Sali Berisha

Sali Berisha Ram (born 15 October 1944 in Viçidol Tropoja ) is an Albanian politician ( PD), the 1990/91 strong feature of the political landscape of Albania since the fall of the dictatorship. He was one of the founders and for many years chairman of the Democratic Party of Albania (PD). In addition, he was the first that emerged from free elections President of Albania.

Between 2005 and 2013 Sali Berisha was 11 Prime Minister of Albania. In 2009, he was confirmed and his cabinet in office. In the parliamentary elections of 26 June 2013, Berisha was defeated along with its alliance for jobs, prosperity and integration clearly against challenger and former mayor of Tirana Edi Rama (PS) and the Alliance for a European Albania. A change of government took place. He then resigned from his position as Prime Minister and party leader of the Democrats, in order to continue as an ordinary member of the PD- Kuvendi i Shqipërisë.

Family and Education

Berisha comes from a poor family and grew up in the village Viçidol at Tropoja in the mountainous northern Albania, near the border with Kosovo. In 1967 he successfully completed at the University of Tirana from a human medical studies. During the 1970s, Berisha became known in Albania for his research in the field of cardiology to a wide audience and was also appointed professor of this discipline at the University of Tirana.

In 1978 he gained by UNESCO a nine -month scholarship to further study in Paris. After its successful completion, he returned to Albania, where he carried out studies on the hemodynamics. The results were read by many of its Western European counterparts. At the same time, he led for a short time as a cardiologist the Department of the hemodynamics of the Medical University Hospital in Tirana. During the dictatorship, he was party secretary of the Medical Faculty and doctor of the dictator Enver Hoxha.

Him the doctorate was granted in 1989 by the University of Tirana.

He is married to Liri Berisha, a pediatrician. The two have a son and a daughter, Shkëlzen and Argita. Sali Berisha speaks English, French, Spanish and Russian.

Political career

When the student riots in 1990, he and other university professors were sent by the state leadership for negotiations with the young protesters. Berisha allied with the students and founded on 14 December 1990 on the campus of the University of Tirana, the Democratic Party (PD ), the first independent Party of Albania. At first he was a member of the party executive, led by Azem Hajdari, a few months later, he was elected chairman.

After the PD, the first free elections in 1991 could not decide for herself, she was a successful year later and replaced the 50 -year-old communist- socialist regime in the country. 1992 Berisha was elected as the first non-communist President of Albania after the Second World War. After democratic and economic reforms, which assessed the international community initially successful, he and his party were in 1996 involved in massive fraud that the PD brought in a three - quarters majority in parliament. When a few months later following the financial crisis and the resulting triggered civil unrest, he was forced to declare a state of emergency in the country in early 1997. However, this could not calm the situation, and after much belated forced resignation of the government under Aleksandër Meksi Berisha called the Socialists Bashkim Fino for Premier a broad-based transitional government. In mid-1997, the Socialists won the elections and Berisha announced his resignation.

Even after the re- election defeat in 2001 remained Berisha opposition leader. From 1997 to 2005 he was a member of the Albanian Parliament. In the parliamentary elections in July 2005, he led his party, among other things, with the help of U.S. advisers, who had also worked for George W. Bush to victory. After the official election result had been a long time, he became Prime Minister in September 2005. Among a coalition between the PD, the Republican and other smaller parties

In the parliamentary elections of June 2009, his party again reached the majority and went along with other now a coalition with the Socialist Movement for Integration ( LSI) under Chairman Ilir Meta one.

In the elections of June 2013 reached Berisha and his alliance with only 56 of 140 seats no longer the majority in parliament. The clear winner was the former mayor of Tirana and leader of the Socialist Party, Edi Rama, who is after the resignation Sali Berisha since September 10, 2013 as the Prime Minister of the new prime minister of the country. The party alliance of his party won 84 seats in parliament. After the election defeat Sali Berisha resigned as chairman of the Democratic Party. He will continue to carry on as usual PD- member of the Albanian politics.

Political positions

The Democratic Party and he himself also advertise again and again for their "outstanding government " which is said to have Albania strong economically driven. On September 20, 2011 Berisha was present at the close of the market on NASDAQ, where he with his statement to the business location Albania at home - especially when the opposition Socialists - had to take a lot of criticism: " Albania is open for business. Our path is not a boulevard with flowers, but it is a way with hopes, a way of dreams that come true. "

The standing in opposition 2005-2013 socialists under its chairman Edi Rama and were, however, are fierce opponents to the government of Sali Berisha and his Democratic Party. Mutually corruption, nepotism and the like are accused.

While many party campaigns and when he is in public, Berisha often operated the Victory sign.