Chronography of Albania

Page last modified 20 August 2023

 

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Demography of Albania

 

1999, Large numbers of refugees entered Albania from Kosovo (see Yugoslavia). Ilir Meta, 32, became Albanian President.

11 August 1997, The UN relief force had now left Albania.January /1997, In Albanian elections, Sali Berisha had been voted out of office.

13 April 1997, An Italian-led UN public order force arrived in Albania. It was to lay the ground for elections in 6/1997.

28 March 1997, Alarmed by aflood of refugees out of Albania, the United Nations authorised a 7,000 strong relief force to restore order in the country.

7 March 1997. Albania dissolved into chaos, and military firearms depots were looted, especially around Vlore, where ordinary citizens armed themselves from these depots. President Sali Berisha declared a State of Emergency. The cause was a failed pyramid selling sheme, impoverishing many Albanians. King Zog�s son, Leka, attempted to become King but failed.

11 February 1997, A week of rioting in the southern Albanian towns of Fier and Vlore had ensued, following the collapse of high-risk pyramid schemes into which many Albanians had invested. The protestors believed that the Government of Sali Berisha was to blame for the collapse. Many ordinary Albanians suspected that Government officls had profited from these schemes, and wanted the Govermnment to arrange compensation.

10 February 1997, State of Emergency was declared in Albania as mass rioting broke out when a pyramid savings scheme collapsed. The schemes, actually fronts for money laundering and weapons dealing, had collapsed in January and

January 1993, Nexhmije Hoxha, widow of Enver Hoxha, was sentenced to 9 years in prison for theisuse of Givernment funds, 1985-90.

1992, In further Albanian elections, the opposition Democratic Party won. Sali Berisha became the first non-Communist President.

25 February 1992, Riots in Albania over food shortages.

31 March 1991, Albania had its first multi-party elections. The Communists were returned to power, now calling themselves the Socialist Party.

9 March 1991. Albanian troops fired on 4,000 people trying to board a boat to flee to Italy. In Yugoslavia, a crowd of at least 70,000 fought with riot police in Belgrade. The crowd was demanding an end to Communist control of the media. One 18 year old youth was killed by a rubber bullet and over 70 others were injured. Police used live ammunition and water cannon as well as rubber bullets. The crowd marched on parliament and the television centre.

20 February 1991, The President of Albania, Ramiz Alia, dismissed the government headed by Prime Minister of Albania Adil Carcani in an effort to stem prodemocracy protests. Fatos Nano was sworn in as Prime Minister on 22 February 1991.

7 January 1991, 5,000 Albanians of Greek ethnicity fled to Greece as chaos mounted in Albania.

1 January 1991, Albanian President Ramiz Alia promised that elections would soon be held, ending 43 years of Communist dictatorship. There was frustration at the slow pace of political reform in Albania.

13 July 1990, 4,500 Albanian refugees arrived at the Italian port of Brindisi.

15 September 1987, West Germany established diplomatic relations with Albania.

 

Enver Hoxha regime

11 April 1985. In Albania, Communist leader Enver Hoxha died, aged 78,after 41 years in power. He was succeeded as Head of the Albanian Communist Party by Ramiz Alia.

22 November 1982, Ramiz Alia became new Head of State in Albania.

1976, With the death of Mao in China, Albania lost its main ally and became totally isolated.

12 September 1968, Albania was ejected from the Warsaw Pact. Foreign travel from Albania was banned, and many killed in political purges.

13 January 1962, Albania allied to the People's Republic of China, as the two countries signed a trade pact.

1961, Albania was ejected from Comecon.

1956, Hoxha fell out with the USSR. He refused to accept criticism of Stalin, and he moved the country towards closer relations with China.

1967, Albania declared itself an atheist State; most churches and mosques were closed.

9 April 1961, Former King Zog of Albania, deposed on 2 January 1946, died.

1955, Albania became one of the founder members of the Warsaw Pact.

30 May 1950. Yugoslavia and Albania severed relations.

11 January 1946. General Enver Hoxha�s �Democratic Front� won 95% of the vote in Albania and proclaimed a People's Republic. King Zog of Albania had been deposed on 2 January 1946. See 7 April 1939.

2 January 1946. King Zog of Albania was deposed in his absence. He was born Ahmed Bey Zogu, a member of the Zogolli family. The Zogolli led a powerful Moslem faction in the mountains of Albania, so when in 1912 Zog joined the powerful anti-Turkish movement, pressing for Albanian independence, Muslims abandoned traditional religious ties in a push for national freedom. Under King William, Zog achieved high office and in 1922 became Prime Minister. He was forced to flee abroad in 1924 but returned to Albania in 1925 to become President of Albania. He played off various opposing factions within the religiously divided state and gathered enough personal power to have himself declared King in 1928. However he was unable to withstand Mussolini in Italy and had to allow the Italians to invade in 1939 to prepare to invade Greece. His credibility ruined, Zog was easily ousted by the Communists in 1946.

The Communists were mainly southern lowland Tosk peasant farmers, who had little in common with the northern highland Ghegs, who lived in anarchic communities ruled by the law of the blood feud.

10 November 1945, The Communist Enver Hoxha established a Republican government in Albania, recognised by the UK, USA, and the USSR.

