World Country Guide

History and Government

History
The first known inhabitants of Albania were probably descended from the ancient Illyrian people. A marginal Greek presence between the 6th and 8th centuries BC was followed by Roman rule. When the Roman empire divided in the 4th century BC, Albania (then known as Illyricum) came under the control of the Byzantine Empire, during which period Christianity was established. Byzantine rule nominally lasted until the 14th century, although, in effect, Albania had withdrawn itself five centuries earlier. In the intervening five centuries, the country came under the influence of various Mediterranean powers, latterly the Serbs under Stefan Dusan, who took over in 1347. Serb rule was brief; within 50 years Albania faced a more formidable foe in the form of the Ottoman Turks. After several decades of occupation in the late-14th and early-15th centuries, the Albanians found a leader in Gjergi Kastrioti – known as Skanderberg, a major hero in Albanian history – who united the local princes and expelled the Turks. Following his death, however, the Turks renewed their invasion efforts and were ultimately successful in 1506. As an outlying province of the Ottoman empire, Albania did not fare well under Turkish rule, coming under the rule of the pashas, local potentates who operated a feudal system. The fall of the pashas in the mid-19th century and the slow collapse of the Ottoman Empire eventually heralded independence for Albania. This was officially achieved in 1912. However, the country at once became involved in the chaos of the Balkan Wars and subsequently in the 1914–1918 war.

The reign of King Zog, who assumed the throne in 1928, ended in April 1939, when Albania was conquered by Mussolini’s Italian forces. Resistance to the occupation was led by the Communists, who took power in November 1944. The new regime, under Enver Hoxha, fell out with a succession of allies – Tito’s Yugoslavia, the Soviets and the Chinese – before retreating into almost total isolation. This situation prevailed until Hoxha’s death in 1985. For the rest of the decade, a gradual process of internal political and economic reform took place, along with a slow development of contacts with the outside world.

The Communists restyled themselves the Partia Socialiste Shqipris (SPA – Socialist Party of Albania) as a variety of opposition parties began to emerge. The most important of these was the Partia Demokratike t Shqipris (DPA – Democratic Party of Albania), which won an outright majority in the first democratic elections to the People’s Assembly held in March 1992. The DPA leader, Sali Berisha, took over as president. Four years later, the DPA repeated its success and increased its majority. Under the democrats, the bulk of the economy had been transferred to the private sector by this stage. However, as elsewhere in Eastern Europe, essential legal and regulatory systems were inadequate –where they existed at all. This was especially true of the banking and finance sector, which was replete with highly popular ‘pyramid’ investment schemes offering absurdly high rates of interest to investors. In January 1997, the collapse of one of the largest schemes triggered violent protests across large parts of the country. During the next two months, with the help of foreign mediation and an Italian-led peacekeeping force, some semblance of normality was gradually restored. Elections were held at the end of June 1997, bringing a comfortable victory for Socialist Fatos Nano, who became premier. However, Nano was unable to contain the deteriorating economic situation and was forced out of office in September 1998. His replacement, Pandeli Majko, suffered the same fate a year later. The Socialist Party now turned to Ilir Meta, who at age 30 became Europe’s youngest premier. Meta not only survived in office but also won the most recent general election, held in June 2001, ensuring continued Socialist government for another four years.

The 1997 crisis highlighted major structural problems in Albania’s society and economy and deterred, if only temporarily, foreign aid and investment. The Meta government has since done much to repair the country’s position and Albania now enjoys access to funding from the main international donor bodies (IMF, World Bank and EBRD), as well as growing contacts with major European countries, such as Italy and France. Albania hopes to follow the rest of eastern Europe into the European Union and NATO. But some of Albania’s immediate neighbours, especially Macedonia and Serbia, remain worried about the possible influence of their large ethnic Albanian populations. Further afield, Albanian criminal gangs are highly active throughout most of western Europe, causing serious damage to the country’s reputation.

Government
Under the electoral law introduced in 1992, legislative power rests with the directly elected single-chamber Kuvnd Popullre (People’s Assembly) whose 155 members serve a four-year term – 115 members are elected through single-member constituencies, the remainder by proportional representation. Executive power is held by the Council of Ministers, drawn from the largest party in the Assembly and headed by the Prime Minister, and by the President of the Republic, who is elected by the members of the Assembly.