Scholars believe the Albanian people are descended from
a non-Slavic, non-Turkic group of tribes known as
Illyrians, who arrived in the Balkans around 2000 BC.
After falling under Roman authority in 165 BC, Albania
was controlled nearly continuously by a succession of
foreign powers until the mid-20th century, with only
brief periods of self-rule.
Following the split of the Roman Empire in 395, the
Byzantine Empire established control over present-day
Albania. In the 11th century, Byzantine Emperor Alexius
I Comnenus made the first recorded reference to a
distinct area of land known as Albania and to its
people.
The Ottoman Empire ruled Albania from 1385-1912. During
this time, much of the population converted to the
Islamic faith, and Albanians also emigrated to Italy,
Greece, Egypt and Turkey. Although its control was
briefly disrupted during the 1443-78 revolt, led by
Albania's national hero, Gjergj Kastrioti Skenderbeu,
the Ottomans eventually reasserted their dominance.
The League of Prizren (1878) promoted the idea of an
Albanian nation-state and established the modern
Albanian alphabet, updating a language that survived the
hundreds of years of Ottoman rule despite being
outlawed. By the early 20th century, the weakened
Ottoman Empire was no longer able to suppress Albanian
nationalism. Following the conclusion of the First
Balkan War, Albanians issued the Vlore Proclamation of
November 28, 1912, declaring independence and the Great
Powers established Albania's borders in 1913. Albania's
territorial integrity was confirmed at the Paris Peace
Conference in 1919, after U.S. President Woodrow Wilson
dismissed a plan by the European powers to divide
Albania among its neighbors.
During the Second World War, Albania was occupied first
by Italy (1939-43) and then by Germany (1943-44). After
the war, Communist Party leader Enver Hoxha, through a
combination of ruthlessness and strategic alliances,
managed to preserve Albania's territorial integrity
during the next 40 years, but exacted a terrible price
from the population, which was subjected to purges,
shortages, repression of civil and political rights, a
total ban on religious observance, and increased
isolation. Albania adhered to a strict Stalinist
philosophy, eventually withdrawing from the Warsaw Pact
in 1968 and alienating its final remaining ally, China,
in 1978.
Following Hoxha's death in 1985 and the subsequent fall
of Communism in 1991, Albanian society struggled to
overcome its historical isolation and underdevelopment.
During the initial transition period, the Albanian
Government sought closer ties with the West in order to
improve economic conditions and introduced basic
democratic reforms, including a multi-party system.
In 1992, after the sweeping electoral victory of the
Democratic Party, Sali Berisha became the first
democratically elected President of Albania. Berisha
began a more deliberate program of economic and
democratic reform but progress on these issues stalled
in the mid-1990s, due to political gridlock. At the same
time, unscrupulous investment companies defrauded
investors all over Albania using pyramid schemes. In
early 1997, several of these pyramid schemes collapsed,
leaving thousands of people bankrupt, disillusioned, and
angry. Armed revolts broke out across the country,
leading to the near-total collapse of government
authority. During this time, Albania's already
inadequate and antiquated infrastructure suffered
tremendous damage, as people looted public works for
building materials. Weapons depots all over the country
were raided. The anarchy of early 1997 alarmed the world
and prompted intensive international mediation.
A UN Multinational Protection Force restored order, and
an interim national reconciliation government oversaw
the general elections of June 1997, which returned the
Socialists and their allies to power at the national
level. President Berisha resigned, and the Socialists
elected Rexhep Meidani as President of the Republic.
During the transitional period of 1997-2002, a series of
short-lived Socialist-led governments succeeded one
another as Albania's fragile democratic structures were
strengthened. Additional political parties formed, media
outlets expanded, non-governmental organizations and
business associations developed. In 1998, Albanians
ratified a new constitution via popular referendum,
guaranteeing the rule of law and the protection of
fundamental human rights and religious freedom. Fatos
Nano, Chairman of the Socialist Party, emerged as Prime
Minister in July 2002.
On July 24, 2002, Alfred Moisiu was sworn in as
President of the Republic. A nonpartisan figure, he was
elected as a consensus candidate of the ruling and
opposition parties. The peaceful transfer of power from
President Meidani to President Moisiu was the result of
an agreement between the parties to engage each other
within established parliamentary structures. This
"truce" ushered in a new period of political stability
in Albania, making possible significant progress in
democratic and economic reforms, rule of law
initiatives, and the development of Albania's relations
with its neighbors and the U.S.
The "truce" between party leaders began to fray in
summer 2003 and progress on economic and political
reforms suffered noticeably due to political infighting.
The municipal elections of 2003 and national elections
of 2005 were an improvement over past years, adding to
the consolidation of democracy despite the continued
presence of administrative errors and inaccuracies in
voter lists.
In 2005, the Democratic Party and its allies returned to
power, pledging to fight crime and corruption, decrease
the size and scope of government, and promote economic
growth. Their leader, Sali Berisha, was sworn in as
Prime Minister on September 11, 2005.
Since the election, Prime Minister Berisha's government
has made the fight against corruption and organized
crime a priority, although the former has met with
limited success. The opposition has criticized the
government's approach to fighting corruption and crime
as unconstitutional and an attempt to undermine
independent institutions. While previously relations
between the government and opposition SP party were
characterized as antagonistic, both sides have at times
shown willingness to work together to achieve major
policy objectives, such as the constitutional reforms of
early 2008.
Another politically contentious process was the
pre-electoral period prior to the 2007 local elections.
Although the February 18, 2007 local elections were
generally peaceful and democratic, over-politicized
debate during the preceding months resulted in
procedural and administrative problems during the
conduct of the elections. A major positive step forward
was the performance of the police force.
The fragility of the Albanian electoral system was
tested again during the parliamentary by-election in
zone 26 (Shijak) on March 11, 2007. The left-wing
opposition parties withdrew their commissioners from the
polling stations and the counting center, in spite of
prior concessions from the Central Elections Commission
(CEC) to the opposition's demands. Opposition
commissioners left and took with them one of the seals
that mark the ballots. By midday, the opposition
candidate also announced his withdrawal from the
parliamentary race. However, the right of citizens to
vote prevailed and the process continued thanks to the
technical arrangements of the CEC. The only visible sign
of violence was the wounding of a Democratic Party
commissioner, who was fired upon by a militant.
Both elections were an indication of lack of political
will to cooperate and of the imminent need for a
comprehensive electoral reform of the present Albanian
electoral system.
On July 20, 2007 President Bamir Topi was elected within
Parliament after six members of the opposition coalition
broke ranks to vote for his candidacy. Out of 90
deputies present at the session, 85 voted for Topi,
while Neritan Ceka, head of the opposition Democratic
Alliance party, won five votes. Topi, 50, a former
agriculture minister, now succeeds President Alfred
Moisiu for a five-year mandate. |
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