Xhafer Spahiu (June 5, 1923 – May 19, 1999) was a former

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). He was the only

Kosovar Albanian The Albanians of Kosovo ( sq, Shqiptarët e Kosovës, ), also commonly called Kosovo Albanians, Kosovar/Kosovan Albanians or Kosovars/Kosovans, constitute the largest ethnic group in Kosovo. Kosovo Albanians belong to the ethnic Albanian sub- ...

of the higher ranks of the

Communist 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 ...

leadership after 1948.Dhjetë kosovarët që i kanë bërë më së shumti dëme Shqipërisë në 100 vitet e fundit (in Albanian), Gazeta Express
/ref>

Life

Spahiu was born in Gjakova,

Kosova The Republic of Kosova ( sq, Republika e Kosovës) or First Republic of Kosovo was a self-declared proto-state in Southeastern Europe established in 1991. During its peak, it tried to establish its own parallel political institutions in oppo ...

, at that time part of the

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 ...

. He was one of the many communist

Kosovo Albanians The Albanians of Kosovo ( sq, Shqiptarët e Kosovës, ), also commonly called Kosovo Albanians, Kosovar/Kosovan Albanians or Kosovars/Kosovans, constitute the largest ethnic group in Kosovo. Kosovo Albanians belong to the ethnic Albanian sub-gr ...

who came from the same town, such as

Emin Duraku Emin Duraku (1918 – 23 December 1942) was an Albanian partisan active during World War II, and a national hero of Albania. Duraku was born in Gjakova in 1918. He was an early Albanian member of the Yugoslav communist movement. He returned t ...

Fadil Hoxha Fadil Hoxha ( Serbian: Фадиљ Хоџа, ''Fadilj Hodža''; 15 March 1916 – 21 April 2001) was a Yugoslavian ethnic Albanian communist revolutionary and politician from Kosovo. He was a member of the Communist party and fought in the Yugosl ...

, Sadik Stavaleci, Elham Nimani, etc. During World War II he was part of the guerrilla movement in Albania in charge of the information and communications to the public. As such in 1944 he was arrested and sent to the Nazi concentration camp in Prishtina, Kosova. After his release, he went to Tirana, Albania. In 1945, one of his brothers, the great patriot Halim Spahiu was arrested, jailed and killed by the Yugoslav Communist authorities because of his political views against Yugoslav regime and especially for being in favor of uniting Kosova with Albania. Spahiu was initially a civil servant and among others, from 1957 to 1959, he served as Director of the State Geological Service (Alb: ''Shërbimi Gjeologjik Shqiptar''). While a candidate-member of the Central Committee (CC) of the Party, in April 1957 he was next to Enver Hoxha,

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 ...

Gogo Nushi Gogo Nushi (February 15, 1913 – December 4, 1970) was an Albanian people, Albanian political figure who served in a number of positions in Albania during its Socialist Albania, socialist period. Biography Nushi was born into a Greeks, Greek ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 i ...

, and Behar Shtylla within a delegation visiting the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

as part of the Albanian-Soviet relationship. In 1958, he was elected for the first time as representative at the People's Assembly (Alb: ''Kuvendi Popullor''), representing the Durres District. He remained such from the fourth to the end of the eleventh legislative period in 1991. At the 4th Congress of the Party in February 1961, Spahiu was elected a member of the Central Committee. At the 5th Congress of the Party in November 1966, he became Secretary of the Central Committee and held that post until November 1970. At the same time he was temporarily a member of the Presidium of the People's Assembly, the collective body of counseling for the Presidency. As such, he was one of the members of the Albanian Government delegation at the celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of establishing the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. Subsequently, on 23 November 1970, he became Deputy Chairman of the

Council of Ministers A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...

in the government of Prime Minister

and remained in this position until November 13, 1976. He exchanged his previous post as Central Committee Secretary with Haki Toska, who served as Deputy Prime Minister responsible for agriculture, while dealing mainly with industry. At the subsequent 6th Party Congress in November 1971, he became a candidate-member of the

Politburo of the Party of Labour of Albania The Politburo was the leading organ of the Party of Labour of Albania. It comprised key government ministers and Central Committee secretaries and served as the main administrative and policy-making body, convening on a weekly basis. The followin ...

. He held this function until November 1976. On 13 November 1976 he was appointed Minister of Industry and Mines in the seventh Shehu government, a post he remained in until 26 April 1980. In April 1985, he was among the participants at the state funeral of the late First Secretary of the PPSh Enver Hoxha. He was Deputy Chairman of the Presidium of the People's Assembly and thus alongside Rita Marko and Emine Guri one of the counselors of Ramiz Alia.Presidiumit të Kuvendit Popullor të Republikës Popullore Socialiste të Shqipërisë (19. Februar 1987)
/ref> Spahiu was married to the sister of Reis Malile, former Foreign Minister of Albania. He died on 19 May 1999 in Tirana.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spahiu, Xhafer 1923 births 1999 deaths Politicians from Gjakova Kosovo Albanians Yugoslav communists Albanian communists Government ministers of Albania Deputy Prime Ministers of Albania Industry and mines ministers of Albania Labour Party of Albania politicians Candidate members of the Politburo of the Labour Party of Albania Members of the Parliament of Albania