Ramiz Alia
Encyclopedia
was the second and last communist leader of Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...

 from 1985-91, and the President of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania
People's Socialist Republic of Albania
The People's Republic of Albania was the official name of Albania during the communist rule between 1946 and 1976. The 1976 Constitution changed the name into People's Socialist Republic of Albania , which was the official name of the country from 1976 until 1991.-Consolidation of power and...

 from 1991 to 1992, and also the first President of the post communist Albania elected in 1991-92. He had been designated as successor by Enver Hoxha
Enver Hoxha
Enver Halil Hoxha was a Marxist–Leninist revolutionary andthe leader of Albania from the end of World War II until his death in 1985, as the First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania...

 and took power after Hoxha died. Alia died on 7 October 2011 in Tirana due to lung disease, aged 85.

Early life and politics

Alia was born in 1925. During the early World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 he was member of the Albanian Fascist Party
Albanian Fascist Party
The Albanian Fascist Party was a fascist movement which held nominal power in Albania from 1939, when the country was conquered by Italy, until 1943, when Italy capitulated to the Allies...

, and in 1941 he joined the Albanian Communist Youth Organization. In 1943, he became member of the Albanian Communist Party. He had risen rapidly under Hoxha's patronage and by 1961 was a full member of the ruling Political Bureau (Politburo of the Party of Labour of Albania
Politburo of the Party of Labour of Albania
The Politburo was the leading organ of the Party of Labour of Albania. The following is the composition of the Politburo that would be formed after every Congress of the Party. The politburo for the 1941-1948 period is not included....

).

Hoxha chose Alia for several reasons. First, Alia had long been a militant follower of Marxism-Leninism
Marxism-Leninism
Marxism–Leninism is a communist ideology, officially based upon the theories of Marxism and Vladimir Lenin, that promotes the development and creation of a international communist society through the leadership of a vanguard party over a revolutionary socialist state that represents a dictatorship...

 and supported Hoxha's policy of national self-reliance. Alia also was favored by Hoxha's wife Nexhmije
Nexhmije Hoxha
Nexhmije Hoxha is the widow of Albanian Socialist leader Enver Hoxha.-Personal history:Hoxha was born in Debar, Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes; present-day Debar, Republic of Macedonia. She studied at a high school in Tirana. After the war, she continued her studies at the State University...

, who had once been his instructor at the Institute of Marxism-Leninism. His political experience was similar to that of Hoxha; and inasmuch as he appeared to share Hoxha's views on most foreign and domestic issues, he accommodated himself to the totalitarian mode of ruling.

First Secretary of the Albanian Labor Party

After World War II, Alia resumed his duties in the Communist Youth Organization, and at the First Congress of the Albanian Party of Labor in November 1948, he was elected to its Central Committee and was assigned in the department of agitation and propaganda. When he succeeded Hoxha in 1985, the country was in grave difficulty. Political apathy and cynicism were pervasive, with large segments of the population having rejected the government's values. The economy, which suffered from low productivity and permanent shortages of the most basic foodstuffs, showed no sign of improvement. Social controls and self-discipline had eroded. The intelligentsia
Intelligentsia
The intelligentsia is a social class of people engaged in complex, mental and creative labor directed to the development and dissemination of culture, encompassing intellectuals and social groups close to them...

 was beginning to resist strict party controls and to criticize the government's failure to observe international standards of human rights. Apparently recognizing the depth and extent of the societal malaise, Alia cautiously and slowly began to make changes in the system. His first target was the economic system. In an effort to improve economic efficiency, Alia introduced some economic decentralization and price reform in specific sectors.

Alia did not relax censorship, but he did allow public discussions of Albania's societal problems and encouraged debates among writers and artists on cultural issues. In response to international criticism of Albania's record on human rights, the new leadership loosened some political controls and ceased to apply repression on a mass scale. In 1989, general amnesties brought about the release of many long-term prisoners. He strengthened ties with Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

, and Yugoslavia
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...

. A loosening of restrictions on travel and tourism resulted in a more promising outlook for Albania's tourist trade.

Transition to multi-party system and presidency

Despite Alia's efforts to proceed with change on a limited, cautious basis, reform from above threatened to turn into reform from below, largely because of the increasingly vocal demands of Albania's youth. On 9 December 1990, student demonstrators marched from the Enver Hoxha University (now University of Tirana
University of Tirana
The University of Tirana is a public university located in Tirana, Albania.-History:UT was founded in 1957 as the State University of Tirana through the merging of five existing institutes of higher education, the most important of which was the Institute of Sciences, founded in 1947...

