Famous Albanian People

An Albanian-Indian Roman Catholic nun and a missionary, Mother Teresa was the founder of Missionaries of Charity, a Roman Catholic religious congregation. She was both an admired and controversial figure and was the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. While she was admired by many for her charitable work, she also earned criticism for her stance against abortion and contraception.

Muhammad Ali of Egypt was the de facto ruler of Egypt from 1805 to 1848. He was also the Albanian Ottoman governor and is considered the founder of modern Egypt. He implemented drastic reforms in the military, economic and cultural spheres in Egypt. He established the Muhammad Ali dynasty that ruled Egypt until the revolution of 1952.

Enver Hoxha was an Albanian politician. From 1944 to 1954, Hoxha served as the prime minister of Albania. He is credited with rebuilding Albania after World War II. He was also responsible for building the country's first railway line, wiping out epidemics, raising the adult literacy rate, and electrification the country.

Sali Berisha is an Albanian politician who served as the head of the Democratic Party of Albania from 1991 to 1992 and again from 1997 to 2013. From 1992 to 1997, he served as the president of Albania. One of the most popular Albanian politicians of all time, Berisha served as the prime minister of Albania from 2005 to 2013.

Fatos Nano is an Albanian socialist politician. He was the founder of the Socialist Party of Albania and became its first leader. He has served as the prime minister of Albania several times. He resigned as the prime minister in 2005 and has since maintained a low profile. He occasionally appears in political talk shows and has written three books. 

While he initially served as the prime minister and president of Albania, Ahmed Muhtar bey Zogolli, better known as Zog I or Zog of Albania, later led the country as its king. While he was initially supported by the fascist Benito Mussolini of Italy, he was eventually ousted by him.

Ottoman leader Ali Pasha was born into a poor family but later, through deceit and murder, rose to be the pasha, or provincial governor, of Janina, or Ioannina, the center of Greek culture. He later extended his rule to most of Albania and Macedonia. He was eventually shot dead by his enemies.

Edi Rama is an Albanian politician, writer, painter, publicist, former basketball player, and former pedagogue. He is currently serving as the prime minister of Albania. Since 2005, Rama has been serving as the Socialist Party of Albania's chairman. A football fanatic, Rama is a fan of popular football clubs, such as Juventus and FK Partizani.

Swiss-born Albanian singer Ilira Gashi, better known as Ilira, was placed third, along with her band, on the show Die grosse Entscheidungs Show. She later moved to Berlin to explore her music career and created hits such as Fading. The Europe Music Award-nominated singer has now signed with Virgin and Universal.

Ramiz Alia scripted history as the 1st president of Albania. He initially headed the Party of Labour of Albania and later joined the Socialist Party. He was known for his efforts in building ties with the country’s European neighbors but was eventually convicted of corruption and imprisoned. His conviction was later overturned.