Nov 18 (Reuters) - Former guerrilla commander Hashim Thaci and his Democratic Party of Kosovo have won a parliamentary election, making him favourite for the post of prime minister in the breakaway province.

Following are five facts about Thaci:

* Born in April 24, 1968, Thaci began agitating for the Kosovo Albanian cause in his late teens, becoming head of the students' union in 1991. In 1995, he joined the large Albanian diaspora in Switzerland, studying history and international relations in Zurich.

* A native of the hardline Drenica region of Kosovo, Thaci returned from abroad and became one of the senior figures of the Kosovo Liberation Army. The army emerged in 1997 to launch a guerrilla war for the province's secession, capitalising on Albanian disappointment with a decade of passive resistance that had failed to bring change.

* At peace talks in Rambouillet, France, in 1999, Thaci famously refused intense pressure from then U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to sign an agreement that fell short of Kosovo's demand for a referendum on independence. Back in Kosovo, the KLA was against the deal. But Thaci eventually relented and signed. Serbia refused, and weeks later NATO launched a bombing campaign to drive out Serb forces.

* With the end of the war, Thaci formed the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), the main faction to emerge from the ranks of the KLA, and became prime minister of a provisional government. After elections in 2001, the PDK entered government with Thaci's party deputy, Bajram Rexhepi, as prime minister.

* The party entered opposition in 2004, but Thaci has been part of the "Unity" negotiating team for negotiations with Serbia that began in early 2006. The latest round of talks is due to end on Dec. 10. Thaci is married, with a son, and is nicknamed "The Snake" for his success in evading Serb police.

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