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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 The People's Socialist Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika Popullore Socialiste e Shqipërisë, links=no) was the Marxist–Leninist one party state that existed in Albania from 1946 to 1992 (the official name of the country was the People's R ...
from 1985 to 1991, serving as First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania. He was also the country's
head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and ...
from 1982 to 1992. He had been seen as a successor by
Enver Hoxha Enver Halil Hoxha ( , ; 16 October 190811 April 1985) was an Albanians, Albanian communist politician who was the authoritarian ruler of Albania from 1944 until his death in 1985. He was Secretary (title)#First secretary, First Secretary of t ...
and took power after Hoxha died.


Early life and politics

Alia was born on 18 October 1925 in
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 Shko ...
to
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
parents who fled from persecution in
Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 191 ...
. He grew up and spent his childhood 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 ...
. In the early part of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
Alia was a member of a fascist youth organisation known as the Fascist Lictor Youth Organisation but joined the underground Albanian Communist Youth Organisation in 1941.J.F. Brown
Background Notes to Albania's Party Congress – Special Report
,
Blinken Open Society Archives Blinken Open Society Archives (abbreviated as Blinken OSA) is an archival repository and laboratory that aims to explore new ways of assessing, contextualizing, presenting, and making use of archival documents both in a professional and a conscio ...
, 2 February 1961.
In 1943, he became a member of the
Albanian Communist Party 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 and sole legal party of Albania during the communist period (1945–1991). It was founded o ...
. He had risen rapidly under Hoxha's patronage, and was elected to the Central Committee in 1948, and in 1956 was named a candidate member of the Politburo. By 1961 he was made a full member of the Politburo ( Politburo of the Party of Labour of Albania).Eastern Christianity and the Cold War, 1945-91, p.154
/ref> Alia distinguished himself as the chief ideologist in the social and cultural fields for the Party of Labour of Albania, specifically during the years of the
Cultural and Ideological Revolution The Cultural and Ideological Revolution () or Cultural Revolution () was a period of political and social change in Albania, launched by Enver Hoxha, the First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania (PPSH) at the time. The authorities of the ...
. Although Hoxha never designated an official successor, there were clear signs that he favoured Alia. In introducing Alia to one of his doctors, Hoxha said "My friend, I'm getting old, and my health is not the best it could be. Younger comrades, like this one
lia Lia is a feminine given name. In the Spanish-speaking world, it is accented Lía. In America, the name may be a variant of Leah or Lea. Lia may be a diminutive of various names including Julia, Cecilia, Amelia, Talia, Cornelia, Ophelia, Rosal ...
will step in."


Political career


First Secretary of the Albanian Labour Party

After World War II, Alia resumed his duties in the Communist Youth Organisation, and at the First Congress of the Albanian Party of Labour in November 1948, he was elected to its Central Committee and was assigned to the department of agitation and propaganda. As late as 1988, Alia had continued insisting that Hoxha was the only statesman in decades who stayed loyal to Marxism-Leninism, claiming in his speech at the unveiling of Hoxha's statue in
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 ...
: "Enver Hoxha has been and remains to this day the only name among the communist leaders of the last 4-5 decades who defended the teachings of Marxism-Leninism, the ideals of the revolution and socialism, both in theory and practice."


Transition to multi-party system and presidency

Despite Alia's efforts to proceed with change on a limited, cautious basis, reform from above threatened to turn into reform from below, largely because of the increasingly vocal demands of Albania's youth. On 9 December 1990, student demonstrators marched from the Enver Hoxha University (now
University of Tirana The University of Tirana ( sq, Universiteti i Tiranës, abbreviated UT) is a public university located at the central borough of Tirana 10 in Tirana, Albania. It was established as the ''State University of Tirana'' in 1957 through merging of f ...
) at
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 ...
through the streets of the capital shouting slogans and demanding reforms. By 11 December, the number of participants had reached almost 3,000. In an effort to quell the student unrest, which had led to clashes with riot police, Alia met with the students and agreed to take further steps toward
democratization Democratization, or democratisation, is the transition to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction. It may be a hybrid regime in transition from an authoritarian regime to a full ...
. The students informed Alia that they wanted to create an independent political organisation of students and youth. Alia's response was that such an organisation had to be registered with the Ministry of Justice. In his traditional New Year's message to the Albanian people, Alia welcomed the changes that had been occurring in the country and claimed that 1991 would be a turning point in terms of the economy. Alia was a crucial figure in the peaceful political transition of the early 1990s. Many believe that he helped the rise to power of the anti-communist opposition forces, thus eliminating possible bloodshed. He managed to remain a key political figure throughout several political crises. Nonetheless, with Albania in the throes of a grave economic crisis, Alia had to face challenges that he could not surmount. On 12 December 1990, he signed a law allowing political pluralism, on which he would later comment as his life's greatest failure. In the 1991 elections, the first democratic elections in the country, where Alia ran for Member of National Parliament in a constituency in the capital, which was a stronghold of the communist party, he was badly defeated by a surprising majority of 61% by the renowned mining engineer in the country, Franko Kroqi. Kroqi ran as a candidate of the newly formed Democratic Party of Albania, although he never became a party member. After this loss, and later on the
Democratic Party of Albania The Democratic Party of Albania ( sq, Partia Demokratike e Shqipërisë, PD or PDSH) is a conservative political party in Albania. It has been the largest opposition party in the country since 2013. The Democratic Party of Albania was founde ...
's (DPA) landslide victory in the spring 1992 general election, he resigned as
president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
on 3 April 1992. On 9 April the People's Assembly elected DPA leader
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 ...
as Albania's new head of state.


