Arben Malaj | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Minister of Finance and Economy of Albania 1997 - 2005 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Vlora, Albania | 19 September 1961
Political party | Socialist Party |
Spouse | Raimonda Malaj |
Alma mater | University of Tirana, Harvard Kennedy School of Government |
Profession | Economist |
Signature | ![]() |
Arben Malaj (born 19 September 1961 in the city of Vlora, Albania) has been Minister of Finance and Economy in the Republic of Albania different times from 1997 until 2005. He is known for transforming the Albanian economy into a European profile, after the hard social-economic crisis that this country passed during the year 1997. He served as a Member of the Albanian Parliament from 1997 to 2013 chairing the Parliamentary Committee on Economy and Finance.
Since 2016 Malaj serves as Member of the Supervisory Council of the Bank of Albania and is Honorary President of the Institute for Public Policy and Good Governance, a think-tank he co-founded in 2013. Prof. Malaj is the author of several economics studies and has mentored many doctoral candidates on topics related to local and global financial developments. He has also published several scientific publications.
Malaj was born in Vlora, city in the south seaside of Albania. Deriving from a simple family, Arben was the fifth from his nine brothers and sisters. Despite much difficulty, he achieved notable scientific progress in comparison with his companions of the school gaining so the right of study, and he was financially supported by his brothers to follow the university studies for Economics at the University of Tirana, graduating in 1986 in Finance profile. Finishing university with distinguished results, he was appointed as the National Commercial Bank – Financial Representative for the Vlora branch. He held this function until 1992, year when his professional capacity was promoted in the position of executive director for the National Bank of Albania in the southern region. The high performance led him in SME, Tirana Regional Director for the EU PHARE Program where Malaj's qualitative standards signed a new success for his career. For two years afterward, in the period 1996-1997 he initiated a professional studio, offering Economic Advisor. In 1997 the position of Albania Governor for the World Bank was consigned to him. [1]
Malaj began his political life as a simple member of the Socialist Party, until his first official race when he represented Socialist Party in the local elections of 1992 for the position of Vlora City Mayor. Because of the manipulation, this first challenge in politics was not concluded in a positive result. Anyway, his contribution for this party was frequent and persistent, until the moment when Malaj became a Member of the Parliament, as a representative of VLORA in 1997 and Minister of Finance in the Government of National Reconciliation for five months (March – July). After that, from July 1997 until September 1998, became Minister of Finance in the Government of the State Alliance. During his first term as Minister of Finance for Albania, the country's economy was facing a very difficult and tend situation because of the Ponzi scheme failure. Shaping and leading an effective network of cooperation between the international financial institutions such as World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the Albanian Government, Malaj succeeded in reconditioning the economy and changing its course towards a European profile. Until 2002 he held different important duties as Head of Parliamentary Group of the Socialist Party, Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee for Economy, Finance and Privatization, Head of the Albanian Delegation to the Central European Initiative, Chairman of the Parliamentary Commission and Economic Round table of the Stability Pact, Chairman of the Albanian Inter-Parliamentary Delegation to European Parliament and Governor of the EBRDT and IDB Albania. From August 2002 until December 2003 to Malaj was relied the duty as Minister of the Economy and from December 2003 until September 2005 again the Ministry of Finance. In June 2005, the Socialist Party lost the elections and allowed a peaceful rotation of the power to the opposite. From 2005 until now he is Member of Parliament of the Albanian Parliament, Deputy Chairman of the Parliamentary Commission for Finance and Economy and a Member of the Socialist Party Presidency. After the subsequent loss of the elections in 2009 from Socialist Party, he presented a new vision for the future of the party aiming also the leadership of it. [2]
Arben Malaj is married to Raimonda Malaj, an economist, and the couple has a daughter, Gerta. Malaj is fluent in English, and basic Italian.
His academic career has begun since 1993, time when Malaj started to lead lections in the Faculty of Economics, University of Tirana. In 1997 Malaj got the title Doctor of Economic Sciences Ph.D. with his study on "The Role of Financial Intermediaries in the Market Economy". In 2002 he was titled associate professor of Faculty of Economics in the University of Tirana. From 2002 until 2007 has been a Member of the Senate for this university. In 2005 Malaj gained a Senior Fellowship to attend the Governmental Program in Harvard University Center for Business and Government. John F. Kennedy School of Government. In April 2007 he accomplished a Course for NATO and EU Enlargement organized by European Center for Security. George C. Marshall Center Germany.
