Albania - national flag
The red flag with the black double thorn was adopted in 1913 after Albania's
liberation from the Ottoman Empire. During the Italian occupation of 1939, it
was officially abolished, but was used by the resistance movement. 1945-92 there
was a red gold-edged star above the eagle, a symbol of communism. The double
thorn goes as a symbol far back in time. The national hero Skanderbeg, who until
his death in 1468 fought against the Ottomans, used a seal with a double eagle -
the symbol of the Eastern Roman Empire - and a star over the eagle's two heads.
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Albania - history
Albania is one of Europe's youngest states, established in 1913, and
populated by Albanians, who are one of Europe's oldest peoples.
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such as ALB which represents the official name of Albania.
Prehistory
The earliest finds are from the moustéri culture for approximately 40,000 years
ago. Agriculture can be detected from approximately 6000 BC, and rich settlement finds
- with the Balkans' oldest pile buildings at Dunavec and Maliq in central
Albania - known from the following centuries. Manufacture of copper was
introduced early, approximately 4000 BC, when local deposits were exploited. In the
late Bronze Age and in the Iron Age, many fortifications were built. From these
periods, burial mounds as well as petroglyphs and rock paintings are
known. Trade, especially with Greece, culminated in the establishment of Greek
colonies.

The history of 1945
According to a2zgov, the Albanians, whose name may be derived from Albanian, the name of
an Illyrian tribe north of Tirana in the 100th century, are descendants of
Indo-European tribes, possibly Illyrians. They came to the Balkans around the
same time as the Greeks around the year 1000 BC, but the name albanoi first
appears in the sources in the 1000's. In the latter part of the Middle Ages, a
number of Albanians also seem to have lived in the adjacent areas in addition to
present-day Albania. Around the year 1100, the Byzantine Empire and the Normans
in southern Italy fought for the area, but in the 1200's. it became part of the
Greek despot Epirus. I 1300-t. it came under the rule of the Serbian Tsar Stefan
4. Uroš Dušan. Albanian forces took part on the Serbian side in the Battle of
Kosovo Polje in 1389, in which the Ottomans destroyed the Serbian empire. A form
of Albanian state formation did not emerge until the 1400's. in the battles
against the Ottomans, where the Albanians under the leadership of Skanderbeg
(Gjergj Kastrioti) long held out against the attackers. Skanderbeg died in 1468,
but his capital Kruja just north of Tirana did not fall until 1478. In 1501, the
Ottomans conquered the last Albanian city, the coastal city of Durrës, and a
significant group of Albanians emigrated to southern Italy on that occasion. It
was the beginning of a period of over 400 years of Ottoman dominance.
The Ottoman period
Under the Ottomans, the majority of Albanians converted to Islam. Albanian
troops provided assistance to the Ottomans in suppressing uprisings in Greece in
the 1700's and 1800's. and was known for bravery and cruelty. Many Albanians held
high positions in the Ottoman administration and army, and the Albanians
remained loyal to the Ottoman Empire for a long time, perceiving Ottoman rule as
a lesser evil than the Christian neighbors. approximately In 1800, partly independent
Albanian principalities were established in northern Albania and in present-day
northern Greece, but by 1830, the sultan's control of the detached territories
had been re-established - except for the mountain areas in the interior of the
country, which were effectively independent under local chiefs.
An actual Albanian national movement only manifested itself at the peace
conference in Berlin after the Balkan War of 1877-78, which ended with the
Albanian territory remaining under Ottoman rule. At the same time, the Albanians
worked for the creation of an autonomous Albanian territory with its own
administrative and school language, which was to include present-day Albania,
Kosovo (Kosovo), most of Macedonia and the Janina region (in northern
Greece). But in 1881, Ottoman troops captured Prizren, and the national movement
was banned. The work of spreading Albanian as a school language continued in the
following years, but was fought by the Ottomans with often violent means. The
struggle intensified after the Young Turkish coup in 1908. In the same year, an
Albanian conference was held in Bitola, Macedonia, adopting political and
cultural unity for all and the use of the Latin alphabet instead of Arabic. In
1910, an open revolt against the Ottomans broke out in Kosovo; it was initially
defeated, but in 1912 the Albanians revolted again and occupied Skopje. This
also set the Christian peoples in the Balkans in motion, and in the Second
Balkan War of 1912-13, the Ottomans were almost driven out of the Balkans. On
the Austro-Hungarian initiative, "
During the two world wars
During World War I, the country was occupied by several of the warring
parties, and in 1915, a secret agreement was reached in London to divide
Albania, giving Italy control of most of the country. But the Albanians
protested, and after the war, with American support, they succeeded in
recognizing an independent republic within the borders of 1913.
