Rita Marko (17 February 1920 – 15 June 2018) was an Albanian political figure who served in a number of positions in

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

during its socialist period.

Biography

Rita Marko was of Aromanian origin, with his father hailing from Bunavi in

Vlorë County Vlorë County (; ) is one of the 12 counties of Albania with the city of Vlorë being the county capital. The county spans and has a total population of 146,681 people as of 2023. It borders the counties of Fier and Gjirokastër, as well as th ...

of pro-Albanian leanings. Later they settled in

Voskopojë Moscopole or Voskopoja (; , with several other variants; ) is a village in Korçë County in southeastern Albania. During the 18th century, it was the cultural and commercial center of the Aromanians. At its peak, in the mid 18th century, it h ...

. He was a

shepherd A shepherd is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations; it exists in many parts of the globe, and it is an important part of Pastoralism, pastoralist animal husbandry. ...

. Rita's mother, Parashqevi, was the daughter of teacher Anastas Mihallari, and her family originated from

Ioannina Ioannina ( ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina (regional unit), Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus (region), Epirus, an Modern regions of Greece, administrative region in northwester ...

, now in

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. Rita's family was victim of raids on Voskopojë by marauding bands, in which many local civilians, including his uncle Pushi, were killed. His family had to flee Voskopojë as a result, and he would later describe his lament for the destruction of the "cultural monument" that Voskopojë was as he described it. In 1936, Marko partook in a strike of petroleum workers organized by the ''Puna'' (''Work'') trade union in the area, which was associated with the Korçë Communist Group. He joined the resistance forces after the

Italian invasion of Albania The Italian invasion of Albania was a brief military campaign which was launched by Fascist Italy, Italy against Albanian Kingdom (1928–1939), Albania in 1939. The conflict was a result of the imperialistic policies of the Italian prime m ...

in 1939 and joined the Communist Party of Albania (from 1948 the Party of Labour of Albania) in 1942. During the war he served in secession as company and later battalion commissar of the Fourth Partisan Brigade, commissar of the Twelfth Partisan Brigade, commissar of the Eighth People's Defense Brigade and up to 1948 regimental commissar in the Security Forces with the rank of Major. He became a deputy to the People's Assembly in 1950 and a member of its Presidium in 1952. From 1956 to 1958 he served as Chairman of the Assembly and Vice-Chairman from 1966 to 1976. From July 1950 to March 1951 he served as Minister of Industry. In 1952 he became a member of the General Council of the

Trade Unions of Albania The Trade Unions of Albania (, BPSh) was a mass organization of the Party of Labour of Albania during the socialist period which represented the interests of the working class in industry. Like other mass organizations it was a member of the Democ ...

and served as its Chairman from 1970 to 1982. In April 1950 he became a candidate member of the Central Committee of the PLA, full member at the Second Party Congress in 1952 and a member of the Politburo at the Third Congress in 1956. He served as First Secretary of the Party committee in Korçë district from 1949 to 1950 and of the Durrës Party committee from 1966 to 1970. In March 1951 he became Secretary of the Party's Central Committee. In December 1991 he was arrested and put on trial in July 1994 alongside some other prominent PLA leaders, being sentenced to eight years in prison after being accused of abuse of power. He was released in July 1995.

Biography

References

Sources

Further reading