The Skanderbeg Military University () was an educational entity of the Albanian People's Army and the Albanian Armed Forces. It was the oldest military education institution in the

People's Socialist Republic of Albania The People's Socialist Republic of Albania, () was the Marxist-Leninist state that existed in Albania from 10 January 1946 to the 29 April 1991. Originally founded as the People's Republic of Albania from 1946 to 1976, it was governed by the P ...

History

Communist era

It was established on 8 November 1944 as a low-level training course for officers of the National Liberation Movement. This was during the German occupation of Albania. It was housed in the buildings of the engineering department built by the

Italian Army The Italian Army ( []) is the Army, land force branch of the Italian Armed Forces. The army's history dates back to the Italian unification in the 1850s and 1860s. The army fought in colonial engagements in China and Italo-Turkish War, Libya. It ...

. In January 1945, it moved to the capital of

Tirana Tirana ( , ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in Albania, 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 ov ...

, months after the Liberation of Albania. It moved to the buildings of the Military Department N. 1105 in Tirana, on what is now Myslim Keta Street. The first commander of this school was Lieutenant Colonel Irfan Peshtani. By order of the Ministry of People's Defense, the school accepted students from the Skanderbeg Military High School and from the districts of Albania. On 8 January 1949, it was renamed to the Enver Hoxha United School of Officers (). Graduates received a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

and became commissioned as

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

s. Many have led higher military structures as

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

s. From 1972 to 1983, it passed to the three-year system, and in 1984, it switched to a four-year higher education system. On 22–23 February 1991, a meeting of hard-line communists took place at the school, sparking rumors of a possible

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

. As a result, a pro-democracy crowd gathered outside the school, prompting soldiers to shoot into the crowd below, killing four. A member of the

military police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. Not to be confused with civilian police, who are legally part of the civilian populace. In wartime operations, the military police may supp ...

was also killed amidst the tensions.

Post-1991

In 1995 the United High School of Officers reverted to the 3-year system and was renamed the Skanderbeg Military Academy (). In October 2003, the Skanderbeg Military University was established by merging into a single institution the Skanderbeg Military University, the

Naval Academy A naval academy provides education for prospective naval officers. List of naval academies See also

* Military academy {{Authority control Naval academies, Naval lists ...

and the Aviation Academy. In September 2004, it consisted of 2 faculties: * the Faculty of Economics * the Department of Business Management and the Faculty of Electronic Engineering Today, the Center for Foreign Languages and the Faculty of General Education of the Armed Forces Academy come from the remnants of the former Skanderbeg Military Academy.

Notable alumni and faculty

* Bujar Nishani, 7th

President of Albania The president of Albania (), officially the president of the Republic of Albania (), is the head of state, commander-in-chief of the Albanian Armed Forces, military and the representative of the unity of the Albanian people. The president sets ...

* Kiço Mustaqi,

Minister of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

in 1991 * Alfred Moisiu, 5th

* Iliriana Sulkuqi, Albanian poet *Drini Nikolla, deputy director of Defense Planning

References

{{Reflist Military academies of Albania Universities and colleges established in 1944 1944 establishments in Albania