Albania

Country in southeastern Europe, bounded north by Serbia and Montenegro, east by the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, south by Greece, and west and southwest by the Adriatic Sea.

Government

Albania is a multiparty parliamentary democracy. Under its 1998 constitution, it has a single-chamber legislature, the 140-member Assembly of the Republic of Albania. It is elected every four years, 100 of its members by universal suffrage by means of a two-ballot, majority vote system and 40 on a proportional representation basis. The head of state and commander in chief of the armed forces is a president who is elected by a two-thirds majority vote of members of the assembly and may serve a maximum of two consecutive five-year terms. The head of government is the prime minister, who is appointed by the president but must hold majority support in the Assembly. The prime minister governs with a council of ministers (cabinet), which the prime minister nominates and the president appoints, subject to final approval by the Assembly. Private property, freedom of worship and expression, and political pluralism were endorsed by the interim constitution.

History

In the ancient world the area was occupied by the Illyrians, later becoming a Roman province until the end of the 4th century AD. Albania then came under Byzantine rule, which lasted until 1347. There followed years of invasions by Bulgarians, Serbs, Venetians, and finally Turks, who arrived in 1385 and, after the death of the nationalist leader Skanderbeg (George Castriota) (1403–1468), eventually made Albania part of the Ottoman Empire following the siege of Scutari in 1478.

Independence

Albania became independent in 1912, after the First Balkan War, and was proclaimed a republic in 1925. In 1928 President Ahmed Beg Zogu was proclaimed King Zog. Overrun by Italy and Germany in 1939–44, Albania became a republic with a communist government in 1946 after a guerrilla struggle led by Enver Hoxha.

The ‘Hoxha experiment’

At first closely allied with Yugoslavia, Albania backed the Soviet dictator Stalin in his 1948 dispute with the Yugoslav ruler Tito and developed close links with the USSR in 1949–55, entering the trade organization Comecon in 1949. Hoxha imposed a Stalinist system with rural collectivization, industrial nationalization, central planning, and one-party control. Mosques and churches were closed in an effort to create the ‘first atheist state’. Hoxha remained a committed Stalinist and in 1961 broke off diplomatic relations with the USSR and withdrew from Comecon. Choosing isolation and neutrality, Albania also severed diplomatic relations with China in 1978. The ‘Hoxha experiment’ left Albania with the lowest income per head of population in Europe. After Hoxha's death in 1985, there was a widening of external economic contacts and the number of countries with which Albania had formal diplomatic relations increased from 74 in 1978 to 111 in 1988.

Open dissent

Opposition to the regime mounted during 1990, with antigovernment street demonstrations in the capital, Tirana. Faced with a government crackdown, 5,000 demonstrators sought refuge in foreign embassies and were subsequently allowed to leave the country.

End of one-party system

In December 1990, amid continuing protests in Tirana and economic collapse, the Communist Party (CP) leadership authorized opposition parties and lifted the ban on religion. An opposition party was immediately formed by the Tirana intelligentsia: the Democratic Party (DP), led by Sali Berisha.

Civil unrest

A huge bronze statue of Hoxha in Tirana was toppled by demonstrators February 1991, and there were riots in several other towns. Ramiz Alia, president since 1985, replaced the unpopular premier Adil Çarçani (1922–97) with Fatos Nano, a reform economist. Alia also declared the imposition of presidential rule and tanks were moved into the streets of Tirana. Fears of a right-wing coup prompted a flight of thousands of Albanians to Greece, Yugoslavia, and Italy. ‘Nonpolitical’ refugees were sent back to Albania.

First multiparty elections

In Albania's first free multiparty elections, held in March–April 1991, the ruling Party of Labour of Albania (PLA) captured 169 of the 250 Assembly seats, and the two-thirds majority needed to make constitutional changes. Its support came predominantly from rural areas, whereas the DP polled strongly in the main towns, including Tirana and Shköder, where the frustration of its supporters was vented in anticommunist rioting. The Siqurimi (secret police) were replaced in May by a new national Security Council.

Under an April 1991 interim constitution, the country was renamed the Republic of Albania, the PLA's leading role was abandoned, and the People's Assembly elected Ramiz Alia as executive president and commander in chief of the armed forces.

Economic problems

Diplomatic relations with the USA and the UK, suspended since 1946, were restored in 1991. But the economy deteriorated rapidly, with unemployment rising to 40%. In June 1991 Fatos Nano resigned as prime minister and was replaced by Ylli Bufi, who headed a new, interim government with members from the opposition parties, including Gramoz Pashko (DP leader) as deputy premier. A land-privatization bill was passed to restore land to peasants dispossessed under communist rule, and from late summer Albania began to receive emergency aid from the European Community. But from September 1991 there were recurrent anticommunist demonstrations, bread riots, and protest strikes, prompted by deteriorating living conditions, and continued attempts by Albanians to leave the country.

