People's Socialist Republic of Albania
People's Republic of Albania (1946–1976) Republika Popullore e Shqipërisë People's Socialist Republic of Albania (1976–1991) Republika Popullore Socialiste e Shqipërisë | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1946–1991 | |||||||||
| Motto: Ti Shqipëri, më jep nder, më jep emrin Shqipëtar "Albania, you give me honor, you give me the name Albanian" Proletarë të të gjitha vendeve, bashkohuni! "Proletarians of all countries, unite!" | |||||||||
| Anthem: Himni i Flamurit "Hymn to the Flag" | |||||||||
The People's Socialist Republic of Albania in 1989 | |||||||||
| Status | Member of the Warsaw Pact (until 1968) and Comecon (until 1987) | ||||||||
| Capital and largest city | Tirana | ||||||||
| Official languages | Albanian | ||||||||
| Religion | State atheism | ||||||||
| Demonym(s) | Albanian | ||||||||
| Government | Marxist-Leninist state | ||||||||
| First Secretary | |||||||||
• 1946–1985 | Enver Hoxha | ||||||||
• 1985–1991 | Ramiz Alia | ||||||||
| Chairman of the Presidium of the People's Assembly | |||||||||
• 1946–1953 | Omer Nishani | ||||||||
• 1953–1982 | Haxhi Lleshi | ||||||||
• 1982–1991 | Ramiz Alia | ||||||||
| Prime Minister | |||||||||
• 1946–1954 | Enver Hoxha | ||||||||
• 1954–1981 | Mehmet Shehu | ||||||||
• 1981–1991 | Adil Çarçani | ||||||||
| Legislature | People's Assembly | ||||||||
| Historical era | Cold War | ||||||||
| 20 October 1944 | |||||||||
• People's Republic formed | 10 January 1946 | ||||||||
| 1956–1961 | |||||||||
| 28 December 1976 | |||||||||
| 1972–1978 | |||||||||
| 11 December 1990 | |||||||||
| 31 March 1991 | |||||||||
| 29 April 1991 | |||||||||
| Area | |||||||||
• Total | 28,748 km2 (11,100 sq mi) | ||||||||
| Population | |||||||||
• Estimate | 3,266,790 (1990) | ||||||||
| GDP (PPP) | 1990 estimate | ||||||||
• Total | $2.049 billion | ||||||||
| HDI (1990 formula) | 0.790 high | ||||||||
| Currency | Franga (1946–1947) Albanian lek (1947–1991) | ||||||||
| Calling code | +355 | ||||||||
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| Today part of | Albania | ||||||||
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| Eastern Bloc |
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The People's Socialist Republic of Albania, (Albanian: Republika Popullore Socialiste e Shqipërisë) 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 Party of Labor of Albania (PLA) had a constitutionally enshrined monopoly on state power, which it enforced by colonising the state and other mass organisations, and by controlling Albania's supreme organ of state power, the People's Assembly.
Communist Albania was established after the end of World War II, succeeding the communist-dominated National Liberation Movement-led (or LANÇ) Democratic Government of Albania. Under the leadership of the PLA and especially Enver Hoxha, Albania pursued an anti-revisionist Stalinist form of Marxism-Leninism, which led to the Albanian-Soviet split in 1956 and then the Sino-Albanian split in 1978. The state was first led by Enver Hoxha from 1946 to 1985, and then by Ramiz Alia from 1985 to 1991. The period of Enver Hoxha's leadership is commonly referred to as Hoxhaist Albania and as the Hoxhaist regime.
Governed as a totalitarian dictatorship, travel and visa restrictions made Albania one of the most difficult countries to visit or travel from. Being Europe's only Muslim-majority country (aside from Turkey) at the time, it declared itself the world's first atheist state in 1967, but after the fall of communism in Albania in 1991, the practice of religion slowly increased. It was the only Warsaw Pact member to formally withdraw from the alliance before 1990, an action which was occasioned by the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968. The government implemented reforms which were aimed at modernizing Albania, and they resulted in significant gains in the areas of industry, agriculture, education, the arts, and culture, which contributed to a general increase in the Albanian population's standard of living. However, these developments coincided with political repression by the secret police, the Sigurimi, for the purposes of preventing a counter-revolution, which included dismissal from employment, imprisonment in forced labor camps and executions.
The first multi-party elections in Socialist Albania took place on 31 March 1991 – the Communists gained a majority in an interim government. The Republic of Albania was proclaimed on 29 April 1991 and the country's first parliamentary elections were held on 22 March 1992 leading to the anti-communist oppositional victory. On 7 April 1992, all communist symbols were removed and the legal foundation of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania was only repealed on 28 November 1998 upon the adoption of the new Constitution of Albania.