The Military ranks of Albania are the military insignia used by the Albanian Armed Forces.

Current ranks (since 2011)

Commissioned officer ranks

The rank insignia of

commissioned officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...

Other ranks

The rank insignia of

non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...

s and

enlisted personnel An enlisted rank (also known as an enlisted grade or enlisted rate) is, in some armed services, any rank below that of a commissioned officer. The term can be inclusive of non-commissioned officers or warrant officers, except in United States m ...

History

Albanian military insignia have undergone several periods during which their design changed radically. The first ranks in the Albanian Armed Forces were formed in 1926 during the reign of

King Zog I Zog I ( sq, Naltmadhnija e tij Zogu I, Mbreti i Shqiptarëve, ; 8 October 18959 April 1961), born Ahmed Muhtar bey Zogolli, taking the name Ahmet Zogu in 1922, was the leader of Albania from 1922 to 1939. At age 27, he first served as Albania's ...

. His rule comprises two periods, the "Austrian" (1929-1936) and the "Prussian (generals) + Italian (other ranks)" style (1936-1939) of insignia. During the time of

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 ...

and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

occupations of Albania their respective ranks were worn on Albanian militia uniforms. After the

Second World War 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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, when the

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

regime took power, military ranks were radically changed in looks and in naming. In the first years officers and generals wore sleeve insignia whose order was loosely based on that time's Yugoslav patterns. In 1947 a new model was introduced (both in Albania and Yugoslavia), where insignia and ranks came from 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 ...

. This followed the traditions of Stalin's last years where insignia of all the

Communist Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...

countries tended to uniformity. While most socialist countries abandoned this model soon after Stalin's death, Albania preserved it until May 1966, when military ranks were abolished altogether following Chinese example and based on doctrines of guerilla warfare. With the fall of the communist regime the military ranks were re-established in 1991 following a Western model. However, there were several crucial changes in their design (1991, 2004 and 2011) and a few minor ones.

1966–1991

On April 22, 1966, the military ranking system of the Armed forces of the People's Republic of Albania, was officially abolished by the order nr. 0227 ''"Mbi heqjen e gradave"'' of the Minister of People's Defence,

Beqir Balluku Beqir Balluku (14 February 1917 – 5 November 1975) was an Albanian politician, military leader, and Minister of Defense of Albania. Balluku assisted Enver Hoxha in carrying out the 1956 purge within the Labour Party. However, in 1974, Balluku h ...

,in accordance with the Nr. 4113 decree edicted by the Presidium of the People's Assemby on 7 March 1966.

1991–1999

;Officer ;Other

1999–2004

;Commissioned officers ;Enlisted

2004–2011

;Commissioned officers ;Enlisted

References

External links

* {{Military ranks by country Military of Albania

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 ...