Bajram Begaj (born 20 March 1967) is an Albanian retired military officer and politician, who is currently serving as the 9th

President of Albania The president of Albania ( sq, Presidenti i Shqipërisë), officially styled the President of the Republic of Albania ( sq, Presidenti i Republikës së Shqipërisë), is the head of state, commander-in-chief of the military and the representa ...

since 24 July 2022. Begaj, who has had a long career in the Albanian army, served as the 26th Chief of General Staff of the Albanian Armed Forces from July 2020 to June 2022. Although he is politically independent, on 3 June 2022 Begaj was officially nominated by the governing

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of t ...

as the candidate to the fourth round of the 2022 presidential election. Begaj is the fifth president in the history of Albania to have a military background, after Ahmet Zogu,

Ramiz Alia Ramiz Tafë Alia (; 18 October 1925 – 7 October 2011) was an Albanian politician serving as the second and last leader of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania from 1985 to 1991, serving as First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Alban ...

Alfred Moisiu Alfred Spiro Moisiu (; born 1 December 1929) is a former Albanian military general, diplomat and politician. He was the President of Albania from 2002 to 2007. He is the oldest son of Albanian Army general, Spiro Moisiu. Early life, education ...

and

Bujar Nishani Bujar Nishani (; 29 September 1966 – 28 May 2022) was an Albanian politician. He served as President of Albania from 24 July 2012 to 24 July 2017. Nishani was the youngest person to have been chosen as president of Albania, taking office at ...

Early life and career

Begaj was born on 20 March 1967, in

Rrogozhinë Rrogozhinë ( sq-definite, Rrogozhina) is a town and a municipality in Tirana County, centrally located in the Western Lowlands region of Albania. It was formed at the 2015 local government reform by the merger of the former municipalities Gosë, ...

. He graduated from Tirana's Faculty of Medicine in 1989 and became an active medical officer in 1998. Having completed his professional doctorate degree, he holds the title "Associate Professor" in Medicine. During his 31-year military career, Begaj has taken part in numerous training seminars and completed courses in Security and Defense, the Advanced Postgraduate School of Medicine, a Postgraduate Specialization in Gastrohepatology, a Hospital Management Course and Strategic Medical Leadership Course in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, a Specialization Course in Medicine and a Health Course in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

. Begaj previously served as the Commander of the Doctrine and Training Command in the Albanian Armed Forces. He held various other posts including: Chief of the Military Medical Unit and Deputy Military Director of SUT, Director of the

Military Hospital A military hospital is a hospital owned and operated by a military. They are often reserved for the use of military personnel and their dependents, but in some countries are made available to civilians as well. They may or may not be located on a ...

, Director of the Health Inspectorate, etc. He was appointed Chief of the General Staff of the Albanian Armed Forces in July 2020 and assumed office later that month.

Presidency (2022–present)

Begaj was

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population ...

by the

parliament of Albania The Parliament of Albania ( sq, Kuvendi i Shqipërisë) or Kuvendi is the unicameral representative body of the citizens of the Republic of Albania; it is Albania's legislature. The Parliament is composed of no less than 140 members elected to ...

for the role of president on 4 June 2022, with 78 votes in favour, 4 against, and 1 abstention. 57 MPs from the opposition boycotted the vote, claiming the process of naming candidates was irregular. Begaj was sworn in on 24 July 2022.

Official visits

Personal life

Begaj is married to Armanda Begaj, with whom he has two sons, Dorian and Klajdi.

References

, - 1967 births Living people People from Rrogozhinë Albanian generals 21st-century Albanian politicians Presidents of Albania {{Albania-politician-stub