| President of the Republic of Albania | |
|---|---|
| Presidenti i Republikës së Shqipërisë | |
 Presidential Seal | |
 Presidential Standard | |
.jpg) | |
| Style | Mr President (informal) His Excellency (diplomatic) |
| Type | Head of state |
| Residence | Pallati Presidencial |
| Seat | Tirana |
| Appointer | Parliament |
| Term length | Five years, renewable once |
| Constituting instrument | Constitution of Albania (1998) |
| Formation | 30 April 1991; 34 years ago (1991-04-30) |
| First holder | Ramiz Alia |
| Deputy | Speaker of the Parliament |
| Salary | L425,000 per month (€3,433.79)[1] |
| Website | president.al |
Thepresident of Albania,[a] officially thepresident of the Republic of Albania,[b] is thehead of state,commander-in-chief of themilitary and the representative of the unity of theAlbanian people.[2][3]
The president sets the date ofelections andreferendums, grantspardons andawards, grantscitizenship and permits it to be given up, accepts the credentials of diplomats serving in Albania, appointsplenipotentiary representatives and the director of theState Intelligence Service at the proposal of theprime minister, and officiallypromulgates all laws passed by theAlbanian parliament or by referendum. The Office of the President consists of the immediate staff of the president as well as support staff reporting to the president. The office is seated in thePresidential Office in the capital cityTirana. The spouse of the president is recognized as thefirst lady of Albania, but holds no official role in thepresidency. She often plays aprotocol role at thePresidential Palace and duringofficial visits.
The president is elected through asecret vote and without debate by theParliament of Albania by a majority of three-fifths of all its members and is elected for 5 years.[4] TheConstitution of Albania limits the president to a maximum of two terms in office.[5] The president-elect is required to take anoath of office before the members of the parliament.
If the President is unable to discharge the duties of office or if the position is vacant, thespeaker of the Parliament assumes the office's powers and duties asacting president until the president resumes those powers and duties, or until the election of a new president.[6]
Albania has experienced different models of governance, including an international protectorate, a monarchy, a state-party regime and the parliamentary republic as well. Throughout all this period the function of the president of Albania andhead of state has been exercised in various forms.
Thefirst government after the independence was headed byIsmail Qemali, who also enjoyed the competences of thehead of state. On 6 February 1914,Prince Wilhelm Wied was appointed as head of state by the Ambassadors Conference. From September 1914 until January 1920,Albania was transformed into a battle field and experienced the change of a number of governments, where the post of the head of state was played by different governments regencies. On 8 January 1920 theCongress of Lushnjë elected the 'High Council' composed by four members, one of whom would exercise the functions of the head of state by introducing and bringing back the parliamentarian way of governance. In 1924,Fan Noli was elected as head of government while exercising at the same time the functions of the head of state. After the frequent changes in governance, theParliament of Albania approved and passed the republican form of regime on 25 January 1925 and electedZog I of Albania as the president of Albania. The nation was proclaimed amonarchy andAhmet Zogu was crowned theKing of Albanians on 28 September 1928. AfterAlbania was occupied byItaly in April 1939 and the unification of the two countries,Victor Emmanuel III became theKing of Albania. From 1943 to 1944 the regencies governance was introduced once again under the German occupation.[7]
The end of thesecond World War and the liberation of Albania that took place in 1944 were followed by the holding of thefirst parliamentary elections in December 1945 and also by the transformation of thehead of state's function into acollegial body, the Presidium of theParliament of Albania. During the communism from 11 January 1946 until 12 December 1990, the functions of the head of state were carried out byOmer Nishani from 10 January 1946 to 1 August 1953, byHaxhi Lleshi from 1 August 1953 to 22 November 1982 and byRamiz Alia from 22 November 1982 to 22 February 1991. The 'Presidential Council', headed byRamiz Alia was founded on 22 February 1991 and it lasted until 30 April 1991.