Arrest

On 21 May 1994, senior officials from the Communist government, including Ramiz Alia, went on trial. Alia was charged with abuse of power and misappropriation of state funds, as was prime minister Adil Carçani, deputy prime minister
Manush Myftiu Manush Myftiu (16 January 1919 – 20 October 1997) was an Albanian politician during the country's socialist period. He served in a number of positions, most recently as the deputy prime minister. Early life Myftiu was born in Vlora to ...
, and Rita Marko who was a vice-president. Alia had been placed under
house arrest In justice and law, house arrest (also called home confinement, home detention, or, in modern times, electronic monitoring) is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to their residence. Travel is usually restricted, if al ...
in August 1992 and his detention was converted into imprisonment in August 1993. In court he claimed he was the victim of a political
show trial A show trial is a public trial in which the judicial authorities have already determined the guilt or innocence of the defendant. The actual trial has as its only goal the presentation of both the accusation and the verdict to the public so ...
and demanded that the trial be broadcast on television, a request denied by the presiding judge. The trial was monitored by a
Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human ...
representative and proceeded with only minor due process irregularities. The ten defendants were found guilty as charged and sentenced to between three and nine years in prison; Alia received a nine-year sentence. A court of appeals subsequently reduced some of the sentences, notably Alia's to five years. Alia, Myftiu, Carçani, Stefani and Isai were also ordered to repay various sums to the state. On 30 November, the Court of Cassation reduced Alia's term by an additional three years. On 7 July 1995, Ramiz Alia was freed from jail. However, his freedom was short-lived and in 1996 he was charged with committing crimes against humanity during his term, and was imprisoned anew in March. The trial against him began on 18 February 1997, but he escaped from the prison following the unrest in the country and the desertion of the guards. Amid the unrest he appeared on State TV in an exclusive interview with Blendi Fevziu. In the late 2000s he was sometimes seen travelling to Albania from Dubai to give interviews or publicise his books. In December 1997, he returned to Albania after escaping briefly to
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to join his family during the
Albanian Civil War The Albanian Civil War in 1997 was sparked by pyramid scheme failures in Albania soon after its transition to a market economy. The government was toppled and more than 2,000 people were killed. Various other sources also describe the violenc ...
.


Death

Alia died on 7 October 2011 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 ...
,
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 share ...
, 11 days before his 86th birthday."Ramiz Alia"
The Guardian, 7 October 2011


See also

*
List of presidents of Albania This is a list of heads of state of Albania who have served since the Declaration of Independence of 1912. Since the collapse of the communist regime in 1991, the head of state of Albania is the President of the Republic ( sq, Presidenti i Re ...


References

Other sources * ''Political Parties in Albania 1912-2006'', Afrim Krasniqi, Tirana, 2007/a


Bibliography

* Alia, Ramiz. ''Jeta ime: Kujtime'', Tirana, Toena: 2010


External links


Country Studies On-Line
at the
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The libra ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alia, Ramiz 1925 births 2011 deaths People from Shkodër Labour Party of Albania politicians Members of the Politburo of the Labour Party of Albania Candidate members of the Politburo of the Labour Party of Albania Members of the Parliament of Albania Presidents of Albania Communist rulers People's Socialist Republic of Albania Deaths from lung disease Respiratory disease deaths in Albania Heads of government who were later imprisoned Socialist Party of Albania politicians