Prokop Murra (24 November 1921 – 9 September 2005) 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 of the

Albanian Party of Labour The Party of Labour of Albania ( sq, Partia e Punës e Shqipërisë, PPSh), sometimes referred to as the Albanian Workers' Party (AWP), was the ruling and sole legal party of Albania during the communist period (1945–1991). It was founded o ...

(PPSh).

Early life

Murra was born on 24 November 1921 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 ...

, and studied economics.Historical Dictionary of Albania - Robert Elsie, p.314-315
/ref> He joined the Albanian Communist Party in 1943 and fought 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 ...

as a partisan of the National Liberation Movement. He initially worked as a functionary of the party in the economic sector, and petroleum industry. In 1956 he became member of the Central Committee of the Party.

Rise in the party

In 1962, he was elected for the first time as representative in the People's Assembly, and remained such until the fifth legislature ending in 1966. In the '70s, he was temporarily First Secretary of PPSh in Shkodra. Furthermore, he was temporarily Deputy Chairman of the State Planning Commission 1980–1981. At the 7th Congress of the Party which took place in November 1976, Murra was elected member of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Party. He held this position until April 1980. Between 1978 and 1991, he served again from the ninth to eleventh legislature as representative in the National Assembly. On April 26, 1980, he was Minister of Industry and Mines in the last government of Prime Minister

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 ...

. Murra succeeded at the 8th Party Congress in November 1981 to become candidate-member of the Politburo of the Party of Labour of Albania, but was removed from the Secretariat of the Central Committee.Quarterly economic review of Rumania, Bulgaria, Albania, Issue 1, Economist Intelligence Unit., 1982, p.xli
/ref> In the subsequent government of Adil Çarçani, he served as Minister of Energy (the Ministry of Industry and Mines was split) until 1 July 1982 when he was replaced by Pali Miska.

Defence Minister (1982-1990)

He served shortly as Party's Secretary in Tirana District, before being replaced by Gaqo "Gogo" Nesho and becoming Minister of People's Defence () on November 23, 1982. His appointment as Defense Minister was surprising, since he was the first civilian in this position since the founding of the People's Republic of Albania on 11 January 1946.Yearbook on International Communist Affairs, Milorad M. Drachkovitch, Lewis H. Gann, Hoover Institution Press., 1983, p.238-239
( Yearbook on International Communist Affairs series) In a speech he gave shortly after the death of

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 stated that Albania would never establish relations with the superpowers as United States and

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

, and focus on "self-reliance". At the 9th Congress of the Party in 1986, he became member of the Politburo. With

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 ...

coming into power after Hoxha's death, he was later removed from the Politburo as a "hard-liner", thus not Alia's favorite. After retiring from the government on July 9, 1990, he was replaced by

Kiço Mustaqi Kiço Mustaqi (22 March 1938 – 24 January 2019) was a former Albanian general and politician of the Albanian Party of Labour. He served as Chief of the General Staff of Albanian People's Army, the last Minister of Defence of the communist er ...

as Minister of Defense.

Post-politics

In 1993, a court process came up against Murra and nine other former high-ranking officials ( Muho Asllani,

Besnik Bekteshi Besnik Bekteshi (born 1941) is a former Albanian politician of the Albanian Party of Labour (PPSh). He has served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry of Communist Albania. Biography Bekteshi was born on 11 August 1941 in Shkodër. He ...

, Foto Çami, Hajredin Çeliku, Lenka Çuko, Llambi Gegprifti, Qirjako Mihali, Pali Miska, and

Vangjel Çërrava Vangjel Çërrava (born 1941) is an Albanian politician of the Albanian Party of Labour (PPSh). He was member of the Albanian Parliament, Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Albania, and for a short time member of the Politburo of the Party. Bi ...

). They were accused of "abuse of funds". The court in Tirana came up with the following sentences: Mihali and Gegprifti eight years each, Miska and Çuko seven years each, Çami, Çeliku, and Bekteshi six years each, and Çërrava, Murra and Asllani five years each. Another case rose against him and others in June 1996, this time for "crimes against humanity", according to Art. 74, 67 and 25 of the Albanian Penal Code. Other co-defendants were the former Party local-level politicians as Muho Asllani, Foto Çami, Gaqo Nesho, former 1st secretary of the PPSh in Vlora and Tirana, Zef Loka, former director in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and Dilaver Benghazi, former Deputy Minister of the Interior. Decision was carried out in August 1996. Murra received 20-year prison sentence, Asllani and Loka 18, Nesho 16 years and Benghazi 12 years.ATA NEWS: ''EX COMMUNIST SENIOR OFFICIAL RELEASED FROM THE COURT HALL'' (13. August 1993)
/ref> They would serve their terms partially. An amnesty came out after the turmoils of 1997.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murra, Prokop 1921 births 2005 deaths Politicians from Tirana 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 Defence ministers of Albania Communism in Albania Albanian resistance members