Hotel in Albania
Albania came under Ottoman rule in the 15th century. This ended in 1912 during the first Balkan War, when the greater part of Albania was overrun by the Serbian and Greek armies during their successful campaign against the Turks. Later that year Albania declared independence. Independence was recognised by the Great Powers, including Great Britain, a year later. Albania retained its independence at the end of World War I and became a member of the League of Nations.
In the mid-1920s Ahmed Zog, a chieftain from the Gheg people of northern Albania, took control of the country. Despite his early alliance with Yugoslavia, King Zog increasingly relied on Italy for economic support, in return for which Albania provided Italy with industrial and agricultural raw materials.
In 1939, as war was brewing in Europe, Zog's relationship with Italy soured and Mussolini ordered an invasion. Albania was annexed, and spent the majority of the war under Italian and German control. However, as their grip on Albania loosened towards the end of the war, increasing swathes of the country fell to Albanian partisans. With support from Tito's Yugoslav Communist Party, Enver Hoxha and his communist supporters entered the liberation struggle, defeated their rivals and gained effective control of the country.
Immediately after World War II Albania allied itself closely with Tito's Yugoslavia. When Yugoslavia fell out of favour with the Soviet Union in 1948, Hoxha turned to the Soviets for protection and help in purging pro-Yugoslav rivals, consolidating his grip on power and breaking ties with Yugoslavia. There followed a period of economic development and industrial production, made possible by considerable support from the Soviets. This era came to an end in 1961 as relations between Albania and the Soviet Union became strained following improved relations between the Khruschev regime and the Yugoslavs. Hoxha taking advantage of worsening Sino-Soviet relations succeeded in building an alliance with China, securing continued economic support for Albania which lasted until 1978 when Mao's death prompted a change in Chinese policies. From this point until his death in 1985, Hoxha pursued an isolationist policy for Albania, keeping international commitments to a minimum, and stressing the need for self-reliance and self-sufficiency.
Albania after Hoxha
After Hoxha's death his chosen successor, Ramiz Alia, gradually opened up the country both diplomatically and economically. Against the backdrop of the events in Eastern Europe in the late 1980s he was forced to increase the rate of reform and in 1990, following student demonstrations, the formation of alternative political parties was allowed for the first time. The Democratic Party (DP) was the first to emerge and was quickly followed by several other parties. Significant progress towards democratisation was made, leading to multi-party elections in March 1991. The Communists managed to hold on to power but a third of the parliamentary seats went to the DP. Demonstrations continued, and in June the Communists were forced to include the DP in a coalition government. The following March, new elections were held in which the DP, led by Dr Sali Berisha, won an overwhelming victory, signalling the final collapse of communism.
In the years that followed, Albania enjoyed a period of economic growth in which democratic changes were introduced, civic institutions were created and laws on human and minority rights were passed. However, by the mid-90s the DP led by Sali Berisha started to adopt increasingly non-democratic and even authoritarian policies. In the 1996 parliamentary elections the DP won two thirds of the seats but, according to international observers, there were serious irregularities in the vote. The opposition boycotted parliament and took to the streets to demonstrate. These demonstrations were brutally broken up.
Pyramid schemes crisis
In January 1997, anti-government demonstrations and anarchy erupted in the south of Albania following the collapse of a number of pyramid financial schemes. By February, the government had lost control over large parts of the country: arms depots were looted, prisons were opened and over 1,500 people lost their lives. A government of national reconciliation was formed in March, led by Bashkim Fino, and an Italian-led UN peacekeeping force was deployed to restore order and to oversee security during the June 1997 parliamentary elections. These resulted in a resounding victory for the Socialist Party (SP) led by Fatos Nano, who became Prime Minister. There was still widespread social tension and the government found it extremely difficult to regain control of the country. Berisha organised continual street protests and his party boycotted parliament. The arrest of six DP members and the assassination of the legendary DP leader Azem Hajdari raised the stakes, the events culminating in violence in Tirana and an alleged attempt to overthrow the government by force. Nano fled to Macedonia, later returning to Albania to resign.