Ermelinda Meksi is an Albanian politician, who held different positions in the Cabinet of Albania during the years 1997 to 2005. She is the first woman to be appointed as

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...

, the highest office held by a woman at the time in Albania.

Biography

Meksi graduated from the

University of Tirana The University of Tirana (, abbreviated UT) is a public university located at the central borough of Tirana 10 in Tirana, Albania. It was established as the State University of Tirana (SUT) in 1957 through merging of five existing institutes ...

in 1979. Later she obtained her PhD in economics there. She worked for many years as a professor at the Faculty of Economics. In 1992 she was elected a Member of the Parliament of the Republic of Albania and held this position until November 2011. During the Socialist government she served as Minister of State for Foreign Assistance and Development in 1997 - 1998, than as Minister of Economy until 2002. In June 2003 she was appointed as

in the new government formed by

Fatos Nano Fatos Thanas Nano (; born 16 September 1952) is an Albanian socialist politician who served as Prime Minister of Albania in 1991, from 1997 to 1998 and from 2002 to 2005. He was the first leader and founder of the Socialist Party of Albania and ...

and served at this position until December 2003. After that she was appointed as Minister of European Integration, a recently created Ministry, to help the process of European Integration. Meksi served as Member of the Parliament until 2011, when the mandate was terminated after being elected a member of the

Bank of Albania The Bank of Albania () is the central bank of Albania, issuing the Albanian lek. It is headquartered in Tirana, with five branches in Shkodër, Elbasan, Gjirokastër, Korçë and Lushnjë, and a Research and Training Center in Berat. The bank was ...

’s Supervisory Council by the Parliament.

References

1957 births Living people Politicians from Tirana University of Tirana alumni Deputy prime ministers of Albania Economy ministers of Albania Integration ministers of Albania 21st-century Albanian politicians 21st-century Albanian women politicians Socialist Party of Albania politicians 20th-century Albanian politicians Government ministers of Albania Women government ministers of Albania 20th-century Albanian women politicians {{Albania-politician-stub