Lulzim Basha (; born 12 June 1974) is an Albanian politician who served as the chairman of the Democratic Party of Albania, the main opposition party, from 2013 to March 21, 2022 when he stepped down from the leadership of the party.
Basha was elected as chairman of the Democratic Party of Albania in September 2013 following the Democratic Party's electoral loss which sent them in the opposition. In 2021, he became the first opposition leader in Albanian history to lose two general elections in a row, although Basha claimed the losses came as a result of significant electoral interference by the ruling Socialist Party.
With over 8 years at the helm of the Democratic Party of Albania, Lulzim Basha is the second longest serving chairman of the party after
Sali Berisha
Sali Ram Berisha (; born 15 October 1944) is an Albanian conservative politician and former cardiologist who served as the second President of Albania from 1992 to 1997 and Prime Minister from 2005 to 2013.
He is also the current chairman of t ...
, who was in charge for a total of 16 years.
Early life and education
Lulzim Basha was born in
Tirana
Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and 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 overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...
on 12 June 1974 to a Kosovo-Albanian mother and an Albanian father. From his mother's side, he is respectively from
Mitrovica (grandfather) and
Gjilan
Gjilan, or Gnjilane ( sr-cyr, Гњилане) is the eighth largest city in Kosovo and seat of Gjilan Municipality and Gjilan District.
Name
Ottoman chronicler Evliya Çelebi mentions ''Morava'' as a settlement of the Sanjak of Vučitrn. ...
(grandmother). After attending the Sami Frashëri High School, he studied law at
Utrecht University
Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollme ...
in the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
and worked for the
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was a body of the United Nations that was established to prosecute the war crimes that had been committed during the Yugoslav Wars and to try their perpetrators. The tribunal ...
as member of the investigation team of
war crimes of Serbian forces in Kosovo (1998–1999).
In 2000, Basha joined the Department of Justice of the UN administration of
Kosovo
Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...
,
UNMIK
The United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) is the officially mandated mission of the United Nations in Kosovo. The UNMIK describes its mandate as being to "help the United Nations Security Council achieve an overall ...
, first as legal advisor and then as Deputy Chief of Cabinet of the Director of the UNMIK Justice Department since October 2001.
From November 2002 until January 2005 Basha served as special advisor for Transition in the same department.
Lulzim Basha is married to Aurela Basha a Dutch citizen, and they have two daughters, Victoria and Dafina.
Political career
Basha joined the
Democratic Party of Albania
The Democratic Party of Albania ( sq, Partia Demokratike e Shqipërisë, PD or PDSH) is a conservatism in Albania, conservative list of political parties in Albania, political party in Albania. It has been the largest opposition party in the c ...
in January 2005 and became a member of the party's leadership in May of that year. He has since held several ministerial positions in Democratic Party-led governments.
Berisha Cabinet (2005–2011)
![2008 01 29 albania 600Basha-Rice](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/2008_01_29_albania_600Basha-Rice.jpg)
He served as the party's spokesperson during the
2005 parliamentary elections at which he was elected as the MP of Constituency #33 in Tirana. He was then nominated in the Berisha government as Minister of Public Works, Transport and Telecommunications, where he served for a period of two years.
After the
2009 election, Basha was nominated as
Ministry of Internal Affairs
An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs.
Lists of current ministries of internal affairs
Named "ministry"
* Ministry ...
in the new Berisha government. As Minister of Interior, he implemented all the required criteria for visa-free travel to the Schengen countries, including the modernisation of the Albanian border and immigration police system, the issuing of high security biometric passports and a tougher fight against criminal activity and criminal assets. These steps won international praise, notably by
EUROPOL and other law enforcement bodies, and led to the decision of the EU on 8 November 2010 to lift all travel visa requirements for Albanian citizens effective 15 December 2010.
Mayor of Tirana (2011–2015)
In 2011 Basha was the governing party's candidate for the post of Mayor of Tirana. He defeated the leader of the Socialist opposition,
Edi Rama
Edi Rama (born Edvin Kristaq Rama, 4 July 1964) is an Albanian politician, painter, writer, former university lecturer, publicist and former basketball player, who has served as the 33rd and current Prime Minister of Albania since 2013 and chairm ...
, by a very narrow margin (only 81 votes after the recount) in a
hotly contested election.
![Tirana Night View](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/Tirana_Night_View.jpg)
During his term as mayor, Basha vowed to lead big reforms in his first hundred days in office, while promising to make the municipality more accessible to citizens and free of political conflicts.
His main focus was the development of the new strategic urban plan, to increase investments and employment and solve the traffic problems in the city centre.
