Democratic Party leader Sali Berisha celebrates his 81st birthday

2025-10-15 09:30:00, Aktualitet CNA

Sali Berisha, leader of the Democratic Party, celebrates his 81st birthday today.

"Today 81 years old! Unlimited gratitude to the Almighty God, my family, friends, collaborators, well-wishers and supporters of my battles who, with their love, help, courage and dedication, make autumn the crowning season of my life!", Berisha writes next to a photo published with his wife Liri Berisha.

Democratic Party leader Sali Berisha celebrates his 81st birthday

Berisha was born on October 15, 1944 in Viçidol. Berisha has a long career as a doctor and politician.

The leader of the Democrats served as the second president of Albania from 1992 to 1997 and the first president elected by parliament through free democratic elections after the fall of the communist regime.

Berisha was Prime Minister of Albania from 2005 to 2013. He was the chairman of the Democratic Party of Albania in the period 1991–1992, 1997–2013 and from 2020 to the present.

As a former secretary of the Labor Party committee at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Tirana, he abandoned his career as a cardiologist and university professor to become the leader of the Democratic Party.

President (1992–1997)

After the first free elections in Albania, Berisha was elected President of the Republic on 9 April 1992. During his term as President of the Republic of Albania, Albania opened up to the West; it became a member of the Council of Europe in 1995; signed the Peace and Partnership Agreement in 1993 and established close cooperation with EU countries and the USA. All laws of the communist dictatorship were replaced with new laws of European standards and new institutions such as the Constitutional Court of Albania and the High Council of Justice were created, which did not exist before.

The collapse of pyramid schemes in late 1996, in which Albanians lost millions of dollars, led to demonstrations in which people accused the government of stealing money. The resulting unrest in early 1997 forced Berisha to call early elections in June 1997. These elections were won by the opposition, after which Berisha resigned as President.

Berisha was then re-elected as Chairman of the Democratic Party and held this position from 1997 until, re-elected in April 2005, until June 26, 2013.

Prime Minister (2005–2013)

On July 3, 2005, the coalition of five center-right parties led by Sali Berisha managed to win a majority of 74 deputies out of 140 in the Assembly and on September 8, 2005, with a majority of 81 votes of deputies, he was elected Prime Minister of Albania. On April 4, 2009, Albania was accepted as a full member of NATO. This was achieved thanks to the reforms carried out by the Berisha government. According to the well-known American magazine Forbes, Albania was almost the only country in Europe that had economic growth and considers Berisha as the architect of Albania's economic success./ CNA