The election of the first president of the parliamentaryRepublic of Albania on 30 April 1991 by a multi political parties Assembly, marked the foundation of the constitutional institution of the president of Albania.[8]
The President of Albania is elected by asecret vote and without debate in theParliament of Albania. A candidate needs to receive votes from three-fifths of the total number of parliamentarian to win. If the required majority is not reached in the first round of voting, a second round takes place within seven days. If a majority is still not reached, a third round must take place within a further period of seven days. If required, a further two rounds must be held within seven days, with the majority needed to win reduced to an absolute majority of 50% +1 votes of the total number of parliamentarian. In the fifth round, only the two top candidates from the fourth round are kept. If after five rounds of voting no candidate has attained the necessary majority outlined for each round of voting, Parliament will be dissolved and elections must be held within 45 days.[9][10]
Following the disintegration of the communist regime, thefirst multi-party elections inAlbania were held in 1991, simultaneously with the1991 parliamentary elections.[11] The result was a victory forRamiz Alia of theParty of Labour of Albania (PPSh), who received 56.2% of the vote in the third round of the elections, ahead of 3 other candidates.Sali Berisha, theDemocratic Party of Albania (PD) candidate and runner-up in the election, received almost 38.7% of the vote.Ramiz Alia resigned as the president on 3 April 1992.[12][13] The same year, thesecond presidential elections were held on 22 March 1992.[14] The result was a victory forSali Berisha of theDemocratic Party of Albania (PD), who received 57.3% of the vote in the second round of the elections, ahead of 5 other candidates, he was elected as president on 9 April 1992.[15] Berisha also won thethird presidential election in 1997 and was re-elected on 3 February 1997, he resigned due to theAlbanian unrest.[16] Thefourth presidential election were held after the1997 parliamentary election. The result was a victory forRexhep Meidani of theSocialist Party of Albania (PS), who was elected by theParliament of Albania through a vote of 110 to 3.[17][18] Thefifth presidential elections were held on 24 June 2002. The result was a victory forAlfred Moisiu, he was chosen by bothSocialist Party of Albania (PS) andDemocratic Party of Albania (PD) leaders at the timeFatos Nano (PS leader) andSali Berisha (PD leader).[19][20] He was elected by theParliament of Albania through a vote of 97 to 19.[21][22]
Thesixth presidential elections were held on 20 June 2007 with almost four rounds. In the first round on 20 June 2007 and 27 June 2007, no candidate was presented. TheGovernment of Albania and theopposition presented their proposed candidate lists on 5 July 2007, but did not accept either list. Afterwards, on 14 July 2007 the third round were held. At least in the fourth round on 20 July,Bamir Topi of theDemocratic Party of Albania (PD) won the election. Theseventh presidential elections were held on 30 May 2012 with four rounds until 11 June 2012. The first through third rounds of voting were inconclusive. In the fourth round, the result was a victory forBujar Nishani of theDemocratic Party of Albania (PD). The most recent andeighth presidential elections were held on 19, 20, 27 and 28 April 2017. In the fourth round the incumbentChairman of the Parliament of Albania,Ilir Meta of theSocialist Movement for Integration (SMI) was elected as seventh president of Albania with 87 votes.[23]
As of Article 89 of theAlbanian Constitution sets the following qualifications for holding the presidency, to be a natural-born citizen of theAlbanian Republic, to be at least forty years old and to be a resident in theRepublic of Albania for at least ten years.[24][25]
The president ofAlbania, officiallystyled President of the Republic of Albania represents the unity of theAlbanian people in the country and abroad as thehead of state. The president begins his duties officially after he takes the oath before theParliament, but not before the mandate of the president who is leaving has been completed. The president ofAlbania is the supremecommander-in-chief of theArmed Forces of the Republic of Albania and appoints and relieves military commanders of duty, conforming to applicable legislation. Furthermore, theChief of the General Staff is appointed as well by the president.[26]
TheConstitution, states that the president addresses messages to theParliament, exercises the right of pardon according to the law, grants Albanian citizenship and permits it to be given up according to the law, gives decorations and titles of honor according to the law, accords the highest military rank according to the law, on the proposal of thePrime Minister, he appoints and withdraws plenipotentiary representatives of theRepublic of Albania to other states and international organizations, accepts letters of credentials and the withdrawal of diplomatic representatives of other states and international organization accredited to him, signs international agreements according to the law, upon proposal of thePrime Minister, he appoints the Director of the National Security Department, nominates rectors of universities upon proposal of their council's representatives, sets the date of the elections for theParliament, for the organs of local power and for the conduct of a referendum and requests opinions and information in writing from the directors of state institutions for issues that have to do with their duties.
Before assuming presidential duty, the president-elect is required to take anoath of office before theParliament, swearing loyalty to theConstitution. The text of the oath in its Albanian form is sensitive to gender and all nouns always retain a neutral form. The president-elect takes the following oath of office, specified by theConstitution:[27]
Albanian:Betohem se do t’i bindem Kushtetutës dhe ligjeve të vendit, do të respektoj të drejtat dhe liritë e shtetasve, do të mbroj pavarësinë e Republikës së Shqipërisë dhe do t’i shërbej interesit të përgjithshëm dhe përparimit të Popullit Shqiptar. Zoti më ndihmoftë!
I swear that I will obey to the Constitution and laws of the country, that I will respect the rights and freedoms of citizens, protect the independence of the Republic of Albania, and I will serve the general interest and the progress of the Albanian people. So help me God!
ThePresidential Office (Albanian:Presidenca) is the official workplace of the president. It consists of the immediate staff of the president, as well as support staff reporting to the president. Since the collapse of communism, the building was used as the Office of the president, having been used for this purpose uninterrupted up to this day. The building consists three floors where two entrance gates lead an oval driveway from theDëshmorët e Kombit Boulevard.
