The Republican Guard ( sq, Garda e Republikës) is a militarized government agency of Albania mandated by law to protect high-ranking state officials, including the President of Albania, as well as certain national properties, high-ranking foreign visitors and diplomatic offices. It is mostly subordinate to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, except that the unit responsible for the president's security being under the authority of the president. The Guard was established on 24 June 1928 as part of the

Albanian Armed Forces The Albanian Armed Forces ( sq, Forcat e Armatosura të Republikës së Shqipërisë (FARSH)) are the military of Albania and were formed after the declaration of independence in 1912. Today, it consists of the General Staff, the Albanian Land ...

. Its current commander is General Gramos Sako.

History

Royal Guard (1928–1939)

The Republican Guard was established in the late 1920s when President

Ahmet Zogu Zog I ( sq, Naltmadhnija e tij Zogu I, Mbreti i Shqiptarëve, ; 8 October 18959 April 1961), born Ahmed Muhtar bey Zogolli, taking the name Ahmet Zogu in 1922, was the leader of Albania from 1922 to 1939. At age 27, he first served as Albania's y ...

(later King Zog I) demanded the reorganization of the

and the creation of a special unit, separated from the Militias and

Gendarmerie Wrong info! --> A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (literally, ...

, whose main duty would be to protect the highest state personalities and the important buildings (such as Institutions; Banks; personalities houses; etc.). The creation of the Guard was decreed on 24 June 1928. Its secondary responsibility was public duties in Tirana, the national capital. On 1 September 1928, Albania was transformed into a kingdom, and President Zogu became Zog I, ''King of the Albanians''. The Guard changed the name to "Royal Guard of Albania", but the duties in most of them remain the same. Hysen Selmani was appointed its first commandant.http://www.garda.gov.al/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/HISTORIKU.-i-Gardes.pdf In November 1929, the law ''"On the Organization of Armed Forces"'' was promulgated, which changed the structure of the unit. The structure of the Guard subsequently consisted of: * The Guard Command * 1

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...

(21 Officers; 37 Sub-Officer; 412 Guards) * 1 Platoon of

Cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...

* Guards Band and Bugles

Socialist Republican Guard (1945–1991)

After the World War II, the Guard would be named Special Battalion of the General Staff, being a structure within the ''People's Defense Division (DMP)''. In February 1947, the department was renamed Republican Guard Department. By the end of the 1940s, the Guard began to recruit servicemen through the

conscription Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...

service; until then it consisted of ex- Partisans of the Albanian National Liberation Army ''(UNÇSH)''. In 1951, the Guard became part of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which charged the battalion with the function of preserving and securing the high-ranking state officials and important members of the communist party, including their residential areas in Ish-Blloku. During these years until November 1968, the Guard was strengthened and modernized, following which the guard battalion numbered around 600 personnel of all ranks. After the Soviet-Albanian split and the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, the Guard underwent a structural and quantitative change. It was increased from 1 to 3 battalions. In addition, there were 4 battalions of reservists, a central Command and permanent staff with officers. Also, the Artillery Command was created. In 1976, with the adoption of the new Constitution, the name of the Guard changed to the Republican Guard Regiment of the Socialist Republic of Albania Its organization included: * Command Center * Political department * General Staff of the Guard Regiment * Artillery Command * 3 active infantry battalions (1st to 3rd Battalions, Republican Guard) * 4 reserve battalions (4th to 7th Battalions (Volunteers), Republican Guard) * Instruction Center in Mullet * Autonomous bases ( Durrës, Vlorë, Pogradec, Lezhë and Korçë) * 1 anti-aircraft battery equipped with ZPU * 1

artillery battery In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit or multiple systems of artillery, mortar systems, rocket artillery, multiple rocket launchers, surface-to-surface missiles, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, etc., so grouped to fac ...

equipped with ZiS-3 * 1

each of

Flamethrower A flamethrower is a ranged incendiary device designed to project a controllable jet of fire. First deployed by the Byzantine Empire in the 7th century AD, flamethrowers saw use in modern times during World War I, and more widely in World ...

; Tanks;

Engineers Corps Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

; Chemical Corps; Support Corps and Transport Support * 1 armored transport Platoon * Regimental Band On 4 February 1984 the Presidium of the People's Assembly awarded the "Order of the National Flag" to the Republican Guard Regiment.

