Fall of Communism in Albania

Fall of communism in Albania

The toppling of Enver Hoxha's statue in central Tirana
Date	December 11, 1990 (1990-12-11)
Location	Albania, mainly Shkodër, Kavajë, and Tirana

The fall of communism in Albania, the last such event in Europe outside the USSR, started in earnest in December 1990 with student demonstrations in the capital, Tirana, although protests had begun earlier that year in other cities. The Central Committee of the communist Party of Labour of Albania allowed political pluralism on 11 December and the largest opposition party, the Democratic Party, was founded the next day.March 1991 elections left the Party of Labour in power, but a general strike and urban opposition led to the formation of a "stability government" that included non-communists. Albania's former communists were routed in elections in March 1992 amid economic collapse and social unrest, with the Democratic Party winning most seats and its party head, Sali Berisha, becoming president.

Enver Hoxha, who ruled the Socialist People's Republic of Albania for four decades, died on April 11, 1985. Ramiz Alia succeeded Hoxha, and gradually introduced economic reforms and opened diplomatic ties with Western European countries.

During the revolutions of 1989 many Albanians remained unaware of events due to the dearth of information within the isolated state. Some Albanians didn't even know that the Berlin Wall had fallen in November 1989.

In January 1990, the first revolts started in Shkodra, where a few hundred people wanted to demolish Joseph Stalin's statue, and spread to a few other cities. Eventually, the existing regime introduced some liberalization, including measures in 1990 providing for freedom to travel abroad. Efforts were begun to improve ties with the outside world.

Mikhail Gorbachev had adopted new policies of glasnost and perestroika in the Soviet Union in 1985. After Nicolae Ceauşescu, the communist leader of Romania, was executed during the Romanian Revolution of 1989, Alia knew that he might be next if radical changes were not made. He then signed the Helsinki Agreement which forced Albania to respect human rights. Alia also organized a meeting with leading intellectuals of the time on ways to reform the Albanian political system. Under Alia, the first pluralist elections took place since the communists took power in Albania in 1944. Alia's party won the election of March 31, 1991.