Fall of communism in Albania

Fall of communism in Albania

The fall of communism in Albania was an important moment in history. It was the last time communism ended in Europe outside the Soviet Union. It began in December 1990 when students protested in the capital city, Tirana. Protests had already started earlier that year in places like Shkodër and Kavajë.

The leaders of the communist Party of Labour of Albania decided to allow other political parties on December 11. The next day, the largest group opposing the communists, called the Democratic Party, was created. In elections held in March 1991, the Party of Labour stayed in control. But because many people were unhappy, a new government was formed that included people who were not communists.

By March 1992, the communist party was no longer popular. This was because the country was facing big economic problems and many people were upset. In new elections, the Democratic Party won most of the seats, and their leader, Sali Berisha, became the president of Albania.

Background

Enver Hoxha led Albania for many years and passed away in 1985. Ramiz Alia took over and made some changes. He allowed more freedom to travel abroad and built relationships with Western European countries.

Big changes happened in other places, like the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Many people in Albania didn’t know about these changes because their government controlled the news. In 1990, protests began in cities like Shkodra and spread. The government made some changes to avoid more trouble. In December 1990, the ruling party agreed to let other parties exist. This led to elections in March 1991. After protests and strikes, new leaders took over.

Post-communist government

Main article: History of Post-Communist Albania

When Albania changed from a communist system to one with more freedom and private businesses, it had many problems. The new government tried to make improvements, but people were unhappy because things did not get better quickly enough. Some leaders became powerful and did not listen to others, which made people even more unhappy.

In 1997, big troubles happened because of unfair money plans and honesty problems, causing protests across the country. The government tried to control the situation, but it was difficult because many leaders did not work well together. With help from other countries, leaders from different sides agreed to work together in a new government and hold new elections.

The group that used to be the communist party returned to power and led the country until 2005. Then, another party took over and led until 2013, when the original group came back to power. Albania worked to become closer to European countries and joined important groups like NATO in 2009 and started talking about joining the European Union in 2022.