Rama is the only Albanian prime minister to have won four consecutive terms. During Rama's tenure, Albania has seen economic growth but alsodemocratic backsliding, with various sources describing his rule asautocratic.[1][2] Albania has also continued to suffer fromemigration.
Rama was one of the initiators ofOpen Balkan, an economic zone of the Western Balkan countries intended to guarantee the "Four Freedoms".
Edvin Rama was born on 4 July 1964 inTirana, he is the first of two children of Kristaq andAneta Rama. His father wasKristaq Rama (1932–1998), a well-known sculptor born inDurrës who created numerous statues during thecommunist era in Albania and had close ties to the communist regime. Kristaq Rama was a signatory to the 1988 death sentence of opposition poetHavzi Nela.[1] His great-grandfather, also named Kristaq Rama, was an intellectual whoadvocated for Albanian independence and schools, and he originated fromBerat before later relocating to Durrës.[3] Other ancestors from his paternal side come from the southeastern village ofDardhë, nearKorçë.[4] His mother,Aneta Rama (née Koleka) (1938–2020), was a graduate of medicine from the southwestern village ofVuno,[5]Vlorë, and a great-niece ofSpiro Koleka, a member of thePolitburo duringCommunist Albania. Rama states that the Koleka family, going back some centuries, is of northernMirditor origin, and that the surname was derived fromKol Leka.[6][3]
Rama started painting early in his childhood. During his teenage years, his talent was noticed by two influential Albanian painters of the time, Edi Hila and Danish Jukniu.[7] They encouraged Rama to further develop his painting skills in a professional context.[7] He attended and graduated from theJordan Misja Artistic Lyceum, an art school in Tirana.[8] As a teenager, Rama played professional basketball forDinamo Tirana and was also part of theAlbania national basketball team.[9][10] and was also an interpreter for Italian clubScavolini Libertas when they played againstPartizani Tirana in 1988[11] In 1982, he enrolled in theAcademy of Arts in Tirana. After graduating, Rama started working as an instructor at the Academy of Arts. During this time, he organized several open student meetings, during which the Albanian communist government was publicly criticized. Essays from those meetings were collected in the bookRefleksione, which Rama published together with publicistArdian Klosi in 1992.
Shortly before thefall of communism in Albania, Rama attempted several times to get involved with the incipient fight for democracy. He tried to influence student protests and become part of the newly createdDemocratic Party of Albania but soon left after a quarrel over ideological matters withSali Berisha.[12] In 1994, Rama moved to France, and tried to begin a career as a painter. He and his former student,Anri Sala, exhibited their works in several art galleries.[13] On 27 November 2002, Rama officially changed his first name to Edi.[14]
During one of his trips back toAlbania in January 1997, Rama suffered a physical assault. While the perpetrators were never found, there were concerns over the involvement of theState Secret Service given Rama's outspoken criticism towards the Albanian government.[15]
In 1998, while in Albania for the funeral of his father, Rama was offered a cabinet position by then-Prime Minister of AlbaniaFatos Nano.[16] Later that year he was appointedMinister of Culture, Youth and Sports. As a Minister, Rama immediately became known for his extravagance in a variety of ways, including his unique colorful dressing style. His innovative cultural projects, coupled with his unusual clothing and rebellious political style, helped him attract a great level of support.
In October 2000, the Socialist Party of Albania endorsed Rama in the election for Mayor of Tirana. The Democratic Party nominee wasBesnik Mustafaj, a writer and diplomat. Rama won 57% of the vote, and was sworn in as mayor. After taking office, he undertook a radical campaign of bulldozing hundreds of illegal constructions and restoring many areas near Tirana's center andLanë River into their initial form.[17]
Rama began an initiative in 2004 to repaint Tirana's degrading Hoxha-era apartment blocks using more vibrant colors.[18] The repainting helped transform the aesthetics of areas dominated by the Soviet-style buildings. Rama was awarded the inauguralWorld Mayor Prize in 2004.[19] The award committee, explained their decision stating that "Edi Rama is the man who changed a whole city. Now there is a new Tirana, colored, happy, with a new and improved infrastructure and cultural life".[19]
As mayor he compiled theTirana City Master Plan[20] including theSkanderbeg Square project. He planted thousands of new trees, making Tirana a much more environment-friendly city. Rama also expanded the existing roads and paved new ones, improving mobility. According to a UNDP report[21][failed verification] Rama played a critical role in the modernization of the local government, empowering municipalities and giving them, for the first time real power to impact the life of their communities.
