yet when her first question was, ‘Were you at Moscow University?’ I said yes. ‘You were there with my husband.’ I told her, ‘You know, there are many Albanians here. We’ve opened Albanian-language school courses in Germany. I see that the Serbian Republic’s seal still dominates. We have the seal of the Republic of Kosovo. We are a republic now.’ She said, ‘No problem.’ A few days later, half of my teachers and students came to me saying, ‘Minister, Professor, look, the stamp has arrived: Republic of Kosovo.’
Muhamet Bicaj was born in Vrellë, Istog, in 1943. He holds a doctorate in Organic Chemistry from the University of Zagreb. Bicaj was a founding member of the Faculties of Medicine, Pharmacy, and Dentistry in Pristina and served as the Pro-rector of the University of Pristina during the 1980. He was appointed Minister of Education for the Kosovo Government in Exile in the 1990s. In this role, he organized Albanian-language schools across the diaspora, including in the UK, USA, and Scandinavia and managed the funding of the home schools in Kosovo. After the war in 1999, Bicaj was a leading figure in the group responsible for drafting and distributing new textbooks.