 

World War Two � Italian invasion

15 October 1944, Sali Berisha, President of Albania, was born.

For more events of World War Two in Europe see France-Germany

October 1942, In Albania the Balli Kombetar,the national resistance movement to Axis occupation, was formed. Led by Ali Klissura and Midhat Frasheri, it was a liberal-Communist organisation. It wished to include Kosovo in a future independent Albania; however the other A;lbanian resistance movement, the Communist resistance (under pressure from their Yugloslav backers) did not desire Kosovo to be part of Albania. Under Allied insoistence these two resistance groups joined forces in 1943. After World War Two ended the leaders of Balli Kombetar were mostly purged as Enver Hoxha strove to eliminate all internal dissent to his regime.

1941, Enver Hoxha began organising a Communist-based resistance to Italian occupation.

7 April 1939, Italy mounted a surprise invasion of Albania, seeing it as a bridgehead for an invasion of the Balkans. King Zog fled the country. They began an invasion of Greece from Albania on 28 October 1940. They were driven back by the Greeks who occupied most of southern Albania. However the Greeks were beaten back in April 1941 when the Germans occupied Yugoslavia, Albania, and Greece. From 1944 on local partisans, aided by the British, drove Axis forces from much of Albania, also eliminating anti-communist forces. See 11 January 1946.

For more on Italian invasion 1939 see Italy

 

1 September 1928. Zogu was proclaimed King Zog I of Albania. He faced uprisings in 1932, 1935 and 1937 from liberal reformers and Marxist-oriented Muslim radicals. See 7 April 1939.
30 July 1926, The boundaries of Albania were formally agreed by Greece and Yugoslavia.

1 February 1925, Ahmed Bey Zogu became President of Albania.

24 December 1924. Albania was declared a republic. Zogu, the President, declared himself �King Zogu� in 1928.

4 June 1924, Anti-government forces in Albania took Shkoder.

5 October 1914, Essad Pasha Toptani became the 4th Prime Minister of Albania and formed the 5th Cabinet of Albania.

 

Creation of modern Albania

18 October 1913, An Austrian ultimatum forced Serbia to withdraw from Albania.

17 October 1913. Serbia invaded Albania.

30 May 1913. Turkey signed a peace treaty with the Balkan League (the Treaty of London), ending their war.Under this Treaty Salonika was formally assigned to Greece. The Great Powers formally recognised Albanian sovereignty. It was not until 1921 that the neoghbouring countries of Yugoslavia, Greece and Italy formally recognised the borders of Albania.

1912, Durres, the main port of Albania, became its capital, until 1921.

25 December 1912, Italy sent troops to Albania to suppress unrest there.

4 November 1912, Austria proposed the creation of an independent Albania.

18 August 1912, The Ottoman Empire granted autonomy to its Albanian minority, in the Scutari Vilayet (province), capital Tirana.

March 1910, Rebellion in northern Albania against Turkish rule after the Ottoman Empire broke promises that Albania would have more autonomy. Instead, the Young Turks reneged and increased the tax burden. The rebellion spreadto Korce in SE Albania, and into w4estern Macedonia.. In 6/1910 the rebellion was heavily suppressed by a Turkish army.

28 October 1908, Enver Hoxha, Stalinist dictator of Albania from the end of World War Two till his death in 1985, was born.He declared the country atheist in 1967.

13 July 1878, The Treary of Berlin gave Austro-Hungary sovereignty over Albania (formerly Ottoman). However this transfer was resisted by both Catholics and Muslims in the region. Unrest continued in the area until Albanian independcence was recognised in 1913.

 

Ottoman Rule

1760, Mehmet Bushati, local Ottoman chieftain, declared an independent Kingdom of Scutari, this was recovered by the Ottomans in 1831.

1571, Antivari and Dulcigno, the last Venetian possessions in Albania, fell to Ottoman Turkey.

1502, Durazzo, Albania, taken by Ottoman Turkey.

1478, Krofa, Albania, taken from the Venetians by Mahommed II, Ottoman ruler.

17 January 1468, Skanderbeg, ruler of Albania, died in Lezhe. The Ottomans took advantage of the power vacuum to invade.

1431, Ottoman Turkish conquest of Albania began, with the occupation of Iannina.

 

1366, Start of the indigenous Balsha Dynasty rule in Albania; lasted until 1421.

1204, The Crusaders captured southern Albania from the Byzantines, see Roman Empire 13 April 1204. However the Serbians were expanding their rule southwards from northern Albania and under Stefan Dushan (1331-1355) a large but short-lived �Empire of the Greeks, Slavs and Albanians� was established.

1014, Byzantine Emperor Basil II cruelly defeated the Bulgarians in southern Albania (see Roman Empire 6 October 1014).

861, The Bulgarians conquered southern Albania. However Durazzo, on the Adriatic, remained under Byzantine rule.

9 April 809, The Bulgars captured Sofia.

640, Northern Albania was invaded by the Serbo-Croats. Serbia then ruled it until 1360.

535, Justininian recovered Albania from the Goths, who had invaded it in the 4th and 5th centuries.

186 BCE, Rome conquered Illyria, which included modern-day Albania.

 

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