In the following years, Yugoslavia and Italy fought for influence in the
country. In 1925, the exiled politician Ahmed Zogu was installed as president
with Yugoslav support, but his agreement with Italy in 1926 opened the door to
Italian infiltration and was followed up in 1927 by an Italian-Albanian military
alliance. To limit Italy's influence, the president made himself king in 1928
under the name Zogu I, which, however, did not hinder Albania's development into
an Italian sound state. This was completed in 1939 by the country's
incorporation into Italy.
Albania was to serve as a starting point for an Italian attempt to conquer
Greece in 1940, but the Greeks went on the counterattack and conquered part of
the country. Germany then intervened and in 1941 destroyed the Greek army. From
1942, Italian rule in the country was threatened by a nationalist and a
communist resistance movement. The last to cooperate with Tito's Yugoslav
partisans was led by Enver Hoxha, who later became the leader of the liberation
government.
History after 1945
The post-war period
In the elections to the National Assembly in December 1945, Hoxha's National
Democratic Front won a clear victory, and in 1946 the Albanian People's
Republic, a communist one-party state with Hoxha as prime minister, was
proclaimed. Until his death in 1985, he became the autocratic leader of the new
Albania.
Albania entered into close economic cooperation with Yugoslavia after World
War II, but after Yugoslavia's break with the Soviet Union and KOMINFORM in
1948, close ties were established with the Soviet Union. The relationship with
the neighbor became tense. The country was transformed into a
Stalinist-inspired, planned economy state with forced nationalization of
the private sector and a collectivization of agriculture that was not completed
until 19 years later. From 1949 the country was a member of COMECON, and in 1955
it became a member of both the UN and the Warsaw Pact. The latter left Albania
in 1968 as a protest against the Soviet Union's invasion of Czechoslovakia. In
the conflict between the Soviet Union and China, which began in 1960, Albania
sided with China, triggering strong Soviet criticism, culminating in a breach of
diplomatic relations in 1961. when Albania left COMECON. Thereafter, Albania was
isolated in Europe, and the only partners other than China were North Korea,
North Vietnam and Cuba. China was broken up in 1977-78 after Mao Zedong's death
and after his widow was overthrown (1976).
In the period that followed until 1986, the country found itself in a
self-imposed isolation. The population was kept in tight reins; thus, religion,
private car driving and tourist travel abroad were banned, but the Stalinist
planned economy failed to change the country's status as Europe's poorest state.
Latest story
After Hoxha's death in 1985, his widow tried to play a political role, but
was outmaneuvered by the new party leader, Ramiz Alia. Recognizing the need for
decentralization, in 1987 he embarked on a moderate course of reform with a
relaxation of planned economic policies. In connection with the collapse of the
Soviet Union in 1991, a democratization of political life began, and the
government launched reforms to transform the country into a market economy
state. In addition, freedom of movement and religion. In 1991, the first
multi-party parliamentary elections were held, with the Communist Party winning
in rural areas but the opposition in major cities. That same year, the Communist
Party changed its name to Albania's Socialist Party, and President Alia
resigned as party leader. Subsequently, the first government was formed with the
participation of several parties. Following the rise of the opposition in the
1992 parliamentary elections, Alia had to resign and opposition politician Sali
Berisha took over the presidency.
From 1992 to 2005, Albania was marked by strong opposition between political
forces, which had their roots in the Hoxhat era, but to varying degrees
distanced themselves from it, especially Sali Berisha (President 1992-97),
leader of the Democratic Party, and leader of the Socialist Party 1991. -2005,
Fatos Nano, Prime Minister under Ramiz Alia, who in 1993 was deprived of his
parliamentary immunity and in 1994 was sentenced to prison for abuse of office
and violation of civil rights. The new regime embarked on a strongly westward
course, which in 1992 manifested itself in Berisha's request that Albania be
allowed to join NATO. In 1994, he unsuccessfully tried to implement a
constitutional reform that would have significantly strengthened the powers of
the presidency. In a change of government the same year, a younger generation of
politicians was drawn in, and succeeded in having the foreign debt of the
Albanian state written down by approximately 60%. But the crisis intensified, and the
government's legal action against its political opponents intensified. In 1996,
the parliamentary majority passed an election law favoring the ruling party, and
in the 1996 parliamentary elections, the opposition led by the Socialist Party
withdrew its candidates in protest of widespread electoral fraud. But Berisha
declared himself the winner and rejected recommendations for re-election from
the OSCE and the European Parliament. and in the 1996 parliamentary elections,
the opposition led by the Socialist Party withdrew its candidates in protest of
widespread electoral fraud. But Berisha declared himself the winner and rejected
recommendations for re-election from the OSCE and the European Parliament. and
in the 1996 parliamentary elections, the opposition led by the Socialist Party
withdrew its candidates in protest of widespread electoral fraud. But Berisha
declared himself the winner and rejected recommendations for re-election from
the OSCE and the European Parliament.
