Adil Çarçani (5 May 1922 – 13 October 1997) was an

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the ...

n politician who served as the 24th Prime Minister of Albania during the

Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a ...

era led by

Enver Hoxha Enver Halil Hoxha ( , ; 16 October 190811 April 1985) was an Albanian communist politician who was the authoritarian ruler of Albania from 1944 until his death in 1985. He was First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania from 1941 unt ...

. He served as the titular head of the Albanian government in the years immediately preceding the fall of Communism.

Biography

Çarçani was born on May 5, 1922 in the village of

Fushëbardhë Fushëbardhë (also ''Fushë-Bardhë'') is a small village in the south of Albania near Gjirokastër. It is part of the former municipality Cepo. At the 2015 local government reform it became part of the municipality Gjirokastër. Notable people * ...

, near

Gjirokastër Gjirokastër (, sq-definite, Gjirokastra) is a city in the Republic of Albania and the seat of Gjirokastër County and Gjirokastër Municipality. It is located in a valley between the Gjerë mountains and the Drino, at 300 metres above sea ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, he fought for Partisan forces against the Italian fascists, and joined the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of '' The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...

and the government that it set up after the war. He became mining minister in the 1950s, joined the Politburo of the Party of Labour of Albania in the 1960s, and by 1981 had become First Deputy Prime Minister. On December 18, 1981, immediately after the violent death of

Mehmet Shehu Mehmet Ismail Shehu (January 10, 1913 – December 18, 1981) was an Albanian communist politician who served as the 23rd Prime Minister of Albania from 1954 to 1981. As an acknowledged military tactician, without whose leadership the communist p ...

, Çarçani became the 24th

Prime Minister of Albania The Prime Minister of Albania ( sq, Kryeministri i Shqipërisë), officially styled Prime Minister of the Republic of Albania ( sq, Kryeministri i Republikës së Shqipërisë), is the head of government of the Republic of Albania and the mo ...

. He remained in that position until February 1991, two months after Communism started falling in Albania, when he resigned after mobs tore down the statue of

, the founder and leader of

Communist Albania The People's Socialist Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika Popullore Socialiste e Shqipërisë, links=no) was the Marxist–Leninist one party state that existed in Albania from 1946 to 1992 (the official name of the country was the People's R ...

from 1946 to 1985. Çarçani was, however, elected to parliament that year, and gave the opening speech.

Post-1991

On 21 May 1994, Çarçani was tried for and abuse of power, alongside

Ramiz Alia Ramiz Tafë Alia (; 18 October 1925 – 7 October 2011) was an Albanian politician serving as the second and last leader of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania from 1985 to 1991, serving as First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Alban ...

. He was tried, found guilty and sentenced to prison. His sentence was commuted to five years of house arrest, however, as he was beginning to suffer from health problems. He died under house arrest in

Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...

References

External links

Adil Carcani's New Government
Blinken Open Society Archives
ADIL ÇARÇANI RAPPORT SUR LES DIRECTIVES DU IX^e Congres du Parti
1922 births 1997 deaths People from Gjirokastër Labour Party of Albania politicians Members of the Politburo of the Labour Party of Albania Candidate members of the Politburo of the Labour Party of Albania Members of the Parliament of Albania Government ministers of Albania Prime Ministers of Albania Deputy Prime Ministers of Albania People's Socialist Republic of Albania Heads of government who were later imprisoned Albanian resistance members Yugoslav Partisans members {{Albania-politician-stub