Neritan Ceka (born 11 February 1941) 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 ...

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

, and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. He served as Albania's

Minister of Internal Affairs Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of governme ...

from 27 July 1997 to 18 April 1998.

Early life

Ceka was born 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 ...

. Ceka studied at the

Qemal Stafa High School The Qemal Stafa High School is a high school, located in Tirana, Albania. Founded in 1925 by Prime Minister Ahmet Zogu, as the ''Lyceum of Tirana'', it has many notable alumni, of whom 75 died in World War II and 14 were awarded the title People ...

, in

. He is the son of Hasan Ceka, a prominent Albanian archeologist, who inspired Neritan to pursue a career in archaeology.

Political career

Ceka was a founding member 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 ...

and has been active in politics since 1990. In 1992, Ceka left the Democratic Party following a conflict with the party's 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 t ...

. Ceka founded the Democratic Alliance Party, which would go on to ally with the main opponent of the Democratic Party, the

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 ...

, in 1997. Ceka served as

from 27 July 1997 to 18 April 1998, in the government of

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Fatos Nano Fatos Nano (; born 16 September 1952) is an Albanian socialist politician who served as Prime Minister of Albania The Prime Minister of Albania ( sq, Kryeministri i Shqipërisë), officially styled Prime Minister of the Republic of Albania ...

Work

He has written several books: * ''Apollonia: History and Monuments'' () * ''Arkeologjia: Greqia, Roma, Iliria'' with

Muzafer Korkuti Muzafer Korkuti (born 1936) is an Albanian archaeologist and prehistorian. He is considered an expert on the prehistoric period of Albania. Korkuti was the director of the Institute of Archeology at the Centre for Albanological Studies in Tirana fr ...

* ''Buthrotum: Its History and Monuments'' () * ''Butrint'' () * ''Byllis: Its History and Monuments'' with Skender Mucaj () * ''Iliret'' ()

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ceka, Neritan 1941 births Living people Albanian archaeologists Albanian politicians Qemal Stafa High School alumni People from Tirana Ambassadors of Albania to Italy Illyrologists