) at Tirana
Tirana
Tirana is the capital and the largest city of Albania. Modern Tirana was founded as an Ottoman town in 1614 by Sulejman Bargjini, a local ruler from Mullet, although the area has been continuously inhabited since antiquity. Tirana became Albania's capital city in 1920 and has a population of over...

 through the streets of the capital shouting slogans and demanding a reforms. By December 11, the number of participants had reached almost 3,000. In an effort to quell the student unrest, which had led to clashes with riot police, Alia met with the students and agreed to take further steps toward democratization
Democratization
Democratization is the transition to a more democratic political regime. It may be the transition from an authoritarian regime to a full democracy, a transition from an authoritarian political system to a semi-democracy or transition from a semi-authoritarian political system to a democratic...

. The students informed Alia that they wanted to create an independent political organization of students and youth. Alia's response was that such an organization had to be registered with the Ministry of Justice.

In his traditional New Year's message to the Albanian people, Alia welcomed the changes that had been occurring in the country and claimed that 1991 would be a turning point in terms of the economy. Despite positive signs of change, many Albanians were still trying to leave their country. At the end of 1990, as many as 5,000 Albanians crossed over the mountainous border into Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

. Young people motivated by economic dissatisfaction made up the bulk of the refugees.

Alia managed to remain a key political figure throughout several political crises. Nonetheless, with Albania in the throes of a grave economic crisis, Alia had to face challenges that he could not surmount. After the collapse of a coalition government in December 1991 and the Democratic Party of Albania
Democratic Party of Albania
The Democratic Party of Albania is a center-right, Conservative, political party in Albania and the leading party in the governing coalition since the 2005 parliamentary elections...

's (DPA) landslide victory in the spring 1992 general election, he resigned as president
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...

 on 3 April 1992. On 9 April the People's Assembly elected DPA leader Sali Berisha
Sali Berisha
Sali Ram Berisha is an Albanian politician and cardiologist, currently the Prime Minister of Albania and the leader of Democratic Party of Albania ....

 as Albania's new head of state.

Arrest

On 21 May 1994, senior officials from the communist regime, including Ramiz Alia, went to trial. Alia was charged with abuse of power and misappropriation of state funds, as was Adil Carçani, the former prime minister, Manush Myftiu
Manush Myftiu
Manush Myftiu is an Albanian politician. He was born in Vlorë. He served as Chairman of the Assembly of the Republic of Albania from 1947 to 1949.-Reference:...

, his deputy, and Rito Marko, a former vice-president.

Alia had been placed under house arrest in August 1992 and his detention was converted into imprisonment in August 1993. In court he claimed he was the victim of a political show trial and demanded that the trial be broadcast on television, a request denied by the presiding judge. The trial was monitored by a Human Rights Watch/Helsinki representative and proceeded with only minor due process irregularities. The ten defendants were found guilty as charged and sentenced to between three and nine years in prison; Alia received a nine-year sentence.

A court of appeals subsequently reduced some of the sentences, notably Alia's to five years. Alia, Myftiu, Carçani, Stefani and Isai were also ordered to repay various sums to the state. On 30 November, the Court of Cassation reduced Alia's term by an additional three years. On 7 July 1995, Ramiz Alia was freed from jail. However, his freedom was short-lived and in 1996 he was charged with committing crimes against humanity during his term, and was imprisoned anew in March. The trial against him began on 18 February 1997, but he escaped from the prison following the unrest in the country and the desertion of the guards. Amid the unrest he appeared on TV in an exclusive interview. In the late 2000s he was seen traveling seldom to Albania from abroad for giving interviews or publishing personal books.

Death

Ramiz Alia died on 7 October 2011 in Tiranë from lung disease, shortly before his 86th birthday, according to a spokesperson for President Bamir Topi
Bamir Topi
Bamir Myrteza Topi is the fifth and current President of Albania since 24 July 2007. He was also Honorary President of Albanian football club KF Tirana from 2005 to 2007.-Early life and public activities:...

.

External links

  • Country Studies On-Line at the Library of Congress
    Library of Congress
    The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK