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The Party of Labour of Albania ( sq, Partia e Punës e Shqipërisë, PPSh), sometimes referred to as the Albanian Workers' Party (AWP), was the
ruling Rule or ruling may refer to: Education * Royal University of Law and Economics (RULE), a university in Cambodia Human activity * The exercise of political or personal control by someone with authority or power * Business rule, a rule perta ...
and sole legal party of
Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
during the communist period (1945–1991). It was founded on 8 November 1941 as the Communist Party of Albania (, PKSh) but changed its name in 1948. The party was dissolved on 13 June 1991 and succeeded by the
Socialist Party of Albania The Socialist Party of Albania ( sq, Partia Socialiste e Shqipërisë, PS or PSSh) is a social-democratic political party in Albania. It has been described as centre-left, to left-wing. It was founded on 13 June 1991. The PS is an associate of t ...
. For most of its existence, the party was dominated by its First Secretary,
Enver Hoxha Enver Halil Hoxha ( , ; 16 October 190811 April 1985) was an Albanian communist politician who was the authoritarian ruler of Albania from 1944 until his death in 1985. He was First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania from 1941 unt ...
, who was also the ''de facto'' leader of Albania.


Background

In the 1920s, Albania was the only Balkan country without a communist party. The first Albanian communists emerged from the followers of Albanian clergyman and politician
Fan S. Noli Theofan Stilian Noli, known as Fan Noli (6 January 1882 – 13 March 1965), was an Albanian writer, scholar, diplomat, politician, historian, orator, Archbishop, Metropolitan and founder of the Albanian Orthodox Church and the Albanian Orthodox A ...
. Once in Moscow, they formed the National Revolutionary Committee and became affiliated to the
Comintern The Communist International (Comintern), also known as the Third International, was a Soviet Union, Soviet-controlled international organization founded in 1919 that advocated world communism. The Comintern resolved at its Second Congress to ...
. In August 1928, the first Albanian Communist Party was formed in the Soviet Union. The most prominent figure of the party was
Ali Kelmendi Ali Kelmendi (3 November 1900 – 11 February 1939) was a Kosovar Albanian communist, an organizer of the communist movement in Albania and was posthumously a Hero of Albania under the communist government. Life and career Ali Kelmendi was born ...
who left Albania in 1936, to fight in the
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...
. He was later regarded as the leader of a small group of Albanian Communists in France. However, no unified organisation existed in Albania until 1941.


History


World War II

Following the German attack on the Soviet Union in June 1941, Yugoslav leader
Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito (; sh-Cyrl, Тито, links=no, ), was a Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman, serving in various positions from 1943 until his deat ...
under Comintern directives sent two Yugoslav delegates
Miladin Popović Miladin Popović ( sr-cyr, Миладин Поповић; 23 September 1910 – 13 March 1945) was a Yugoslav Partisan and secretary of the Regional Committee of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia (OK KPJ) of Kosmet (Kosovo). He was one of the org ...
and
Dušan Mugoša Dušan Mugoša ( sr-cyr, Душан Мугоша 7 January 1914 – 8 August 1973), nicknamed Duć (Дућ), was a Yugoslav Partisan. He and Miladin Popović were the Yugoslav delegates that helped unite the Albanian communist groups in 1941. The ...
to Albania. These two helped unite the Albanian communist groups in 1941. After intensive work, the Albanian Communist Party was formed on 8 November 1941 by a delegates from
Shkodër Shkodër ( , ; sq-definite, Shkodra) is the fifth-most-populous city of the Republic of Albania and the seat of Shkodër County and Shkodër Municipality. The city sprawls across the Plain of Mbishkodra between the southern part of Lake Shkod ...
with Enver Hoxha from the Korça branch as its leader. Among the founding members, there were 8 Christian members: Koço Tashko,
Koçi Xoxe Koçi Xoxe (pronounced ; 1 May 1911 – 11 June 1949) was an Albanian politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania. He was supported by Yugoslav leader Josip Broz T ...
, Pandi Kristo, Gjin Marku,
Vasil Shanto Vasil Shanto (17 August 1913 – 1 February 1944), called Vasko was one of the founders of the Albanian Communist Party. He was the leader, along with Qemal Stafa, of the Shkodër communist group. One of the delegates of the party, he was freque ...
,
Tuk Jakova Tuk Jakova (20 February 1914 – 26 August 1959) was an Albanian politician in the People's Republic of Albania. He served as Chairman of the Constituent Assembly, Minister of Finance, Minister of Interior, and twice as Vice-Prime Minist ...
, Kristo Themelko and Anastas Lulo; and 5 Muslim members: Enver Hoxha,
Qemal Stafa Qemal Stafa (20 March 1920 – 5 May 1942) was a founding member of the Albanian Communist Party, and the leader of its youth section. Biography Stafa was born in Elbasan in 1920, in a family originating from the Zabzun village, at the time part ...
, Ramadan Çitaku, Kadri Hoxha and Sadik Premte. The PKSh was the dominant element of the National Liberation Movement (LNC), formed in 1942. The LNC drove out the German occupiers (who had taken over from the Italians in 1943) on 29 November 1944. From that day onward, Albania was a full-fledged Communist regime. In every other Eastern European country, the Communists were at least nominally part of a coalition government for a few years before seizing power at the helm of out-and-out Communist regimes. King Zog was barred from ever returning to Albania, though the monarchy was not formally abolished until January 1946. In the elections for the Constituent Assembly held on 2 December 1945, voters were presented with a single list from the
Democratic Front Democratic Front is a name used by political parties and alliances in several countries, such as: *Democratic Front (Albania) *Democratic Front for the Liberation of Angola *Democratic Front (Bosnia and Herzegovina) *Democratic Front (Cyprus) * Demo ...
, organised and led by the PKSh. The Front received 93.7% of the vote.


Hoxha era (1945–1985)

In a meeting with
Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...
in July 1947 Stalin suggested the party be renamed to the "Party of Labour of Albania" because peasants were a majority in the country. Hoxha accepted this suggestion. Under Hoxha, the party became the most rigidly
anti-revisionist Anti-revisionism is a position within Marxism–Leninism which emerged in the 1950s in opposition to the reforms of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. Where Khrushchev pursued an interpretation that differed from his predecessor Joseph Stalin, ...
party in the
Soviet Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...
. In 1961, Hoxha broke with Moscow over
Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and chairman of the country's Council of Ministers from 1958 to 1964. During his rule, Khrushchev s ...
's supposed deviations from fundamental principles of Marxism-Leninism, though relations between Tirana and Moscow had begun to chill as early as 1955. Hoxha opted instead to align with the
People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
under
Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...
. In 1968, Albania formally withdrew from the
Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republic ...
. The party even went as far as to engineer an Albanian version of China's
Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...
. After Mao's death, the PKSh felt increasing chagrin as Mao's successors moved away from his legacy. In 1978, Hoxha declared that Albania would blaze its own trail to a socialist society. Hoxha led the party and state more or less without resistance until his death in 1985.


Post-Hoxha (1985–1991)

Hoxha's successor, Ramiz Alia, was forced to initiate gradual reforms in order to stop the country's economic downspiral. However, in late 1989, various elements of society began to speak out against the restrictions still in place. The execution of
Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...
dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu led Alia to fear he would be next. In response, he allowed Albanians to travel abroad, ended the regime's longstanding policy of state atheism, and slightly loosened government control of the economy. However, these measures only served to buy Alia more time. Finally, bowing to the inevitable, on 11 December 1990, Alia announced that the PPSh had abandoned power and legalised opposition parties. The PPSh won the Constitutional Assembly elections of 1991. However, by then it was no longer a Marxist-Leninist party, and was powerless to prevent the adoption of a new interim constitution that formally stripped it of its monopoly of power. In 1991, the PPSh dissolved and refounded itself as the social-democratic
Socialist Party of Albania The Socialist Party of Albania ( sq, Partia Socialiste e Shqipërisë, PS or PSSh) is a social-democratic political party in Albania. It has been described as centre-left, to left-wing. It was founded on 13 June 1991. The PS is an associate of t ...
, which is now one of the two major political parties in Albania. A group called "Volunteers of Enver", led by Hysni Milloshi, laid claim to the identity of the PPSh as the Communist Party of Albania.


