Pilo Peristeri (10 December 1909 – 5 August 2009) 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 politician of the

Albanian Party of Labour The Party of Labour of Albania ( sq, Partia e Punës e Shqipërisë, PPSh), sometimes referred to as the Albanian Workers' Party (AWP), was the ruling and sole legal party of Albania during the communist period (1945–1991). It was founded o ...

(PPSh).

Biography

Peristeri was born in

Korçë Korçë (; sq-definite, Korça) is the eighth most populous city of the Republic of Albania and the seat of Korçë County and Korçë Municipality. The total population is 75,994 (2011 census), in a total area of . It stands on a plateau som ...

, at that time still part of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

to an Albanian family of the

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonical ...

rite. Initially he worked as a

tinsmith A tinsmith is a person who makes and repairs things made of tin or other light metals. The profession may sometimes also be known as a tinner, tinker, tinman, or tinplate worker; whitesmith may also refer to this profession, though the same w ...

, and later as professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player. He was involved with the Communist Group of Korçë, one of the earliest in Albania. He was one of the founding members of the Albanian Communist Party in 1941, and took an active part in

World War II 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

as a partisan of the National Liberation Movement (LANC). After the founding of the

People's Republic of Albania The People's Socialist Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika Popullore Socialiste e Shqipërisë, links=no) was the Marxist–Leninist one party state that existed in Albania from 1946 to 1992 (the official name of the country was the People's R ...

on 11 January 1946, Peristeri was elected in the People's Assembly (Alb: ''Kuvendi Popullor'') in 1950. He retained this membership until the eleventh legislative period which would end in 1991. He was a representative of the

Pogradec District Pogradec District ( sq, Rrethi i Pogradecit) was one of the 36 districts of Albania, which were dissolved in July 2000 and replaced by 12 newly created counties. It had a population of 70,900 in 2001, and an area of . It is in the east of the cou ...

. In addition, he was a member of the Central Committee (CC) of the PPSh. In 1951 he became the successor of

Gogo Nushi Gogo Nushi (February 15, 1913 – December 4, 1970) was an Albanian political figure who served in a number of positions in Albania during its socialist period. Biography Nushi was born into a Greek family in Vuno, a village on the coast of ...

as Chairman of the General Council of Albanian Trade Unions (Alb: ''Bashkimi Sindikal i Shqipërisë, BSSh''). At the 2nd Congress of the PPSh in April 1952, he became a candidate-member of the Politburo of the Party of Labour of Albania. He retained candidate membership within this highest body of the Party leadership until November 1981. Peristeri was re-confirmed at the 4th Congress of BSSH in February 1955 as the Chairman of the General Council of Trade Unions. On June 22, 1958, he was succeeded by Gogo Nushi. Nevertheless, Peristeri himself remained a member of the Secretariat of BSSh and was also elected chairman of the Party Control Commission of the PPSh. On the 5th Congress of Trade Unions in April 1961, he succeeded as member of the Presidium of the General Council, but withdrew from the Secretariat. In addition, he was temporarily Deputy Chairman of the Presidium of the People's Assembly, and thus representative of President Haxhi Lleshi. Peristeri, which belonged to the inner circle of the so-called "old guard" of the party, was also a companion of

Enver Hoxha Enver Halil Hoxha ( , ; 16 October 190811 April 1985) was an Albanians, Albanian communist politician who was the authoritarian ruler of Albania from 1944 until his death in 1985. He was Secretary (title)#First secretary, First Secretary of t ...

, First Secretary of the PPSh, and Prime Minister

Mehmet Shehu Mehmet Ismail Shehu (January 10, 1913 – December 18, 1981) was an Albanian communist politician who served as the 23rd Prime Minister of Albania from 1954 to 1981. As an acknowledged military tactician, without whose leadership the communist p ...

during business trips in the country, as well as social events. He was disaffectedly called "Uncle Pilo" by the people. After retiring from the Politburo, he remained together with

Spiro Koleka Spiro Koleka (7 July 1908 – 22 August 2001) was an important Albanian statesman, communist politician and a high-ranking military officer during World War II. He was a civil engineer by profession. Spiro Koleka served as a parliament member ...

and Haki Toska as Member of the Central Committee of the Party. He was the brother-in-law of the Politburo member

Manush Myftiu Manush Myftiu (16 January 1919 – 20 October 1997) was an Albanian politician during the country's socialist period. He served in a number of positions, most recently as the deputy prime minister. Early life Myftiu was born in Vlora to ...

, and was related by marriage to the other Politburo member

Rita Marko Rita Marko (17 February 1920 – 15 June 2018) was an Albanian political figure of Aromanian ethnicity who served in a number of positions in Albania during its socialist period. Biography Marko was born in Korçë as the son of Eastern Or ...

.Cali Ruchala: ''Comrade Loulou and the Fun Factory''
/ref> He remained influential even after the

fall 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 Nat ...

. Peristeri was in charge of a

tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or construction. Most commo ...

-production plant 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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peristeri, Pilo 1909 births 2009 deaths People from Korçë People from Manastir vilayet Candidate members of the Politburo of the Labour Party of Albania Trade union leaders Communism in Albania Albanian anti-fascists Albanian resistance members