1991–Present

On 9 September 1992, the Albanian Parliament adopted the law "On the Republican Guard", which stipulated that the guard, which at the time was named the Specialized Military Unit, would be the official military guard of honour for the state. In 1993, based on the June 1928 decree of the Guard's creation, the Republican Guard was recreated in its original form. In appreciation for the unit's participation in the

Albanian Civil War The Albanian Civil War in 1997 was sparked by pyramid scheme failures in Albania soon after its transition to a market economy. The government was toppled and more than 2,000 people were killed. Various other sources also describe the violenc ...

of 1997, the Republican Guard was decorated with the Golden Medal of the Eagle (“Medalja e Artë e Shqiponjës”) on its diamond jubilee in 1998. In January 2011, six members of the guard were arrested over the deaths of four civilian protesters in an opposition demonstration outside Prime Minister Sali Berisha's office. Three of them were later released by the general prosecutor.

Mission

Albanien feiert 100 Jahre Unabhängigkeit (8232494570)

The Republican Guard Battalion of Albania is a structure of special status in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, whose mission is to provide physical security to the President; Prime Minister; Chairman of the Parliament and other high state personalities defined in the No. 8869, dated 22 May 2003 ''"For the Guard of the Republic of Albania"''. Another of the guard duties it is also the protection of the high importance buildings, such as Parliament; Presidential Office and other buildings defined in the same law. The guard missions: *Guarding important public buildings in Tirana or across the country. *Honor and security services for the highest national personalities and important foreign guests; Military ceremonies and guards of honour for fallen soldiers. *Support of other law enforcement forces with intervention (i.e. Special Unit) teams; It often cooperates with the

Albanian Armed Forces Band The Albania Armed Forces Band () is a professional military band from Albania that has the duty to provide military accompaniment for the Albanian Armed Forces as well as take part in protocol events with the Republican Guard. History The first ...

in completing these tasks.

Uniform

The current full dress uniform consists of a red tunic and

dress pants A suit, lounge suit, or business suit is a set of clothes comprising a suit jacket and trousers of identical textiles worn with a collared dress shirt, necktie, and dress shoes. A skirt suit is similar, but with a matching skirt instead of ...

, as well as a small black Peaked cap with a yellow Coat of Arms of Albania badge at the top. In March 2016, a new uniform was unveiled which includes the officer's ranks and nametag, both of which are sewn on the tunic. According to the online newspaper ''Shqiptarja.com'', the uniform changes reportedly cost 113 million

Albanian Lek The lek (; indefinite singular ''lek'', definite plural ''lekët'', indefinite plural ''lekë''; sign: Lekë in Albanian or Lek in English, sometimes L; code: ALL) is the currency of Albania. Historically, it was subdivided 100 ''qintars'' (; ...

(about 1.1 million USD).http://illyriapress.com/215761-2/

Equipment

Armament

''Handguns'' * Glock 17

9×19mm Parabellum The 9×19mm Parabellum (also known as 9mm Parabellum or 9mm Luger or simply 9mm) is a rimless, tapered firearms cartridge. Originally designed by Austrian firearm designer Georg Luger in 1901, it is widely considered the most popular handgun a ...

* TT-30

7.62×25mm Tokarev The 7.62×25mm Tokarev cartridge (designated as the 7.62 × 25 Tokarev by the C.I.P.) is a Russian rimless bottlenecked pistol cartridge widely used in former Soviet states and in China, among other countries. The cartridge has since been replac ...

* Makarov 9×18mm Makarov * Beretta M9

''Sniper Rifle'' * Dragunov 7.62×54mmR ''Assault Rifles'' * AK47 7.62×39mm * AKMS

5.45×39mm The 5.45×39mm Cartridge (firearms), cartridge is a Rim (firearms), rimless bottlenecked intermediate cartridge. It was introduced into service in 1974 by the Soviet Union for use with the new AK-74. The 5.45×39mm gradually supplemented and then ...

(''Albanian Model 56 SOPMOD'') ''Submachine guns'' * HK MP5

MP5A3 The Heckler & Koch MP5 (german: Maschinenpistole 5) is a 9x19mm Parabellum submachine gun, developed in the 1960s by a team of engineers from the German small arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch. There are over 100 variants and clones of the MP5, ...

** MP5-PDW ** MP5SD ** MP5K ''Knives'' *

Randall Randall may refer to the following: Places United States *Randall, California, former name of White Hall, California, an unincorporated community * Randall, Indiana, a former town *Randall, Iowa, a city *Randall, Kansas, a city *Randall, Minnesot ...

''Other'' * Night Vision Goggles *

Gas mask A gas mask is a mask used to protect the wearer from inhaling airborne pollutants and toxic gases. The mask forms a sealed cover over the nose and mouth, but may also cover the eyes and other vulnerable soft tissues of the face. Most gas mask ...

* Pepper spray * Flash-bangs

References

External links

Official website
{{Law enforcement in Albania Government agencies established in 1928 Guards regiments Albanian Civil War Military units and formations of Albania Guards of honour