Rama was reelectedMayor of Tirana by defeating Democratic Party candidates Spartak Ngjela, a former attorney, in 2003, andSokol Olldashi in 2007. In 2011, Rama decided to run for a fourth term in office. His opponent,Lulzim Basha was a member of Prime Minister Berisha's cabinet. Rama's reelection bid failed in ahotly contested election, after a court ruling decided hundreds of ballots mistakenly cast in the wrong ballot boxes were valid. The initial count saw Rama ahead by 10 votes. With all ballots counted Lulzim Basha won the race by 81 votes. Rama appealed the court's decision at the Electoral College and demanded the reinstatement of the initial tally. Rama's appeals were rejected, and Basha was sworn in as the new Mayor of Tirana. Rama and the Socialist Party criticized the judges involved in the court ruling.
Having previously run as an independent in 2000, Rama registered as aSocialist in 2003. Later that year he announced a bid for the chairmanship of the Party. He andRexhep Meidani, formerPresident, ran against the incumbent,Fatos Nano. Rama's bid failed to gain sufficient support from the Assembly delegates. He received 41 votes, Rexhep Meidani received 61, while Fatos Nano was reelected with 456 votes.[22]
After the center-left coalition lost in the2005 parliamentary election, Fatos Nano resigned as Chairman of the Socialist Party. In the subsequent election for the chairmanship of the Party, Rama defeated Rexhep Meidani 297 to 151 and became the Chairman of the Socialist Party.[22] Capitalising on Rama's popularity as a mayor, theSocialist Party of Albania regained some of its appeal. Rama replaced many of the Party's influential leaders with younger loyalists. In his earlier attempts to regain control in theParliament, he tried to frame himself as a political outsider. Inspired by the progressive policies ofTony Blair's "New Labour" andAnthony Giddens "Third Way", his political platform called for a "third direction beyond the traditional right and left".[23]
As the minority leader, Rama threw his support behind a set of constitutional amendments introduced in the Parliament during the summer of 2008. These amendments changed Albania's election law from amajoritarian representation with a proportional adjustment into aparty-list proportional representation as well as curtailed Presidential powers. Despite criticism and protests from PresidentBamir Topi and MPs from theSocialist Movement for Integration and other smaller political parties, the amendments were passed in the Parliament with asuper-majority.
Rama's reelection as mayor in 2007 was greatly helped by the Socialist Movement for Integration's endorsement of his candidacy. Seeing the 2008 constitutional amendments voted by Rama's SPA as a serious threat to their existence in Albanian politics,Ilir Meta and the SMI did not join Rama in a pre-electoral coalition for the2009 parliamentary election. The Socialist Party led by Rama were only able to win 66 seats in the Parliament. Incumbent prime minister Berisha's Democratic Party won 70 seats, while the remaining 4 seats went to Ilir Meta's Socialist Movement for Integration. Demands by Rama and the Socialists for a recount in the district ofFier were rejected by courts amidst criticism about the judge's impartiality. Eventually, all four newly elected SMI members of the parliament voted support for Prime Minister Berisha's Democrats.
The 2009 election's narrow defeat prompted Rama to continue his mandate as chairman of the Socialist Party. The Socialist Party opted for a hardcore dispute of the newly elected government by boycotting parliamentary debates for months and staging ahunger strike to prompt for domestic and foreign attention to the situation. The heated political debate surrounding the 2009 election has been pointed out as one reason for Albania's failed bid at gaining officialcandidate status in accession talks with the EU.[24]
In January 2011, a recorded videotape showed Deputy Prime Minister Ilir Meta negotiating informalpay-to-play fees with Dritan Prifti, Minister for the Economy, Commerce and Energy. On 21 January 2011, clashes broke out between police and protesters in ananti-government rally in front of the Government building in Tirana. Four people were shot dead by government special forces.[25] The EU issued a statement to Albanian politicians, warning both sides to refrain from violence.[26]
In 2013, the Socialist Party of Rama led the coalition of center-left parties (that included his former opponents, theSMI) into a landslide victory in theparliamentary election defeating the center-right coalition led by Prime MinisterSali Berisha. His platform, nicknamed "Renaissance"[27] was based on four pillars: European integration, economic revitalisation, restoration of the public order and democratisation of the state institutions. Since September 2013, Rama has been serving as thePrime Minister of Albania.[28]
Since 11 September 2013, Rama is serving as the33rdPrime Minister of Albania. During the electoral campaign, Rama stated that the return of public order was his number one priority. In 2013, theAlbanian Police was able to cover actively only 55% of the territory.[29] The Government invested heavily in modernizing, training, and improving financial benefits of the police force. The police earned international acclaim when in 2014 undertook a highly successfuloperation on Lazarat, a remote village in the south of the country, known for the production of narcotics.
