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Biography of Ramiz AliaName: Ramiz AliaBirth Date: October 18, 1925 Death Date: N/A Place of Birth: Shkoder, Albania Nationality: Albanian Gender: Male Occupations: political leader Ramiz Alia Following the death of Enver Hoxha, Albania's longtime (1945-1985) dictator in April 1985, Ramiz Alia (born 1925) became the dominant political personality in the country.Ramiz Alia was born on October 18, 1925, into a poor working-class family from the northern Albanian city of Shkoder. His parents subsequently moved to Tirana, the capital of Albania, where Alia was a student at the city's Gymnasium (academic high school) at the time of the Italian occupation of the country in April 1939.Like many of his contemporaries, Alia joined the Fascist Lictor Youth Organization. By 1941 he had severed his ties with this group and had become a member of the Albanian Communist Youth Organization. Two years later he abandoned his studies and was admitted to the Albanian Communist Party. The following year he was appointed political commissar with the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Fifth Combat Division of the Albanian Army of National Liberation. His competent performance …showed first 150 words…
…showed last 150 words…and 1989. Information on Alia's political career up to 1961 appears in Who's Who in Eastern Europe: Albania, Bulgaria, Rumania, and Yugoslavia (1961). Ramiz Alia, Our Enver (1988), provides some interesting insights into the relationship between Enver Hoxha and Alia along with details of Alia's rise within the ranks of the Albanian political leadership. Another book that includes discussions of Alia's activities is The Cold War: 1945-1991 by Benjamin Frankel (1992). Many of Alia's speeches have been published in English translation in pamphlet form, e.g., "Democratization of Socio-Economic Life Strengthens the Thinking of People" (1990) and "The Continuation of the Process of Democratization Is Vital for the Progress of the Country" (1990). The magazines New Albania and Albania Today are also useful sources of information about Alia's policies and activities. Also see Business Europa Briefing (Winter 1995), Chicago Tribune (March 14, 1997), CSCEE/EECR (Summer 1995), Current History (November 1993), New York Times (March 16, 1992; April 4, 1992; May 22, 1994; July 8, 1995), and RFE-RL Research Report (July 22, 1994). |