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Spiro Koleka

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Spiro Koleka
Personal details
Born300px
(1908-07-07)7 July 1908
Vuno, Himara, Albania
Died22 August 2001(2001-08-22) (aged 93)
Tirana, Albania
Resting place300px
Political partyParty of Labour of Albania
SpouseAmalia Koleka
Parent
  • 300px
ProfessionCivil Engineer, Politician

Spiro Koleka (7 July 1908 - 22 August 2001), was a well known Albanian civil engineer, army official and communist politician.

Life

Koleka was born in the village of Vuno near Himara (a predominantly Greek town[1]) into an Orthodox, Greek,[2][3] family, the son of Spiro Jorgo Koleka (1880–1940), a government minister and landowner.[4]

After completing his secondary education in the Italo–Albanian college of San Demetrio Corone (Collegio of Sant'Adriano), in the Italian province of Cosenza, Spiro Koleka continued his higher education at the University of Pisa (1930–1934) where he graduated as a Civil Engineer.[5] One of his first works as a Civil Engineer was the design in 1936 of the road of Theth,[6] an alpine tourist destination in Albania. During the same year Koleka participates in the Fier revolt of 1935 against King Zog and shortly after found himself arrested by the authorities.[5] During 1937-39 Spiro Koleka traveled extensively in Italy while taking active part in the resistance against the Italian occupation of Albania.[5] Afterwards he fled to Yugoslavia, but returned to Albania in December 1939. During 1940-41 he began cooperating with the communist resistance underground while at the same time co-founding and running the Mani and Koleka Engineering Company.[5] Koleka joined as a member of the Albanian Communist Party since 1943. He was a very active member of the Albanian Resistance of World War II as a partisan during the Albanian National Liberation Movement as well a distinct member of the General Council of the Albanian Army.[7] After the liberation of the country, he was given the position of vice prime minister (1949) and at the same time deputy chairman of the Albanian Parliament. In the capacity of vice prime minister, Koleka presented in 1952 the very first Five Year Plan for the economy.[8]

Spiro Koleka served as a parliament member in all legislatures from 1944 until 1990.[9] Koleka was a member of the Politburo of the Party of Labor of Albania during the years 1948 until 1981.[10] As part of his political career he also served as Chairman of the State Planning Commission and Minister of Industry and Construction of Albania.

Koleka's background and experience as a technocrat allowed him to lead numerous economic and political delegations of the time towards many East European countries, including the Soviet Union.[11] Moreover, he is reported by national and international press to be the chief architect of the Albanian industrial development which was the backbone of the program of the Albanian Workers' Party after the Second World War.[11] He was one of the few members of the Greek minority serving in the Socialist People's Republic of Albania political system.[2]

Political Activity

  • Vice prime minister of the cabinet of Enver Hoxha from 1 November 1949 until 24 September 1953.
  • Chairman of the State Planning Commission from 1 November 1949 until 5 July 1950.
  • Minister of Industry and Construction of Albania from 24 July 1953 until 23 July 1954.
  • Chairman of the State Planning Commission from 23 July 1954 until 21 June 1958.
  • Vice prime minister of the cabinet of Mehmet Shehu from 4 July 1956 until 18 March 1966.
  • Chairman of the State Planning Commission from 18 March 1966 until 1 March 1968.
  • Vice prime minister of the cabinet of Mehmet Shehu from 1 November 1968 until 13 November 1976.

References

  1. ^ The South Slav Journal. Dositey Obradovich Circle. 2001. Politburo member Spiro Koleka, who came from the predominantly ethnic Greek town of Himara.
  2. ^ a b James Pettifer; Hugh Poulton (1994). The Southern Balkans. Minority Rights Group. ISBN 978-1-897693-75-9. "some Greeks rose to high positions under the one party state, with an ethnic Greek, Spiro Koleka, from the minority southern village of Himarë
  3. ^ The Southeastern European Yearbook. ELIAMEP. 1994. But there has always been a Greek presence in Albania, despite this general trend. ... integrated into the communist system in Albania, with one member of the minority, Spiro Koleka, a native of Himara, being a close associate of Enver Hoxha ...
  4. ^ Robert Elsie (24 December 2012). A Biographical Dictionary of Albanian History. I.B.Tauris. pp. 244–. ISBN 978-1-78076-431-3.
  5. ^ a b c d "Background Notes to Albania's Party Congress, J.F. Brown, 1961, pg.46-47". Retrieved 8 May 2012.
  6. ^ "Thethi, eternal love of tourists and sportsmen, Official Guide of Theth, 2010". Retrieved 8 May 2012.
  7. ^ Epopeja e Luftes Antifashiste Nacional-Çlirimtare e Popullit Shqiptar 1939-1944, Instituti i Studimeve Marksiste Leniniste, 1980
  8. ^ "Albania's first five-year plan, S.Koleka, 1952". Dlib.eastview.com. Retrieved 2013-12-24.
  9. ^ "Ligjvenesit Shqiptare" (PDF). Retrieved 6 May 2012.
  10. ^ "Politburo of the Party of Labor of Albania". Retrieved 6 May 2012.
  11. ^ a b "High-Level Albanian Economic Delegation to Peking, RADIO FREE EUROPE Research, 1967". Retrieved 7 May 2012.

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