Rama has been committed to restructure thejudicial system inAlbania, which was one of the most corrupted and ineffective judicial systems in Europe at that time.[30] In 2016, the Parliament approved thevetting law.[31] Based on this law, any judge or prosecutor which cannot explain his source of wealth or former dubious verdicts will be disqualified for life. In November 2016, theEuropean Union stated that a successful implementation of vetting law remains the sole criterion to fulfill before opening accession talks.[32]
Other key reform was in the energy sector, left on the brink of bankruptcy from a previous failed privatisation effort. His government successfully enforced the payment of billions of unpaid bills and heavily invested in the modernization of the obsolete power distribution network.[33] The economic growth, from 0.5% in 2013, accelerated to 3.5% in 2016 and exceeded 4% during 2017. Unemployment was reduced steadily, thanks to 183,000 new jobs[34] created in his first mandate, through a war against informality and opening of new businesses. Furthermore, with 11.5% in 2019,Albania had the 5th lowestunemployment rate in theBalkans.
Other important reforms include the administrative reform, the social welfare and pension system reform, and the reform in higher education. Internationally, Rama is pursuing a historical reconciliationpolicy between Albanians andSerbs and his visit inBelgrade, in 2014 was the first visit of anAlbanian Prime Minister in Serbia in over 70 years.[35] In a second visit, during the Economic Forum of Nis, Rama compared the Albanian and Serbian reconciliation process with the historical reconciliation between the French and Germans after theSecond World War.[36] Rama is also a key supporter of theBerlin Process, an intergovernmental platform of cooperation between the European Union andWestern Balkans countries.
TheSocialist Party led by Rama participated at the 2017parliamentary elections on 25 June 2017. One day after, partial results suggested that the Socialist Party had won a majority.[37] Which so happened.
Rama andRamush Haradinaj, thenPrime Minister of Kosovo, had a clash in late 2019 due to different views on theOpen Balkan initiative. Rama stated that Haradinaj "lies due to ignorance or on purpose".[38] In 2020 Rama filed a lawsuit for defamation against Haradinaj.[39][40]
In 2023, the minimum wage was increased to 40,000ALL (€404) per month, an increase from that of 24,000ALL in 2017.[41] Throughout 2024 and 2025, Rama's government increased wages in the public administration, with the average gross salary in the public administration reaching €1040.[42]
In 2025, Rama appointed anAI-generated character namedDiella as a government minister in charge of overseeing public tenders as part of measures against corruption.[44] Later in 2025, Rama announced that Diella was "pregnant" with 83 AI assistants intended to aid Socialist Party MPs.[45]
Rama has adopted aneo-liberal economic policy. It reduces public spending[citation needed] and promotespublic-private partnerships in most sectors (tourism, higher education, health, public works, culture). TheInternational Monetary Fund (IMF), traditionally favorable to these policies, however, considered that the Albanian government was proceeding too quickly with privatisation and exposed the country to "significant fiscal risks". Economic growth rates approached 4 percent in 2017 and 2018, the unemployment rate fell from 17.5 percent in 2014 to 11.5 percent in 2020. According to him, the improvement in the economic situation can be explained by the political stability of the country: "We are a country without a Senate, without unions, without a radical left and without comedians who play politics". Nevertheless, salaries remain low and emigration has accelerated since 2014.[46]
Drug trafficking has grown considerably, accounting for nearly a third of GDP in 2017. According to estimates by Italian customs, 753,000 cannabis plants were destroyed in 2016, compared to 46,000 in 2014. Such destruction would have affected only 10 percent of the cultivated area. The Minister of the Interior,Saimir Tahiri (in office from 2013 to 2017), has himself been blamed (and sentenced) for his involvement in this traffic. In 2018, Rama adopted a law, welcomed by the European Union, providing for competition between universities and their openness to the market. Increases in tuition fees have caused discontent among students.[46]
