Albanian Labour Party
|
Party of Labour of Albania
Partia e Punës e Shqipërisë |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| General Secretary |
Enver Hoxha (1941–85) Ramiz Alia (1985–91) |
| Founded | November 8, 1941 |
| Dissolved | June 12, 1991 |
| Succeeded by |
Socialist Party of Albania Communist Party of Albania (1991) |
| Headquarters | Tirana, People's Socialist Republic of Albania |
| Newspaper | Zëri i Popullit |
| Youth wing | Labour Youth Union of Albania |
| Ideology |
Communism Marxism-Leninism Hoxhaism |
| Colours | Red |
The Party of Labour of Albania (Partia e Punës e Shqipërisë, PPSH in Albanian, sometimes referred to as the Albanian Workers' Party) was the vanguard party of Albania during the communist period (1945–1991) as well as the only legal political party. It was founded on November 8, 1941, as the Communist Party of Albania (Partia Komuniste e Shqipërisë), but its name was changed in 1948. In 1991, the party was succeeded by the Socialist Party of Albania. For most of its existence, the party was dominated by its First Secretary, Enver Hoxha, who was also the de facto leader of Albania.
In the 1920s, Albania was the only Balkan country without a Communist party. The first Albanian communists emerged from the followers of Albanian clergyman and politician Fan S. Noli. Once in Moscow, they formed the National Revolutionary Committee and became affiliated to the Comintern. In August 1928, the first Albanian Communist Party was formed in the Soviet Union. The most prominent figure of the party was Ali Kelmendi who left Albania in 1936, to fight in the Spanish Civil War. He was later regarded as the leader of a small group of Albanian Communists in France. However, no unified organization existed in Albania until 1941.
Following the German attack on Russia, Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito under Comintern directives sent two Yugoslav delegates Miladin Popović and Dušan Mugoša to Albania. These two helped unite the Albanian communist groups in 1941. After intensive work, the Albanian Communist Party was formed on November 8, 1941 by the two Yugoslav delegates with Enver Hoxha from the Korça branch as its leader. Among the founding members, there were 8 Christian members: Koço Tashko, Koçi Xoxe, Pandi Kristo, Gjin Marku, Vasil Shanto, Tuk Jakova, Kristo Themelko and Anastas Lulo; and 5 Muslim members: Enver Hoxha, Qemal Stafa, Ramadan Çitaku, Kadri Hoxha and Sadik Premte.
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