Alfred Spiro Moisiu (; born 1 December 1929)Profile of Alfred Moisiu
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Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

military general, diplomat and politician who served as the

president of Albania The president of Albania (), officially the president of the Republic of Albania (), is the head of state, commander-in-chief of the Albanian Armed Forces, military and the representative of the unity of the Albanian people. The president sets ...

from 2002 to 2007. He is the oldest son of

Albanian Army The Albanian Land Force () is the land force branch of the Albanian Armed Forces. Mission The Albanian Land Force's main mission is the defense of the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Albania, participation ...

general Spiro Moisiu.

Early life, education and career

Moisiu was born into the family of General Spiro Moisiu. In 1946 he was sent to the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

as a student. In 1948 he graduated from the military engineering school in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

(then Leningrad). He served in

Tirana Tirana ( , ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in Albania, largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills, with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest ov ...

as a platoon-commander at the United Officers' School (1948–1949) and as a teacher at the Skanderbeg Military Academy (1949–1951). From 1952 to 1958 he attended the Academy of Military Engineering in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. Back in Albania, Moisiu continued his military career in the engineers' department of the Ministry of Defense. From 1967 to 1968 he attended the higher courses of general staff at the Defense Academy of Tirana. At the same time he commanded a pontoon brigade in

Kavajë Kavajë ( , sq-definite, Kavaja) is a city and municipality centrally located in the Western Lowlands region of Albania, in Tirana County. It borders Durrës to the north , Tirana, Tiranë to the east and Rrogozhinë to the south . To the west ...

(1966–1971). In 1971 he became the chief of the Bureau of Engineering and Fortifications of the Ministry of Defense (under

Enver Hoxha Enver Halil Hoxha ( , ; ; 16 October 190811 April 1985) was an Albanian communist revolutionary and politician who was the leader of People's Socialist Republic of Albania, Albania from 1944 until his death in 1985. He was the Secretary (titl ...

, when thousands of concrete casements were built as defense against states held to be hostile). In 1979, Moisiu received a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in military science. From 1981 he was Deputy Minister of Defense. Under the ministers

Beqir Balluku Beqir Balluku (14 February 1917 – 5 November 1975) was an Albanian politician, military leader, and Minister of Defense of Albania. Balluku assisted Enver Hoxha in carrying out the 1956 purge within the Party of Labour. However, in 1974, Ballu ...

Mehmet Shehu Mehmet Ismail Shehu (January 10, 1913 – December 18, 1981) was an Albanian Communism, communist politician who served as the Prime Minister of Albania, Prime Minister of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania from 1954 to 1981. He was known ...

and Kadri Hasbiu he held this post until October 1982 (Shehu died violently in December 1981). He was appointed by

to fill Albania with bunkers. Hoxha sent Moisiu to

Burrel Burrel (alternate forms ''Burrel'', ''Mat'') is a town in northern Albania, 91 km from Tirana. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision and the seat of the municipality Mat, Albania, Mat. It was the seat of the former Distr ...

, where he served as the commander of an engineers' company from 1982 to 1984. Moisiu left active service as a general.

Post-communist politics

He returned to public life in December 1991 when he was appointed Minister of Defense in

Vilson Ahmeti Vilson Ahmeti (born 5 September 1951) is an Albanian politician. He served as the Prime Minister of Albania between 10 December 1991 and 4 April 1992. Life and career He was appointed as Prime Minister of Albania to the position by Presiden ...

's technocratic government. He held that post until April 1992 when the first Government of the Democratic Party, led by Aleksander Meksi, was formed. The new executive invited Moisiu to work as a counselor to the Minister of Defense. In 1994, Safet Zhulali appointed him the deputy minister charged with elaborating the defence politics of Albania. Moisiu's advice was to concentrate efforts on the reconstruction of the armed forces, which were in bad condition, and to start preparations for joining the

North Atlantic Treaty Organisation The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental transnational military alliance of 32 member states—30 European and 2 North American. Established in the aftermath ...

(NATO). In 1994 he founded the Albanian North Atlantic Association and was elected as its president. On January 24, 1995, he signed an individual association treaty binding Albania with NATO's

Partnership for Peace The Partnership for Peace (PfP; ) is a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) program aimed at creating trust and cooperation between the member states of NATO and other states mostly in Europe, including post-Soviet states; 18 states are ...

project. From 1995, Moisiu attended to the VIPs' courses of the NATO College in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. When the Albanian Socialist Party came to power in 1997, Moisiu lost his post in the Ministry. In the following years, he took an active part in extra-governmental activity, organizing international and all-Albanian conferences where issues of security and defense in South East Europe, armament control and collecting arms from civil persons were discussed.

Re-emergence in politics

In 2002, under pressure from international organizations, Moisiu was chosen by

Sali Berisha Sali Berisha (; born 15 October 1944) is an Albanian cardiologist and conservative politician who served as the president of Albania from 1992 to 1997 and as the 32nd Prime Minister of Albania, prime minister of Albania from 2005 to 2013. Berisha ...

and

Fatos Nano Fatos Thanas Nano (; born 16 September 1952) is an Albanian socialist politician who served as Prime Minister of Albania in 1991, from 1997 to 1998 and from 2002 to 2005. He was the first leader and founder of the Socialist Party of Albania and ...

as a consensus candidate for the presidency after the end of Rexhep Meidani's term. Moisiu was elected by the People's Assembly by a vote of 97 to 19 (with 14 abstentions) and he was sworn in for a five-year term as president on July 24, 2002. After the constitutional reform of November 1998, politics is mainly the task of the government. Moisiu promised to contribute to the strengthening of parliamentary democracy, the stabilization of the judiciary system and the integration of Albania into Euro-Atlantic structures. The day after the beginning of Moisiu's presidency, Socialist Prime Minister

Pandeli Majko Pandeli Sotir Majko (born 15 November 1967) is an Albanian socialist politician. He served twice as Prime Minister of Albania; once from 1998 to 1999, and again in 2002. Political career Early career Majko has been a member of the "Euro-Social ...

resigned, and the president appointed Fatos Nano, the leader of the Socialist Party, the new Prime Minister of Albania. On May 2025, Moisiu received the title

Honoris Causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

Honours

Albania

* "Gjergj Kastrioti Skënderbeu" Decoration *

Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star () was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 1930 but its statute was only defined in decree of the Presidium of the ...

Foreign

Moisiu has been awarded with the following awards and appointments: * Ribbon of an order of king Tomislav

Knight Grand Cross of the Croatian Grand Order of King Tomislav (July 2, 2007), "For outstanding contribution to the promotion of friendship and development co-operation between the Republic of Croatia and the Republic of Albania." * Order of Vytautas Commanders Grand Cross Ribbon

Order of Vytautas Commanders Grand Cross Ribbon

Grand Cross of the

Order of Vytautas the Great The Order of Vytautas the Great () is the Lithuanian Presidential Award.''Lietuvos Respublikos Konstitucija. 84 straipsnis''. Priimta 1992 It may be conferred on the heads of Lithuania and foreign states, as well as their citizens, for distinguish ...

(27 March 2007) * UK Order St-Michael St-George ribbon

Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

Jubilee Medal "60 Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" (2005) *Honorary Citizen of Bari (Italy) * Grand Order of King Tomislav (Croatia)

External links

Photo

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moisiu, Alfred 1929 births Living people Politicians from Kavajë People from Kavajë Moisiu family Party of Labour of Albania politicians Presidents of Albania Albanian generals Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Grand Crosses of the Order of Vytautas the Great Government ministers of Albania Defence ministers of Albania