On 26 November 2019,an earthquake struck Albania and parliament granted Rama state of emergency powers to deal with the aftermath.[47] Rama visited the earthquake epicentre to see the situation and damage,[48] whereas political rivalries between him,Meta, andBasha were sidelined as they became involved in relief efforts.[49][50] On 30 November Rama ended the search and rescue operation[51] and the next day he attended the first funeral for the deceased.[51][52][53]
Rama reconfigured the state budget for 2020 to manage the post-earthquake situation[50] to provide funds for the construction of homes.[54] Rama called for additional expert assistance and monetary aid geared toward recovery from the international community stating that Albania lacks the capacity "to do this (reconstruction) alone."[55][50][56]
In mid-December, Rama was criticised by NGOs, human rights organisations, and parts of the media of misusing the situation to pass controversial legislation after he sought a three-month extension for his state of emergency powers from parliament.[47] Rama tasked a group of fundraisers to manage the donations from the Albanian diaspora and to provide oversight for their usage.[54] Rama contacted and held discussions with some influential world leaders and countries asking for assistance and the creation of an international donors conference.[57][50][58][59][60][61] On 8 December, Rama was present at a Turkish donors conference for Albania that was organised and attended by President Erdogan.[62] In January 2020, Rama publicised preliminary figures on damage caused by the earthquake that totaled more than €1 billion.[63]
Rama alongside U.S. Secretary of StateAntony Blinken, 15 February 2024
On several occasions, Rama has stated that the European Union needs to accelerate the integration process of the Western Balkans, considering it the only way to subdue the dangerous fractions in the region, preventing a possible eruption of violence, like the one that hammered the region in the 1990s.[65] Rama has also denounced the rising Russian influence in the region as destabilising.[66]
Rama views Turkey as an important strategic partner and since 2013, he has developed a good personal relationship with Turkish PresidentRecep Tayyip Erdoğan.[67][68] In May 2016, Rama attended the wedding of Erdogan's daughter and Erdogan's presidential inauguration in 2018, whereas Erdogan endorsed him in mid-2017 for Albania's parliamentary elections.[67][68] Rama has strengthened ties with Turkey, namely with the Erdogan government despite possible and growing contradictions with his pro-European enlargement stance.[68][69] Rama describes Erdoğan as a "friend of Albania and strategic ally". At his request, he had schools linked to theGülen movement closed, which he went so far as to describe as a 'terrorist organization'.[70]
Rama and British Prime MinisterRishi Sunak, 23 March 2023
On 10 October 2019, together withAleksandar Vučić,President of Serbia, andZoran Zaev,Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Rama signed the so-calledMini Schengen deal on regional economic cooperation, including on thefree movement of goods, capital, services, and labour between their three countries, while they await progress on EU enlargement.[72] A month later, the leaders presented a set of proposals to achieve the "four freedoms" and the first steps towards them, including the possibility to theopen border area.[73] In December, the three leaders also met withMilo Đukanović,President of Montenegro, opening the possibility for the country to join the zone.[74] In 2024, Rama said that Albania was aiming to join the EU by 2030.[75]
In April 2025, Rama visitedIsrael and expressed support for Israel'swar in the Gaza Strip, saying that "Hamas are the Nazis of the new century. And history has shown that with Nazis, there is no peace and there is no compromise."[76] There was a demonstration in Tirana against his visit to Israel.[77] In June 2025, he announced his support forIsraeli strikes on Iran, "to prevent the theocratic regime in Tehran from ever possessing nuclear weapons".[78]
Rama is an active painter and has had several personal painting exhibitions.[79]
In 2014 and 2017, Rama held an exhibit in theVenice Biennial. In 2016, a collection of his works were exhibited in the Marian Goodman Gallery in New York City.[80][81]
Rama, Edi (1993). Etërit, Seksi dhe Krenaria Kombtare.
