Jozefina Topalli ( Çoba; born November 26, 1963) is 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 who formerly served as the Chairwoman of the Parliament of Albania from 2 September 2005 until 9 September 2013. She held the title of vice president of 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 ...

. Topalli is married and has two children.

Studies and early jobs

Jozefina Çoba Topalli graduated from Luigj Gurakuqi University in Shkodra with a double major in

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

and

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

. She subsequently studied

international relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such as ...

at the

University of Padua The University of Padua ( it, Università degli Studi di Padova, UNIPD) is an Italian university located in the city of Padua, region of Veneto, northern Italy. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from B ...

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 acquired a master's degree from the

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 ...

public administration Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, administration of government establishment (public governance), management of non-profit establ ...

and in European Studies; in 2010, she obtained her

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

at the

, with a dissertation on the topic of "The Role of the National Parliament in the process of European integration of the country". She is fluent in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

, and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

. From 1992 to 1995, she worked at the

Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ad ...

in the city of

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 Shkod ...

, and in 1995 and 1996 was chancellor and lecturer at the Luigj Gurakuqi University in Shkodra. Topalli has been a member of the

national legislature This is a list of legislatures by country. A "legislature" is the generic name for the national parliaments and congresses that act as a plenary general assembly of representatives and that have the power to legislate. All entities included in ...

since 1996. In 2005, Topalli was elected

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 ful ...

of the

Assembly of the Republic of Albania The Parliament of Albania ( sq, Kuvendi i Shqipërisë) or Kuvendi is the unicameral representative body of the citizens of the Republic of Albania; it is Albania's legislature. The Parliament is composed of no less than 140 members elected to a ...

, and retained her position in 2009.

Political career

At the

1996 Albanian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Albania on 26 May 1996, with a second round of voting for 25 seats on 2 June.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 ...

; she was subsequently re-elected four times. She has been member of the Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Family, and also as Deputy President of the Children's Committee. Since 1996, Topalli has been Deputy Chair of the

Parliament Speaker

Jozefina Çoba Topalli is the first woman

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

of the

Albanian Parliament The Parliament of Albania ( sq, Kuvendi i Shqipërisë) or Kuvendi is the unicameral representative body of the citizens of the Republic of Albania; it is Albania's legislature. The Parliament is composed of no less than 140 members elected to a ...

in all the parliamentary history of the country and the sixth Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Albania in the pluralistic parliamentary history since 1991. She assumed her duties in September 2005, and was re-elected as Speaker of Parliament for a second four-year mandate in September 2009. In two previous consecutive legislatures (1997–2001; 2001–2005), Topalli served as Deputy Speaker of the Assembly. In September 2005, in her speech at the oath-taking ceremony as Speaker of the Albanian Assembly, Jozefina Çoba Topalli underlined her steady determination to be an advocate of the opposition, too. In the framework of parliamentary diplomacy, a novelty the Speaker of the Albanian Parliament brought into Albanian political life, Jozefina Topalli was engaged in the acceleration of the ratification by the EU states parliaments of the

Stabilisation and Association Agreement In talks with countries that have expressed a wish to join the European Union, the EU typically concludes Association Agreements in exchange for commitments to political, economic, trade, or human rights reform in that country. In exchange, th ...

between Albania and the EU, as well as the

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

protocols for the accession of Albania into the North Atlantic alliance. She continues her lobbying for the recognition of the

Republic 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 international recognition of Kosovo, partiall ...

Honours

For her successful career and political and parliamentary engagements, in 2010, Jozefina Topalli was awarded the prized "Mediterranean Award" by the International Mediterranean Forum for Peace, consigned by Sergio De Gregorio, president of the Italian parliamentary delegation to the NATO Assembly. Jozefina Topalli was declared the First Ambassador of

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...

for the protection of children's rights in the country by the UNICEF office in Albania, as well as representatives of NGOs and institutions dealing with children's rights. For her valuable contribution in politics, Topalli was awarded the "Medal of Honour" by the Chairman of the Legislative Assembly of

St. 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 ...

, Vadim Tulapanov. Also, as Speaker of Parliament, Topalli was honoured with the international title "Millennium Peace Award: ''Cavaliere per la Pace''" by the International Peace Union, at the

Catholic University of Milan The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a p ...

. In April 2012, the

Čair Municipality Čair ( mk, , sq, Komuna e Çairit) is one of the ten municipalities that make up the Skopje, the capital of the North Macedonia. The municipal administration consists of a council and mayor. Skopje's old town is located in Čair. The municip ...

in the

Republic of North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It ...

accorded the title "Honorary Citizen" for Ms. Topalli.Jozefina Topalli, qytetare nderi e Çairit
, Lexo Shqip, 2012-04-04 (in Albanian)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Topalli, Jozefina 1963 births Living people People from Shkodër Speakers of the Parliament of Albania University of Tirana alumni Albanian Roman Catholics 21st-century Albanian politicians 21st-century Albanian women politicians Members of the Parliament of Albania Women members of the Parliament of Albania