Kosovo's military is the Kosovo Security Force. The President holds the title of commander-in-chief of the military. Citizens over the age of 18 are eligible to serve in the Kosovo Security Force. Members of the force are protected from discrimination on the basis of gender or ethnicity. The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) led the Kosovo Force (KFOR) and the Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC) in 2008, started preparations for the formation of the Kosovo Security Force. In 2014, the former Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi declared, that the National Government had decided to establish a Defence Ministry in 2019 and to officially transform the Kosovo Security Force into the Kosovan Armed Forces, an army which would meet all the standards of NATO members with the aim to join the alliance in the future. In December 2018, the parliament of Kosovo changed the mandate of the Kosovo Security Force by law and converted it to an army. It additionally established a Ministry of Defense.