Structure

The ideology of the PPSh was an
anti-revisionist Anti-revisionism is a position within Marxism–Leninism which emerged in the 1950s in opposition to the reforms of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. Where Khrushchev pursued an interpretation that differed from his predecessor Joseph Stalin, ...
variant of Marxism-Leninism known as Hoxhaism. The party organisation was built up following democratic centralist principles, with Hoxha as its First Secretary. Article 3 of Albania's 1976 Constitution identified the Party as the "leading political force of the state and of the society." To help carry out its ideological activities it had an associated mass organization known as the
Democratic Front Democratic Front is a name used by political parties and alliances in several countries, such as: *Democratic Front (Albania) *Democratic Front for the Liberation of Angola *Democratic Front (Bosnia and Herzegovina) *Democratic Front (Cyprus) * Demo ...
. Its daily publication was (Voice of the People) and its monthly theoretical journal was (Road of the Party). The highest organ of the Party, according to the Party statutes, was the Party Congress, which met for a few days every five years. Delegates to the Congress were elected at conferences held at the regional, district, and city levels. The Congress examined and approved reports submitted by the Central Committee, discussed general Party policies, and elected the Central Committee. The latter was the next-highest level in the Party hierarchy and generally included all key officials in the government, as well as prominent members of the Sigurimi. The Central Committee directed Party activities between Party Congresses and met approximately three times a year. As in the Soviet Union, the Central Committee elected a
Politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the executive committee for communist parties. It is present in most former and existing communist states. Names The term "politburo" in English comes from the Russian ''Politbyuro'' (), itself a contraction ...
and a Secretariat. The Politburo, which usually included key government ministers and Central Committee secretaries, was the main administrative and policy-making body and convened on a weekly basis. Generally, the Central Committee approved Politburo reports and policy decisions. The Secretariat was responsible for guiding the day-to-day affairs of the Party, in particular for organising the execution of Politburo decisions and for selecting Party and government cadres.


First Secretaries of the Party of Labour of Albania

*Enver Hoxha, 8 November 1941 – 11 April 1985 *Ramiz Alia, 13 April 1985 – 13 June 1991


External following

The staunchly orthodox stand of the PPSh attracted many political groupings around the world, particularly among
Maoist Maoism, officially called Mao Zedong Thought by the Chinese Communist Party, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of Ch ...
s who were not content with the
Communist Party of China The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil ...
's attitude in the late 1970s. A large number of parties declared themselves to be in the "PPSh line", especially during the period 1978–1980. However, many of them abandoned this certain affiliation after the fall of the socialist government in Albania. Today, many of the political parties upholding the political line of the PPSh are grouped around the International Conference of Marxist-Leninist Parties and Organisations. The following parties were followers of the PPSh during the Cold War: * Communist Party of Denmark/Marxist–Leninists *
Workers' Communist Party of France The Workers' Communist Party of France (french: Parti communiste des ouvriers de France, PCOF) is a political party of France. The party publishes the monthly newspaper ''La Forge'' and is an active participant in the International Conference o ...
*
Communist Party of Germany/Marxists–Leninists The Communist Party of Germany/Marxists–Leninists (german: Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands/Marxisten-Leninisten, KPD/ML) was a clandestine communist party active in West Germany and East Germany during the Cold War. It was founded in 1968 ...
* Communist Party of Britain (Marxist–Leninist) *
Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain (Marxist–Leninist) The Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain (Marxist–Leninist) (RCPB-ML) is a small British communist political party, previously named the Communist Party of England (Marxist-Leninist) (CPE (ML)) on formation in 1972 until being reorga ...
*
Communist Movement M-L Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a so ...
(Iceland) *
Communist Party of Ireland (Marxist–Leninist) The Communist Party of Ireland (Marxist–Leninist) was an anti-revisionist political party based in Ireland. It had strong links to the Party of Labour of Albania, Communist Party of Canada (Marxist–Leninist) and Revolutionary Communist Party ...
* Communist Party of Italy (Marxist–Leninist) *
Portuguese Communist Party (Reconstructed) Communist Party (Reconstructed) ( pt, Partido Comunista Português (reconstruído)), initially known as Portuguese Communist Party (Reconstructed) ( pt, Partido Comunista Português (Reconstruído), links=no), was a political party in Portugal. H ...
*
Communist Party of Spain (Marxist–Leninist) (historical) The Communist Party of Spain ( Marxist-Leninist) (in Spanish: ''Partido Comunista de España (marxista-leninista)'', PCE (m-l)) is a communist political party in Spain, formed in 1964 through the merger of splinter groups of the Communist Party of ...
* Communist Party Marxists-Leninists (revolutionaries) (Sweden) * Communist Party of Benin *
Voltaic Revolutionary Communist Party Voltaic Revolutionary Communist Party (french: Parti communiste révolutionnaire voltaïque, PCRV) is a communist party in Burkina Faso. It was founded on 1 October 1978, following a split in the Voltaic Communist Organization (OCV). The PCRV ...
* Union for People's Democracy (Senegal) *
Communist Party of Canada (Marxist–Leninist) The Communist Party of Canada (Marxist–Leninist) ( abbr. CPC(M-L)) is a Canadian federal political party founded by Hardial Bains in 1970. The CPC(M-L) has been registered with Elections Canada as the Marxist–Leninist Party of Canada (MLP ...
*
Marxist–Leninist Popular Action Movement Popular Action Movement - Marxist–Leninist () is a Hoxhaist communist party in Nicaragua that surged out of a split from the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) in the early 1970s. Since 1985 it is officially named the Marxist–Leninis ...
(Nicaragua) * Communist Party of Trinidad and Tobago *
Communist Party of Brazil The Communist Party of Brazil ( pt-BR, Partido Comunista do Brasil, PCdoB) is a political party in Brazil. The PCdoB officially adheres to Marxist–Leninist theory. It has national reach and deep penetration in the trade union and student m ...
* Peruvian Communist Party – Red Flag *
Revolutionary Vanguard (Communist Proletarian) Revolutionary Vanguard (Communist Proletarian) (in Spanish: , abbreviated VR-PC) was a Maoist-oriented political party in Peru founded in 1977 by Eduardo Figari and Julio César Mezzich. It was formed through a split in Revolutionary Vanguard. In 19 ...
(Peru) *
Communist Party of Suriname The Communist Party of Suriname ( nl, Kommunistische Partij van Suriname) was a communist party in Suriname. It was founded in 1973. The party was pro-Albanian in its political position. The party ran candidates in the 1977 Surinamese election unde ...
* Communist Party of New Zealand


