Famous Albanian Leaders

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. 

Albanian communist-politician Mehmet Shehu, considered second-most-powerful man in Albania after Enver Hoxha, succeeded Hoxha as 23rd Prime Minister of Albania on July 20, 1954. He held office till December 18, 1981, when, as per official Albanian government sources, he committed suicide. He was thereafter denounced as a traitor. It is often speculated that Shehu was killed on orders from Hoxha.

Kosovar politician Fatmir Sejdiu became the first President of Republic of Kosovo after the 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence on February 17, 2008. He resigned in September 2010 after the Constitutional Court of Kosovo stated that he was violating the Constitution of Kosovo, as he was serving simultaneously as president of the Republic of Kosovo and as leader of LDK.

Bamir Topi is an Albanian politician and diplomat who served as the president of Albania from 2007 to 2012. An ardent football fan, Bamir Topi served as the honorary president of the popular Albanian football club Klubi i Futbollit Tirana from 2005 to 2007.

Alfred Moisiu is a former Albanian military general turned diplomat and politician.  The oldest son of Albanian Army general, Spiro Moisiu, he was ambitious from the beginning and received a Ph.D. in military science. After a successful military career, he entered politics and went on to serve as the president of Albania from 2002 to 2007. 

Albanian politician Monika Kryemadhi is the incumbent Member of the Albanian Parliament for Fier. Her husband Ilir Meta served as 8th President of Albania, and during such-time Monika refused the honorific position of First Lady of Albania and instead delegated it to her oldest daughter Bora. Monika is a founding-member of Socialist Movement for Integration and served as its Chairwoman.

Albanian politician Belinda Balluku is the country’s deputy prime minister and the minister of infrastructure and energy. She has also served as an MP from the Region of Tirana. She has also headed the company Albcontrol, which manages Albania’s airspace, as its general director.

A renowned poet and author from Northern Albania, Vaso Pasha was a key figure of the Rilindja movement, commonly known as the Albanian Renaissance. He was well-versed in multiple languages and had also worked at the British consulate in Shkodër and as the mutasarrif of Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate.

The daughter of Albanian student movement leader and Democratic Party member Azem Hajdari, Rudina Hajdari now serves as a Member of the Albanian Parliament. She formed the Democrat Group and has chaired various political committees. She has also taught at the University of Tirana and at several institutes in the US.

A Member of the Albanian Parliament, Mimi Kodheli has also scripted history as the first female politician to hold the post of Albania’s minister of defense. She also heads the NATO Parliamentary Assembly as its vice president. The Socialist Party politician is a skilled economist, too.

Abdyl Frasheri was an Ottoman Albanian politician and civil servant. He was one of the first political ideologues of the Albanian Revival from Albania. Abdyl Frasheri is also credited with establishing Istanbul's Central Committee for Defending Albanian Rights. He was also proclaimed as the Hero of Albania during the communist regime.

Albanian guerrilla fighter and the daughter of Grude leader Smajl Martini, Tringe Smajli is remembered for her valiant fight against the Ottomans of Malësia. She vowed to be a virgin for life and dressed up in men’s clothes. Her heroics have made her part of Albanian folklore.

Albanian Kosovar politician and The Alternative chairperson, Mimoza Kusari-Lila has previously also been Albania’s Minister of Trade and Industry and Deputy Prime Minister. She has also served as the mayor of Gjakova, thus scripting history as Kosovo’s first and only female mayor ever. She has also been associated with the World Bank and USAID.

Albanian politician and Democratic Party member Jozefina Topalli has been the Speaker of the Parliament of Albania, the first woman to hold the post. Equipped with degrees in math, law, and international relations, she also has a PhD and has taught at the Luigj Gurakuqi University in Shkodra.

Albanian politician and Socialist Party member Ogerta Manastirliu now represents Tirana as a Member of the Albanian Parliament. She is also the country’s Minister of Health and Social Care. Equipped with a degree in analytical chemistry, she was once dragged into a controversy related to plagiarism in her doctoral thesis.

Albanian politician and Socialist Party member Elisa Spiropali is the country’s incumbent Minister of State for Relations with Parliament. Equipped with degrees in politics and economics, she is an international scholar and has also lectured in several Albanian universities. She has previously also been a customs director.

Kosovar Albanian politician and jurist Albulena Haxhiu, who is the granddaughter of iconic Albanian revolutionary and political activist Ahmet Haxhiu, now serves as Albania’s minister of justice. She has previously also represented the autonomous province of Pristina as a Member of the Kosovo Assembly.