Presidents |
Period |
President |
1925-39 |
Ahmed Zogu, from 1928 King (Zogu I) |
1939-43 |
(country occupied by Italy) |
1946-48 |
Enver Hoxha |
1948-53 |
Omer Nishani |
1953-82 |
Haxhi Lleshi |
1982-92 |
Ramiz Alia |
1992-97 |
Sali Berisha |
1997-2002 |
Rexhep Meidani |
2002-07 |
Alfred Moisiu |
2007-12 |
Bamir Topi |
2012- |
Bujar Nishani |
The situation exploded in early 1997, triggered by popular outrage not only
over Berisha's increasingly dictatorial leadership, but also over the
so-called pyramid schemes, where large sections of the population were
encouraged to save, but ended up being deceived by their money as
originated from the privatization of the housing stock. A popular uprising
originating in southern Albania developed into a regular civil war. Its arms
dumps was robbed, wherein more than 1/2mio. weapons came
into circulation in the Balkans. The opposition called on the OSCE to intervene,
and in March Albania sent a request for military aid after the government lost
control of large parts of southern Albania. In April, a temporary international
protection force was deployed under a UN mandate with Danish
participation. In June 1997, new parliamentary elections were held, which gave a
major victory to the Socialist Party and its allies. A simultaneous referendum
rejected by a large majority the reintroduction of monarchy. Socialist Rexhep
Mejdani was elected president and veteran Fatos Nano prime minister. Berisha did
not acknowledge the result; he called for new elections and continued opposition
to the new government under Fatos Nano.
In September 1998, the continued unsolved assassination of the Democratic
Vice President triggered unrest in Tirana, which led to Fatos Nano's resignation
as Prime Minister. The General Secretary of the Socialist Party, Pandeli Majko
(b. 1967), took over shortly after the post, and in November 1998 the
constitutional dispute was resolved when Albania's first democratic constitution
was ratified with 93.5% of the votes cast, reflecting only a turnout of 50.6
%. During the military conflict between NATO and Yugoslavia on Kosovo erupted in
March 1999, NATO troops located in Albania, and was granted international
humanitarian aid to up to one 1/2mio. ethnic Albanians
fleeing across the border from Kosovo near Kukës. In domestic politics, strife
within the Socialist Party led to Pandeli Majko being replaced in October 1999
by Ilir Meta (b. 1969) as Prime Minister, while Fatos Nano continued as party
leader. The government pursued a cautious policy closely with the West during
the unrest in Macedonia in 2001.
Albania in the early 2000's.
The governing coalition won the 2001 parliamentary elections, and the
socialist Fatos Nano became prime minister again. Nano was briefly replaced by
Pandeli Majko as head of government from February to July 2002. Alfred Moisiu
was elected as the joint compromise candidate between the governing and
opposition parties for five years in July 2002. Despite economic progress and
increasing stability, widespread corruption led to a split in The Socialist
Party, where Ilir Meta broke out in 2003 and formed a new party, a weakening of
the Socialist Party in particular. The center-left governing coalition lost in
the 2005 parliamentary elections, and a coalition of right-wing parties led by
the Democratic Party formed the government, and in September 2005 Sali Berisha
became the new head of government. Fatos Nano resigned as leader of the
Socialist Party. In October 2005, the prominent mayor of Tirana, Edi Rama, was
elected as the new party leader of the Socialist Party. The long-standing
political agreement on Albania's integration into Europe through membership of
NATO and the EU came a little closer when the Stability and Association
Agreement with the EU was signed in June 2006 following negotiations that began
in 2003., which has meant Albanian troops for the US war in Iraq. In
foreign policy, the changing governments have maintained a pronounced
pro-American course, which has meant Albanian troops for the US war in
Iraq.
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