Friendship Associations

Various friendship associations were also formed by international Communist sympathizers who supported the Party: * China–Albania Friendship Association *
Soviet–Albanian Friendship Society The Soviet–Albanian Friendship Society (Albanian: ''Shoqëria e miqësisë Shqipëri-Bashkimi Sovjetik'', Russian: ''Общество советско-албанской дружбы'') was an organization established in 1945 to facilitate cultura ...
* USA–Albania Friendship Association * Friendship Association Norway–Albania *
Spain–Albania Friendship Association Spain–Albania Friendship Association ( es, Asociación de Amistad España-Albania) was an organization based in Spain. The association was recognized by the government of Socialist Albania. The organization was linked to the Communist Party of Sp ...
* Swedish–Albanian Association


Electoral history


Parliamentary elections


See also

*
Democratic Front of Albania The Democratic Front of Albania ( sq, Fronti Demokratik i Shqipërisë) was the largest mass organization of the Party of Labour of Albania (known from 1941–48 as the Communist Party of Albania) which united all other mass organizations of the P ...
* History of Albania *
Fall of communism in Albania The fall of Communism in Albania, the last such event in Europe outside the Soviet Union, started in December 1990 with student demonstrations in the capital, Tirana, although protests started in January that year in other cities like Shkodra ...
*
Eastern Bloc politics Eastern Bloc politics followed the Red Army's occupation of much of Central and Eastern Europe at the end of World War II and the Soviet Union's installation of Soviet-controlled Marxist–Leninist governments in the region that would be later cal ...
*
Politburo of the Party of Labour of Albania The Politburo was the leading organ of the Party of Labour of Albania. It comprised key government ministers and Central Committee secretaries and served as the main administrative and policy-making body, convening on a weekly basis. The following ...


References


Citations


Sources

*


External links


Documents of the Party of Labour of Albania
{{Authority control Defunct political parties in Albania Communist parties in Albania
Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
Stalinist parties Hoxhaist parties Anti-revisionist organizations Parties of one-party systems People's Socialist Republic of Albania Formerly ruling communist parties Eastern Bloc 1941 establishments in Albania 1991 disestablishments in Albania Political parties established in 1941 Political parties disestablished in 1991