Rama, Edi (2009). Edi Rama. Paintings
Rama, Edi (2011). Kurban. Tirana: Dudaj.
Rama is also an active writer. In 1992, while a professor at the Academy of Arts of Albania, Rama published a book with various notes together with publicist Ardian Klosi entitled Refleksione (Reflections). In 2009, Rama published a collection of personal notes and paintings in a book entitled Edi Rama. In November 2011, Rama published a reflection book on his years as mayor of Tirana entitled Kurban.[82]
Rama wasbaptized asCatholic and identifies as Catholic.[83] Regarding his religious beliefs at present, Rama has declared himself anagnostic stating that "I do not practice any faith other than to the self and other people, but I don't believe that the existence or non-existence of God is a matter that can ever be resolved by mortals."[84]
Rama married actressMatilda Makoçi [sq]. The couple divorced in 1991. Rama has a son from his first marriage, Gregor, who is a cancer survivor.[85] Rama's daughter-in-law was one of the 51 fatalities in the2019 Albania earthquake.[86] Since 2010, Rama has been married toLinda Rama (née Basha), an Albanian economist (Doctor of Economics), researcher, university lecturer, and advocate for women's and children's rights.[87][88] Together they have a son born in 2014.[89]
In a series of 16 audio tapes published online by theGerman tabloidBild, Rama and his cabinet members were recorded in conversations with police and members of organized crime ahead of the 2017 Parliamentary elections. In one of the tapes Rama is recorded in a conversation with Arben Keshi, a local police official, asking if "the objective had been met". In another recording, cabinet member Damian Gjiknuri was heard offering Keshi to send "a van of problematic guys" who "should not be too exposed" but may be needed "just in case" for the election. In other tapes, former Socialist MPs were recorded giving instructions to Keshi and other local officials on bribing constituents with cash and intimidating them with threats.[95] In other tapes published byBild, former mayor ofDurrës Vangjush Dako, appointed bySP was heard in conversations with members of drug trafficking and organized crime in connection to the 2017 elections.[96]
In December 2019, the government led by Rama, proposed changes in two laws regarding communications and information services in Albania, with focus on regulating the online media market, forcing them to register and giving authority to institutions controlled by the Parliament to fine online medias and journalists and block their contents.
Also known as the 'anti-defamation' law, it gives to the authority of Audiovisual Media in Albania (AMA) the competences of fining journalists and they can have their cases heard in court only after paying the AMA-imposed fine. Critics say this clause aims to decimate the finances of independent news outlets, whose limited funding would be likely to expire long before a court even hears the case.[97]
Media organizations in Albania protested the changes in the law, considering them as censoring free-speech and expressing their concerns, because the drafted law didn't take in consideration several recommendations made by international actors like the EU Commissioner for Human Rights.[98] The Albanian Ombudsman called the government on not approving the two anti-defamation draft laws, as they do not meet international standards.[99]
TheVenice Commission gave its opinion and to its conclusion the proposed media law has a number of flaws to proposed amendments that needs to be changed, in the report the Venice Commission gave a number of recommendations and stated that "Albanian authorities showed willingness to dialogue and addressed their concerns for the protection of freedom of speech".[100] Rama on Twitter praised the recommendations and stated "Grateful to the Venice Commission for their opinion on Anti-defamation! Without losing any further time, we need to address the matter in the Assembly according to the valuable suggestions and guarantee by law everyone's right to be defended against defamation, and the obligation of every news outlet to be identified as a subject to the law."[4]
After Albania fell to a historic low in theReporters Without Borders' annualWorld Press Freedom Index, Rama criticized the organization's notation. However Pavol Szalai, the head of the European Union and Balkan Desk, noted that themethodology changed from 2020 to 2022 and that Albania has fallen partly due to this and partly due to countries such as Serbia and Montenegro rising.[citation needed]
Rama took up to Twitter where he accused the organization of making up "lies" and called the accusations "fantasies". Rama then tweeted: "Journalists victims of police violence in Albania? What a lie! Journalists critical of the government face political attacks? What a fantasy! Ethical self-regulation in the Albanian media? What a mockery! Only the title is missing: We complain about the lack of freedom because we do not know what to do with freedom!" One day after Rama tweeted his denials, RSF reported that he attacked an Albanian reporter who he had previously put on a two-month long embargo.[101][102]
