Spiro Koleka
Spiro Koleka | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 7 July 1908 |
| Died | 22 August 2001 (aged 93) |
| Nationality | Albanian |
| Other names | Spiro Thoma Koleka |
| Political party | Party of Labour of Albania |
| Spouse | Lica Koleka |
Spiro Koleka (7 July 1908 – 22 August 2001) was an Albanian communist politician, a civil engineer by profession. Spiro Koleka served as a parliament member in all legislatures from 1944 until 1990.[1] Koleka was a member of the Politburo of the Party of Labor of Albania during the years 1948 until 1981. As part of his political career he also served as Chairman of the State Planning Commission and Minister of Industry and Construction of Albania.
Life
Koleka was born in the village of Vuno near Himara into an Orthodox family. 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.[2] After his return to Albania, he was involved in anti-Zogist and anti-Italian activities;[3] in 1935 he participated in the Fier rebellion against King Zog and shortly after found himself arrested by the authorities.[2]
During 1937–39 Spiro Koleka travelled extensively in Italy while taking active part in the resistance against the Italian occupation of Albania.[2] Upon the Italian occuption (7 April 1939) he fled to Yugoslavia, but returned to Albania in December 1939.[3] 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.[2] Koleka was elected a as a member of the General Council and of the General Staff of the Communist Party of Albania at the Labinot Conference (1943).[3] In May 1944, he was appointed Minister of Public Works at the Pennet Conference, officially in October as part of the first of Hoxha's governments.[3]
In October 1948 he became Minister of Communications, and then also President of the State Planning Commission in November 1948.[3] He was a member of the Politburo.[3] Koleka was part of the Trade Delegation's visit to Moscow in 1949.[3] In November 1949 he became Deputy Prime Minister.[3] In the capacity of Deputy Prime Minister, Koleka presented in 1952 the very first Five Year Plan for the economy.[4]
In 1966, he was again appointed chairman of the State Planning Commission.[5]
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.[6] Moreover, he was 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.[6] He was one of the few members of the Greek minority serving in the Socialist People's Republic of Albania political system.[7]
Political offices
- 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
- ^ "Ligjvenesit Shqiptare" (PDF). Retrieved 6 May 2012.
- ^ a b c d J. F. Brown (1961). "Background Notes to Albania's Party Congress". p. 46-47. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Paul Preston; Michael Partridge; Denis Smyth (1999). British documents on foreign affairs: reports and papers from the Foreign Office confidential print. From 1945 through 1950. Europe / editor, Denis Smyth. University Publications of America. p. 449. ISBN 978-1-55655-769-9.
Koleka, Spiro Born 1908 near Himara. Member of small family of landowners. Son of King Zog's Minister of Public Works. Educated at Cosenza. in Italy, and at Pisa University as a civil engineer. On his return to Albania he took part in anti-Zogist and anti-Italian activities. On the Italian occupation he escaped to Yugoslavia. He returned in December 1939, and in 1941 got in touch with resistance movement. The Labinot Conference (1943) elected him a member of the F.N.C. General Council and of the General Staff. In May 1944. at the Pennet Conference, he was placed in charge of Public Works and in October became Minister of Public Works in the first Hoxha Government. Minister of Communications from October 1948. and president of the State Planning Commission from November 1948. A member of the Politburo. Visited Moscow with the Trade Delegation 1949. Deputy Prime Minister November 1949. Said to be a good organiser.
- ^ "Albania's first five-year plan, S.Koleka, 1952". Dlib.eastview.com. Retrieved 2013-12-24.
- ^ The Economist. Vol. 220. Economist Newspaper Limited. 1966. p. 906.
- ^ a b "High-Level Albanian Economic Delegation to Peking, RADIO FREE EUROPE Research, 1967". Retrieved 7 May 2012.
- ^ 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