The Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs ( sq, Ministria për Europën dhe Punët e Jashtme) is a department of the

Albanian Government Albania is a unitary parliamentary constitutional republic, where the President of Albania is the head of state and the Prime Minister of Albania the head of government in a multi-party system. The executive power is exercised by the Government a ...

, in charge of diplomacy,

foreign policy A State (polity), state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterall ...

and the process of admission of Albania into the European Union. The ministry also provides support to Albanian citizens residing abroad. In September 2017, the ministry was restructured and it was merged with the Ministry of European Integration.

History

Establishment

The establishment of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of the modern Albanian state dates back to the creation of the Provisional Government of Vlora on December 4, 1912, a few days after declaring

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 ...

's secession from the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. The

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

of the Provisional Government,

Ismail Qemali Ismail Qemal bey Vlora, mostly known as Ismail Qemali (; 16 January 184426 January 1919), was an Albanian diplomat, politician, rilindas, statesman and the Founding Father of modern Albania, and one of the most famous Southern Albanian perso ...

, also held the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs until June 1913. Later this function passed to

Myfit Bey Libohova Mufid Bey Libohova (1876 in Libohovë – 1927 in Sarandë) was an Albanian economist, diplomat and politician and one of the delegates at the Assembly of Vlorë (28 November 1912) where the Albanian Declaration of Independence took place. H ...

who exercised it until the end of January 1914. The MFA in this period functioned as a section of the Provisional Government, with the main objective ensuring the recognition of Albania's independence from the

Great Powers A great power is a sovereign state that is recognized as having the ability and expertise to exert its influence on a global scale. Great powers characteristically possess military and economic strength, as well as diplomatic and soft power in ...

at the London Conference of Ambassadors. To accomplish this goal were also accomplished the first diplomatic services as was the diplomatic deployment of the Government of Vlora at the Ambassadorial Conference, headed by the personal diplomat of the Prime Minister, which was Rasih Dino.

1914–1920

On March 7, 1914, the German prince Wilhelm Friedrich Heinrich arrives in

Durrës Durrës ( , ; sq-definite, Durrësi) is the second most populous city of the Republic of Albania and seat of Durrës County and Durrës Municipality. It is located on a flat plain along the Albanian Adriatic Sea Coast between the mouths of ...

. The Prince of Albania appointed on 17 March 1914 the "definitive government". The first Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the newly recognized Albanian state was

Turhan Pashë Përmeti Turhan is a given name. Notable persons with that surname include: Given name *Turhan Baytop (1920–2002), Turkish botanist *Turhan Bey (1922–2012), Turkish-American actor *Turhan Hatice Sultan (c. 1628–1683), Valide sultan of the Ottoman Empi ...

, former ambassador of the Ottoman Empire in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. Turhan Pasha remained foreign minister until May 28, 1914, later replaced by

Prenk Bib Doda Prenk Bib Doda, also known as Prênk Pasha ( sq, Prenk Bibë Doda; 1860–1919), was an Albanian member of the Young Turks, prince of Mirdita, and politician in the Principality of Albania. Background Early years Doda was born in 1860 in ...

and the latter, after July, was followed by

Mehmet Konica Mehmed Konica (1881 – 1948), was an Albanian politician. He served three times as the List of Foreign Ministers of Albania, Foreign Minister of Albania. He was the brother of Albanian writer Faik Konica. Konica was born in Konitsa, today's Gre ...

. Since

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

and

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

were the authors of the formula for recognition of Albania's independence, Captain Castoldi, an Italian officer, was "commanded" at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for diplomatic missions. He and the Austrian diplomat Carl Buchberger formed the prince's political cabinet. The first official Albanian diplomatic representation was established in Vienna, represented by Syrja bey Vlora, and in Rome, represented by

Myfid bej Libohova Mufid Bey Libohova (1876 in Libohovë – 1927 in Sarandë) was an Albanian economist, diplomat and politician and one of the delegates at the Assembly of Vlorë (28 November 1912) where the Albanian Declaration of Independence took place ...

. The government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Albania operated until the eve of the First World War in September 1914. On September 3, Prince William of Wied left Albania and the country turned into a theater of war in the Balkan states and the Great Powers.

1920–1925

In January 1920, in Lushnje, at the initiative of Albanian patriots and intellectuals of the time, a

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

was convened with representatives from all the liberated provinces of Albania, which would elect Albanian national government away from Italian influences. On January 30, 1920, the Albanian national government was created, with a broad support base. Its prime minister was

Sulejman Delvina Sulejman bey Delvina, also known as ''Sylejman Fehmi'' (5 October 1871 – 1 August 1932), was an Albanian politician and prime minister from March to November 1920. Biography Early life Sulejman Delvina was born on 5 October 1871 in ...

and Minister of Foreign Affairs

.Lufta e popullit shqiptar per çlirimin kombetar, 1918–1920 ..., Volume 2 By Muin Çami page 64

Since the Paris Peace Conference, 1919, Peace Conference in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

left unresolved recognition of the independence and borders of Albania, as set forth in 1913, Foreign Minister Konica immediately embarked on the key European chancellors of the time to secure their support in reaching a decision-making for Albania. To build a foreign professional service, with a special decision of the Council of Ministers, in October 1920, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, M.Konica, was asked to find a consul from the old Austrian consuls to be hired for a 2-year period for organizing Albanian consulates and serving as teachers for those who wanted to enter the consular service of Albania. Then, in August 1921, the National Council (parliament), upon the proposal of the Foreign Policy Committee, decided to open the Albanian consulates in

Brindisi Brindisi ( , ) ; la, Brundisium; grc, Βρεντέσιον, translit=Brentésion; cms, Brunda), group=pron is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Histo ...

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...

and

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

Officeholders (1912–present)

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ministry Of Foreign Affairs (Albania)

Politics of Albania Albania is a unitary parliamentary constitutional republic, where the President of Albania is the head of state and the Prime Minister of Albania the head of government in a multi-party system. The executive power is exercised by the Government a ...

Foreign Affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership organization and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and ...

1912 establishments in Albania