A draft was presented in May 2012 and it was considered as very important for the future economic development of the city. It was one of the first successes of Basha as Mayor of Tirana, but the plan was opposed by the opposition.
The new Urban Development Plan proposed a number of measures, primarily with a focus on the road network and, to a smaller degree, on sustainable modes of transport.
A tramway system in addition to the bus system was proposed and the plan also included the building of a new Boulevard in the northern part of the city and the rehabilitation of the
Lanë
The Lanë ( sq-definite, Lana) is the main stream that crosses through Tirana, the capital of Albania. Its source is in the mountains east of Tirana. Although once clean, it now carries sewage. During the 1990s, many illegal kiosks and buildings ...
.
The earlier plan for the
Skanderbeg Square
The Skanderbeg Square () is the main plaza in the centre of Tirana, Albania. The square is named after the Albanian national hero Gjergj Kastrioti Skënderbeu. The total area is about 40,000 square metres. The Skanderbeg Monument dominates the ...
was scrapped and a new one introduced. The use of the square by all motor vehicles will be restored through the construction of a narrower road segment around the center of the square including bicycle lanes. The existing green field south of Skanderbeg's statue was extended northward for a few hundred meters, while trees were planted in most places.
In May 2013 the City Hall launched an international tender for the construction of the capital's new northern boulevard, with a length of 1.8 km. The project was expected to be finished before Basha's first mandate as mayor, but after the
2013 parliamentary election, the new
Rama Government cut off most of the funds.
Basha didn't run for a 2nd mandate in the
2015 local elections, which were won by the Socialist Party candidate Erion Veliaj.
Leader of the opposition (2013–2021)
After the defeat of the Democratic Party-led coalition in the
2013 parliamentary election and the resignation of
Sali Berisha
Sali Ram Berisha (; born 15 October 1944) is an Albanian conservative politician and former cardiologist who served as the second President of Albania from 1992 to 1997 and Prime Minister from 2005 to 2013.
He is also the current chairman of t ...
as party leader, Basha was elected as chairman of the Democratic Party on 23 July 2013, following the first one-member-one-vote election in party's history.
On 30 September 2014, a national congress of the Democratic Party was held to elect a new leadership. In the congress a tough reform of the party was announced by Basha.
![EPP Congress Madrid - 21 October (22176440870)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/EPP_Congress_Madrid_-_21_October_%2822176440870%29.jpg)
During his leadership numerous anti-government demonstrations have been held, accusing the government as corrupt and criminalised. On 2015 the Democratic Party proposed a Decriminalisation Law, which led to several months of negotiations with the government. Finally in December 2015, the law was passed by majority in the Parliament, barring people with criminal convictions from holding public office.
On 11 December 2016 during the celebrations for the 26th anniversary of the Democratic Party, party leader Lulzim Basha announced his program for the further modernization and democratisation of the party ahead of the 2017 parliamentary elections.
After previously promising that 35% of the parliamentary candidates would consist of members from the youth movement of the Party, Basha now announced a limitations of all mandates of the party leaders to a two-year term, and the full democratisation of the internal election process.
On 18 February 2017 members of the Democratic Party and other opposition parties, under the leadership of Lulzim Basha pitched a giant tent outside the Prime Minister's office in Tirana after thousands of protesters rallied to demand free elections and a technocrat government. The
opposition protest further escalated into a larger political conflict. The Democratic Party and its allies refused to register to take part in the 18 June general election, until the government will accept their conditions to secure a free and democratic election.
Political positions
EU Integration
![EPP Summit, March 2015, Brussels (16240791684)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/EPP_Summit%2C_March_2015%2C_Brussels_%2816240791684%29.jpg)
Basha is a strong supporter of Albania joining the EU.
Economy
During the
2017 Albanian parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in Albania on 25 June. They had initially been scheduled for 18 June, but after a possible boycott was announced by opposition parties during a political crisis that lasted three months, an agreement was reached b ...
he proposed reinstating the flat tax at a 9% rate. The flat tax was a form of taxation which had been applied by Berisha's government between 2005 and 2013.
Foreign Affairs
In June 2017, Basha met with President
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
during a visit to the US as part of participation in White House Workforce Development week.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Basha, Lulzim
1974 births
21st-century Albanian politicians
Albanian diplomats
Leaders of the Democratic Party of Albania
Political party leaders of Albania
Government ministers of Albania
Foreign ministers of Albania
Transport ministers of Albania
Kosovo Albanians
Living people
Mayors of Tirana
Members of the Parliament of Albania