Bashkim Fino (12 October 1962 – 29 March 2021) was an

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 ...

n socialist politician who served as the 29th

Prime Minister of Albania The Prime Minister of Albania ( sq, Kryeministri i Shqipërisë), officially styled Prime Minister of the Republic of Albania ( sq, Kryeministri i Republikës së Shqipërisë), is the head of government of the Republic of Albania and the mo ...

from March to July 1997.

Biography

Fino studied economics in Tirana and the United States. After this, he worked as an economist in

Gjirokastër Gjirokastër (, sq-definite, Gjirokastra) is a city in the Republic of Albania and the seat of Gjirokastër County and Gjirokastër Municipality. It is located in a valley between the Gjerë mountains and the Drino, at 300 metres above sea ...

, and in 1992 became its mayor. He was married and had two children. On 11 March 1997, Democratic Party

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 ...

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 ...

appointed Fino, a member of the opposition

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 ...

, Prime Minister in order to lead a government of national unity. This came after rebellion broke out over the collapse of several

pyramid scheme A pyramid scheme is a business model that recruits members via a promise of payments or services for enrolling others into the scheme, rather than supplying investments or sale of products. As recruiting multiplies, recruiting becomes quickly i ...

s leading to the government losing control of much of the country. Fino was Prime Minister through the 1997 elections where his Socialist Party won a large majority before he stepped down and was succeeded by his party leader

Fatos Nano Fatos Nano (; born 16 September 1952) is an Albanian socialist politician who served as Prime Minister of Albania in 1991, from 1997 to 1998 and from 2002 to 2005. He was the first leader and founder of the Socialist Party of Albania and a member ...

. As of 2014, Fino was a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

representing a constituency in the

Korçë District Korçë District ( sq, Rrethi i Korçës), was one of the 36 districts of Albania, which were dissolved in July 2000 and replaced by 12 counties. It had a population of 143,499 in 2001, and an area of . Its capital was the city of Korçë. Its t ...

. Fino was a lecturer at the

Political Academy of the Socialist Party of Albania The Political Academy of the Socialist Party of Albania or simply Political Academy ( sq, Akademia Politike e Partisë Socialiste; short: AP) is the first academy of modern left-wing leadership in Albania. It is an academy established by the Social ...

. Fino was a devoted fan of Italian football team

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter i ...

. In January 2018 he declared his intention to run for president of the Albanian Football Federation, challenging Armand Duka, the incumbent president of the last 16 years. The elections held on 7 February 2018, were lost by Fino, although he claimed that the voting process was irregular and that he would appeal to

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs fo ...

and

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

. Fino, who had

Leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ...

, died on 29 March 2021, after contracting

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...

. He was 58.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fino, Bashkim 1962 births 2021 deaths Government ministers of Albania Prime Ministers of Albania Deputy Prime Ministers of Albania Public Works ministers of Albania Tourism ministers of Albania People from Gjirokastër Socialist Party of Albania politicians Albanian socialists Mayors of Gjirokastër Members of the Parliament of Albania 21st-century Albanian politicians Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Albania

Biography

See also

References