ThePresidential Palace (Albanian:Pallati presidencial), popularly known as the Palace of Brigades (Albanian:Pallati i Brigadave), is theofficial residence of the president of Albania.[28] The Palace was commissioned by KingZog I of Albania to serve as his main official residence. After thesecond World War it has been used by theGovernment of Albania for holding official ceremonies and state receptions. Due to its location near theGrand Park of Tirana, its gardens are quite extensive. It is surrounded by trees for nearly 200 metres and decorated in patterns and shapes of various designs. In addition the Palace was designed by Italian well-known architectGherardo Bosio.[29]
| No. | Portrait | Name | Term in office | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.svg) Albanian Republic (1925–1928) | |||||
| 1st | .jpg) | Ahmet Zogu (1895–1961) .svg) | 31 January 1925 | 1 September 1928 | Party of Traditions |
| 3 years and 7 months | |||||
 Republic of Albania (1991–present) | |||||
| 2nd | .jpg) | Ramiz Alia (1925–2011) .svg) | 30 April 1991 | 3 April 1992 | Socialist Party |
| 11 months and 4 days | |||||
| 3rd |  | Sali Berisha (born 1944) .svg) | 9 April 1992 | 23 July 1997 | Democratic Party |
| 5 years, 3 months and 14 days | |||||
| 4th |  | Rexhep Meidani (born 1944) .svg) | 24 July 1997 | 24 July 2002 | Socialist Party |
| 5 years | |||||
| 5th |  | Alfred Moisiu (born 1929) .svg) | 24 July 2002 | 24 July 2007 | Independent |
| 5 years | |||||
| 6th |  | Bamir Topi (born 1957) .svg) | 24 July 2007 | 24 July 2012 | Democratic Party |
| 5 years | |||||
| 7th |  | Bujar Nishani (1966–2022) .svg) | 24 July 2012 | 24 July 2017 | Democratic Party |
| 5 years | |||||
| 8th | | Ilir Meta (born 1969) .svg) | 24 July 2017 | 24 July 2022 | Socialist Movement for Integration |
| 5 years | |||||
| 9th | .jpg) | Bajram Begaj (born 1967) | 24 July 2022 | Incumbent | Independent |
| 3 years, 6 months and 21 days | |||||
The titleFirst Lady of Albania is an unofficial title; it is not an elected one, carries no official duties, and receives no salary. Nonetheless, first ladies have held a highly visible position in Albanian society. The role has evolved over the years, but she is, first and foremost, the spouse of the president. However, she accompanies the president in state andofficial visits abroad the borders of Albania. She generally oversees the administration ofPresidential Palace, the mansion that serves as theofficial residence, while thePresidenca serves as the official office. They also organize events and civic programs, and typically get involved in different charities and social causes.
| Birthname | Relation to the president |
|---|---|
| Geraldine Apponyi[c] | future wife of PresidentAhmet Zogu |
| Semiramis Xhuvani[d] | wife of future PresidentRamiz Alia |
| Lirie Ramaj | wife of PresidentSali Berisha |
| Lidra Karagjozi | wife of PresidentRexhep Meidani |
| Milica Niça[e] | wife of future PresidentAlfred Moisiu |
| Teuta Mema | wife of PresidentBamir Topi |
| Odeta Kosova | wife of PresidentBujar Nishani |
| Monika Kryemadhi[f] | ex-wife of PresidentIlir Meta |
| Armanda Ymeri | wife of PresidentBajram Begaj |
The President of the Republic is elected by the Assembly by secret ballot and without debate by a majority of three-fifths of all its members.
When the President of the Republic is temporarily unable to exercise his functions or his place is vacant, the Speaker of the Assembly takes his place and exercises his powers.
The 1991 general elections were the first free and multiparty ones in Albania since World War II.
Ilir Metës si president i Republikës
Only an Albanian citizen by birth who has resided in Albania for not less than the past 10 years and who has reached the age of 40 may be elected President.
Betohem se do t'i bindem Kushtetutes dhe ligjeve te vendit, do te respektoj te drejtat dhe lirite e shtetasve, do te mbroj pavaresine e Republikes se Shqiperise dhe do t'i sherbej interesit te pergjithshem dhe perparimit te Popullit Shqiptar". Presidenti mund te shtoje edhe: "zoti me ndihmofte
| Independent Albania (1912–14) | |
|---|---|
| Principality of Albania (1914–25) | |
| Albanian Republic (1925–28) | |
| Albanian Kingdom (1928–39) | .svg) |
| Italian Albania (1939–43) | .svg) |
| German occupation (1943–44) | |
| Communist Albania (1944–91) | |
| Republic of Albania (since 1991) | |
| Presidential elections | |
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