In January 2023, Rama was implicated in a U.S. federal indictment concerning former senior FBI officialCharles McGonigal. According to the indictment, in September 2017, McGonigal allegedly met with and tried to sway Rama into awarding an oil-drilling license to an Albanian-based company affiliated with McGonigal's business partners. In November 2017, shortly after a meeting with Rama in Albania, McGonigal allegedly informed a United StatesDepartment of Justice prosecutor of a potentially new criminal investigation intoNicolas Muzin, a U.S.-based lobbyist who had recently been hired by Rama's political rival,Lulzim Basha. The following month, McGonigal dined with Rama in Washington, D.C., and up until early 2018, received information about Muzin from the Albanian Prime Minister's office.[103][104]
In September 2024, Rama announced plans to create theSovereign State of the Bektashi Order within the capital city ofTirana to serve as the territory of theBektashi Order.[43] The plan faced criticism and controversy, with theMuslim Community of Albania calling the plan "a dangerous precedent for the future of the country".[106] Albanians interviewed byBalkan Insight characterized the planned state as a distraction from alleged domestic scandals created by Edi Rama in an attempt to gain favorable news coverage.[107] Besnik Sinani, a research fellow at the Center for Muslim Theology atTübingen University, said the comparison to Vatican City "does not withstand historical scrutiny" and called the proposal "an unprecedented case of contemporary religious engineering". He further said he believed it would "disrupt the historical arrangements of therelationship between religion and state in Albania".[108]
A photograph of Rama andBarack Obama at a fundraising event in October 2012 was shared by Rama onFacebook andTwitter ahead of Albania's 2013 Parliamentary Election, to imply a relationship with Obama.[109] Rama's ticket to the event was purchased for $80,000 through intermediaries that pled guilty to making foreign contributions in connection with the2012 U.S. Presidential Election.[110][111]
At the beginning of December 2021, on board aLufthansa plane headed toDetroit fromFrankfurt, Rama refused to wear a mask as required by the company'sCOVID-safety guidelines. After Rama vehemently refused, the airplane crew asked the captain to persuade the prime minister to comply with the rules as with all the other passengers. However, Rama refused any proposal and was then escorted off by the federal police.[112]
In June 2025, he was heavily criticised for outright hypocrisy for slamming the United Kingdom for sending asylum seeker to third countries in his Guardian interview. This contradicts with the same kind of agreement signed with Italy. Rama, moreover, took a knee when welcoming Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni. This kneeling act is construed as Albania being subordinate to Italy[according to who??], which invaded and occupied the country from 1939 to 1943.[113]
Prime Minister Rama received the Global Leadership Award of pro-Israel NGOCombat Antisemitism Movement for his work in fighting antisemitism and other types of religious prejudice.[117]
^Human development report 2002: deepening democracy in a fragmented world. United Nations Development Programme. New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press. 2002.ISBN0-19-521915-5.OCLC50508665.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
^"Rama:Jam Katolik i pagëzuar" [Rama:I am baptized Catholic].Dielli.al (in Albanian). 5 September 2014. Archived fromthe original(Virtual) on 24 June 2015."Për hir të së vërtetës unë nuk jam ortodoks, unë jam katolik nëse i referohesh pagëzimit". (En: For the sake of truth I'm not Orthodox, I'm Catholic referring to baptism)
^Erebara, Gjergi (2 February 2023)."Albania Opposition Demands Inquiry Into 'Bribed' Former FBI Official".Balkan Insight.Albania's opposition Democratic Party has filed a request for a parliament's investigative committee on Thursday, after Prime Minister Edi Rama dismissed claims that his government bribed a former FBI official to push for FBI investigations into matters that damaged the Albanian opposition. The request said it should investigate relations between Rama and Charles McGonigal, the nature of that relationship and any possible benefits granted to him or people connected to him by the Albanian government. The request calls for an investigation into whether the Tirana government 'incited, influenced, ordered or used public assets, bribes or other favours for the FBI former agent at the expense of the opposition'.
_(cropped_1).jpg)
.svg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