First noncommunist leaders

In new assembly elections in March 1992, the PLA, which had renamed itself the Socialist Party of Albania (PSS) and was led by Fatos Nano, was beaten and the DP won 62% of the national vote. The new parliament elected Sali Berisha, founder and leader of the DP, as the country's president, with increased executive powers, and Aleksandr Meksi became prime minister.

In July 1992, the new parliament passed a law banning ‘fascist, antinational, chauvinistic, racist, totalitarian, communist, Marxist-Leninist, Stalinist, or Enverist’ (following Enver Hoxha) political organizations. In September 1992, ex-president Alia was charged with abuse of power and misuse of state funds; he was found guilty and sentenced to eight years' imprisonment in 1994, but released in 1995 on appeal. But a national referendum in 1994 rejected proposals for a new presidential-style constitution.

The DP renamed itself the Democratic Party of Albania (PDS) in 1993 and won an overwhelming victory in the May–June 1996 parliamentary elections, although the opposition PSS alleged rigging and intimidation of voters.

Destablization by pyramid scheme scandal

The country was destabilized in early 1997 by the collapse of a pyramid investment scheme, in which half the population participated, with many people selling their land and homes to invest, with the hope of achieving returns of 50% per month. As several of the promoters were PDS sponsors, in February 1997 there were large antigovernment protests in the towns of Fier and Vlorë, with protesters setting fire to the PDS headquarters in Vlorë. Berisha rejected calls for him to step down and instead he sacked the prime minister and the head of the army, closed down opposition newspapers, and declared a state of emergency. Dozens of people were killed and hundreds arrested, and armed rebels controlled the south of the country.

The opposition, led by the ex-communist PSS and the Democratic Alliance, a liberal splinter from the Democratic Party, formed a ten-party Forum for Democracy, demanding formation of a government of non-party technocrats, pending new elections. In mid-March 1997, Berisha relented and agreed to form an all-party interim government. This was dominated by the Forum for Democracy and had Bashkim Fino as prime minister, a US-educated economist and member of the socialist opposition and former mayor of the rebel-held southern town of Gjirokaster. He withdrew the army from southern cities and gave an amnesty for civilians and military rebels who handed in their weapons.

But rebels and mafiosi in the south refused to cooperate with the new Tirana government as long as Berisha remained president. In late March 1997 over 13,000 Albanians fled by boat to Italy. But in April 1997 calm began to be restored to Tirana. The EU sent 6,000 Italian, French, and Greek soldiers to distribute food and medicine and King Leka Zog I, whose family fled Albania in April 1939, returned from South Africa.

Return of Socialists to power

Albania's Socialists and their allies won a clear victory and two-thirds majority in Assembly elections held in June–July 1997. Fatos Nano became prime minister and Berisha resigned as president and was replaced by Rexhep Mejdani.

Berisha's supporters refused to accept the loss of power and several times during 1998 staged revolts in the northern town of Shkodër, which had to be put down by government forces. In October 1998 Nano resigned and was replaced as prime minister by Pandeli Majko, a fellow socialist. A new constitution was approved in November 1998, although the opposition boycotted the referendum.

Influx of refugees from Kosovo

From July 1998 Albania faced a massive influx of refugees from neighbouring Kosovo, after the Yugoslavian military offensive against the ethnic-Albanian-led Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), which sought independence from Serbia and unification with Albania. The conflict cost hundreds of lives and resulted in a flood to neighbouring countries of 200,000 civilian refugees – equivalent to 10% of Kosovo's population. In March 1999 NATO aircraft began a bombing campaign in an attempt to force the Yugoslav government to end its persecution of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. In Albania, the NATO Albania Force (A-For) mission attempted to help Albania cope with the Kosovar refugee influx until it was replaced in September 1999 with an Italian-led force known as Communication Zone West (COMMZ-W).

Socialists hold on to power

Ilir Meta, who had replaced Majko as prime minister in November 1999, led the PSS to victory in the July 2001 general election, winning 73 of the 140 parliamentary seats. But he was forced to resign after losing a power struggle with the PSS leader Fatos Nano, and was replaced as prime minister in February 2002 by Pandeli Majko.

Democrats' return to government

The Democratic Party (PDS), led by ex-president Sali Berisha, returned to power after a closely fought general election in July 2005. There were re-runs in various constituencies, and the final result was not announced for nearly two months, but in September 2005 Berisha became prime minister. In July 2007, Bamir Topi became president.

The goal of the post-communist government in Albania has been to join the European Union (EU) and NATO. Political instability has delayed the country's integration with the rest of Europe, but in 1995 Albania was accepted in the Council of Europe and in April 2008 it received a formal invitation to join NATO, which it was hoping to achieve in 2009.

Albania (redirected from Skipetar)