The United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo or UNMIK is the interim civilian administration in Kosovo, under the authority of the United Nations. The mission was established on 10 June 1999 by Security Council Resolution 1244. While UNMIK still exists, it does so in a minor role following the creation, in December 2008, of the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX). EULEX assists and supports the Kosovo authorities in the rule of law area, specifically in the police, judiciary and customs areas.

Members of the Assembly of Kosovo, who named themselves "representatives of the people of Kosovo" and didn't represent the Assembly itself, the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government, or any other official body, adopted the declaration of independence on 17 February 2008; Kosovo Serb parliamentarians boycotted the session. However UN Resolution 1244 is still in force, which means that ultimate responsibility for the administration of Kosovo still falls on the Special Representative.

Lamberto Zannier, born in 1954, is an Italian diplomat who currently serves as the United Nations Special Representative for Kosovo and Head of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), with the rank of UN Undersecretary-General. He was appointed to this position by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in June 2008. On 30 June 2011, Ambassador Lamberto Zannier was appointed the new Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)] Secretary General through a unanimous Ministerial Council decision by the 56 participating States. Zannier will take up the post of OSCE Secretary General on 1 July 2011.

Zannier has served for the Foreign Service of Italy for more than 30 years. Before his appointment as Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Kosovo, he played a leading role at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a coordinator for EU Foreign Policy and as a Director for EU Security and Defence issues. Between 2002 and 2006, he was Director of the Conflict Prevention Centre of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in Vienna. In this capacity, he managed more than 20 civilian field operations in Europe and Central Asia.