Hekuran Isai (7 May 1933 in

Peqin Peqin (, sq-definite, Peqini) is a town and municipality in Elbasan County, central Albania. The municipality was formed at the 2015 local government reform by the merger of the former municipalities Gjoçaj, Karinë, Pajovë, Peqin, Përparim an ...

– 26 March 2008 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 ...

) 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 shares ...

n politician of the Albanian Party of Labour (PPSh).

Life

After joining the Albanian Party of Labour (Alb: ''Partia e Punes së Shqipërisë'') in 1957, he studied in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

from 1957 to 1960. On his return Isai served as a specialist in a

petroleum refinery An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refined into useful products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, asphalt base, fuel oils, heating oil, kerosene, liquefie ...

Cërrik Cërrik (; sq-definite, Cërriku ) is a municipality in Elbasan County, central Albania. The municipality consists of the administrative units of Gostimë, Klos, Mollas, Shalës with Cërrik constituting its seat. As of the Institute of Stat ...

. In 1962, he was elected first-deputy of the People's Assembly (Alb: ''Kuvendi Popullor''), and was also elected as a member of the parliament from the fifth until the end of the eleventh legislative, ending in 1991. He served initially as member of the Committee on Industry, Mining and Construction. At the 5th Congress of the Party in November 1966, he was elected first-candidate of the Central Committee (CC) of the Party. In 1967 he started studying at the Party's School "Vladimir Ilyich Lenin" in Tirana, majoring in

Political Economy Political economy is the study of how Macroeconomics, economic systems (e.g. Marketplace, markets and Economy, national economies) and Politics, political systems (e.g. law, Institution, institutions, government) are linked. Widely studied ph ...

. Isai worked afterwards as First Secretary of the PPSh in Elbasan District, which at that time included his native town of

, later as First Secretary in Librazhd District from 1970 to 1975, and for a short time First Secretary of the Party in the

Dibër District Dibër District ( sq, Rrethi i Dibrës) was one of the 36 districts of Albania, which were dissolved in July 2000 and replaced by 12 counties. It had a population of 86,144 in 2001, and an area of . It is in the northeast of the country, and i ...

. At the 6th Party Congress in November 1971, he was also elected a member of the Central Committee. In June 1975, he became a member of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the PPSh, and held this function until November 1986. A few months later, in September 1975, he was elevated as member of the Politburo of the Party, as substitute for the recently purged Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the State Planning Commission Abdyl Këllezi. Isai, together with

Qirjako Mihali Qirjako Mihali (13 May 1929 - 7 April 2009) was an Albanian politician of the Albanian Party of Labour. He was a candidate-member of the Politburo of the Party of Labour of Albania, Minister of Finance, and member of the Albanian Parliament. Bi ...

Pali Miska Pali Miska (19 May 1931 – September 2009) was an Albanian politician of the Communist Era. He served as Chairman of the Assembly of the Republic of Albania from 22 November 1982 to 19 February 1987. Miska was first as a party functionary in ...

, and

Llambi Gegprifti Llambi Gegprifti (born 14 February 1942, in Pogradec) is a former Albanian politician and mayor of Tirana (precisely Chairman of the Executive Committee of the People's Council of Tirana District) from 1986 through 1987 and 1989 through 1990. He w ...

, represented a new generation of leaders within the Party, which emerged with the termination of relations with the People's Republic of China. On January 15, 1982 Isai was appointed Minister of the Interior in the government of Prime Minister

Adil Çarçani Adil Çarçani (5 May 1922 – 13 October 1997) was an Albanian politician who served as the 24th Prime Minister of Albania during the Communist era led by Enver Hoxha. He served as the titular head of the Albanian government in the years immedia ...

, succeeding another purged figure, Feçor Shehu. As interior minister, he was also head of the secret service

Sigurimi The Directorate of State Security (), commonly called the ''Sigurimi'', was the state security, intelligence and secret police service of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania. Its proclaimed goal was maintaining state security of Albania, ...

and held these two positions until February 2, 1989. Between February 1987 and February 1989 he was also Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers. Between February 1989 and July 1990, he was a member of the Secretariat of the Central Committee. He then took over again on July 9, 1990 until February 22, 1991 as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior. Most recently, he stated that he opposed the command of the First Secretary of the PPSh (

Ramiz Alia 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 from 1985 to 1991, serving as First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Alban ...

) who had ordered shooting at protesters in Tirana during the

collapse of communism The Revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, was a revolutionary wave that resulted in the end of most communist states in the world. Sometimes this revolutionary wave is also called the Fall of Nations or the Autumn of Natio ...

in February 1991. This claim was however rejected by Alia as untrue. After the dissolution of the PPSh and the establishment of the Socialist Party of Albania (Alb: ''Partia Socialiste e Shqipërisë'') in June 1991, Isai finally retired from the Politburo. In 1994, a special court was formed in Tirana against him and former officials Ramiz Alia,

Simon Stefani Simon Stefani (3 January 1929 - 2 August 2000) was an Albanian politician of the communist era. Stefani was born in Përmet. He served as Chairman of the Assembly of the Republic of Albania from 25 December 1978 to 22 November 1981, as well as me ...

, and Adil Çarçani. They were indicted for "abuse of authority and violation of civil rights". In July 1994 the following sentences were issued: Alia, nine years' imprisonment; Stefani, eight years; Isai, five years; and Çarcani, five years. A similar trial was brought in 1996 for a list of 36 former officials. Isai's name appeared again.ATA: ''Tirana Court Orders Arrest of Former Communist Officials'' (22. January 1996)
/ref> All were released soon after the turmoils of 1997.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Isai, Hekuran 1933 births 2008 deaths People from Peqin Labour Party of Albania politicians Members of the Politburo of the Labour Party of Albania Members of the Parliament of Albania Government ministers of Albania Deputy Prime Ministers of Albania Interior ministers of Albania

Life

See also

References