March 2009 “International Leadership Conference – Building a world of Peace” Seoul, South Korea
February 2007 "Learning from mistakes", History of pyramid schemes in Albania. Boston Law School, Boston University
May 1, 2006 "Challenges of European Integration for Western Balkans", Center for Eurasian, Russian and East Europe Studies. Edmund A. Walsh of Foreign Service. Georgetown University
Apr 21, 2006 "Challenges of European Integration Western Balkans" presented at Boston University for Albanian students
March 22, 2006 "Challenges of European Integration Western Balkans", Kokkalis Program. John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
April 2005 "Fiscal Policy and Economic Development, University of South-Eastern Europe, Tetovo, Macedonia
April 2005 Assessing the economic effects of Albania's efforts towards EU integration "- Submission of the doctoral B. Starter Shahini, Faculty of Economics, University of Tirana
April 2005 "Albania towards development", presentation, Breton Woods Committee, Washington DC
October 2004 "transition in Albania, American University, Washington DC
September 2004 "Integration and Globalization", University of Pristine, Kosovo
November 2003 "Regional aspects of European integration", Friedrich Ebert Stiftung
November 2003 "Knowledge Economy: Challenges of the Future", University of Shkodra
October 2003 "Challenges to European integration of Albania, Vlore University
June 2003 Economic and Investment Opportunities in the U.S. from the perspective of Euro-Atlantic Integration ", presentation, Casa NATO, Bucharest, Romania
March 2003 "Albania towards European integration", Agricultural University of Tirana
2002 "Fiscal Reforms in Albanian tranzicinin, Bamberg University, Germany
May 1998 "Reform of the Albanian banking system", Bocconi University, Italy. [3]
2017 Honorary President of the Tirana Chamber of Commerce and Industry
2017 Honorary Counsel of Austria in Albania
2016 Albania's Best Economist Award
2009 Man of the Year 2009 in Politics from "Tirana Observer" newspaper
2005 Honorary Citizen, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
2005 White Band of Global Call Against Poverty donated by OXFAM
2005 Member of the Senate, University of Vlora, Faculty of Economics
2005 Decoration Recognition, University of Vlora
2004 Honorary Citizen of Novosela, Albania
2003 Honorary Citizen of the Sue Ryder Foundation
2003 Honorary Citizen of Kelmend, Albania
2003 Doctor Honorius Cause, International Academy on Emerging Markets, New York
Sali Ram Berisha is an Albanian cardiologist and conservative politician who served as the president of Albania from 1992 to 1997 and 32nd prime minister from 2005 to 2013. Berisha serves as Chairman of the Democratic Party of Albania since 2022 and has held the position previously from 1990 to 2013. He also serves as the incumbent Leader of Opposition in the Albanian parliament.
Edi Rama is an Albanian politician, painter, writer, former university lecturer, publicist and former basketball player, who has served as the 33rd and incumbent Prime Minister of Albania since 2013 and chairman of the Socialist Party of Albania since 2005. He was appointed Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports in 1998, an office he held until 2000. First elected mayor of Tirana in 2000, he was reelected in 2003 and 2007.
Fatos Thanas Nano is an Albanian socialist politician who served as Prime Minister of Albania in 1991, from 1997 to 1998 and from 2002 to 2005. He was the first leader and founder of the Socialist Party of Albania and a member of the Albanian Parliament from 1991 to 1993 and 1997 to 2009. He reformed the anti-revisionist Marxist-Leninist ideology of the Labor Party of Albania into social democracy for its successor, the Socialist Party. During his leadership, the Socialist Party, as a result of reforms, joined the Socialist International and Party of European Socialists. Nano was a candidate in the 2007 presidential election but did not win. He again tried in the 2012 presidential election, but he did not even qualify as a candidate, because the leaders of parties in Parliament obstructed their respective MPs to elect him as candidate in the elections.
The Democratic Party of Albania is a conservative political party in Albania. It has been the largest opposition party in the country since 2013.
Marek Marian Belka is a Polish professor of economics and politician who has served as Prime Minister of Poland and Finance Minister of Poland in two governments. He is a former Director of the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) European Department and former Head of Narodowy Bank Polski. He has served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) since July 2019.
Ilir Rexhep Meta is an Albanian politician. He served as the president of Albania from 24 July 2017 to 24 July 2022.
The 1997 Albanian civil unrest was sparked by pyramid scheme failures in Albania soon after its transition to a market economy. The government was toppled and more than 2,000 people were killed. Various other sources also describe the violence that ensued as a rebellion, or a rebellion that gradually escalated into a civil war.
The fall of communism in Albania, the last such event in Europe outside the Soviet Union, started in December 1990 with student demonstrations in the capital, Tirana, although protests started in January that year in other cities like Shkodra and Kavaja. 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.
In 1991, the Socialist Party of Albania, with specific social democratic ideology took control of the country through democratic elections. One year later the Democratic Party of Albania won the new elections. After 1990, Albania has been seeking a closer relationship with the West. What followed were deliberate programs of economic and democratic reform, but the implementation of capitalism led to the proliferation of pyramid schemes. Chaos in late 1996 to early 1997, as a result of the collapse of these pyramid schemes, alarmed the world and prompted the influx of international peacekeeping forces. In 1995, Albania was accepted into the Council of Europe and requested membership in NATO and is a potential candidate country for accession to the European Union. The workforce of Albania has continued to emigrate to Western countries, especially Greece and Italy.
Fatmir Besimi is a Macedonian politician and economist of Albanian ethnicity. He currently served for Minister of Finance in North Macedonia, He also served twice as Minister of Economy then Minister of Defence and after that he was Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of the Republic of Macedonia in charge of European Affairs. In 2010 he was selected as one of the top European Ministers in the group of Young Global Leaders by World Economic Forum.
Tanja Fajon is a Slovenian politician, leader of Social Democrats, part of the Party of European Socialists and former Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Slovenia. She has served as the minister of foreign and european affairs in the government of Prime Minister Robert Golob since 1 June 2022.
Genc Ruli is an Albanian politician. A founder member of the Democratic Party of Albania (1991), ex-Minister of Finance, ex-Minister of Finance and Economy, ex-Minister of Economy, Trade and Energy and ex-Minister of Agriculture, Food and Consumer Protection.
The 2011 Albanian opposition demonstrations were a series of anti-government protests in cities around Albania following 18 months of political conflict over alleged electoral fraud by the opposition. A video surfaced which portrayed the deputy prime minister arranging a corrupt deal with the minister of economy. The public outcry over the video resulted in the resignation of the deputy prime minister. A demonstration was called by parliamentary opposition parties, which include the Socialist Party and the Unity for Human Rights Party. These were called on 21 January in order to protest the alleged corruption of the Albanian government as well as widespread unemployment and poverty in the country.
Ermelinda Meksi is an Albanian politician, who held different positions in the Cabinet of Albania during the years 1997 to 2005. She is the first woman to be appointed as Deputy Prime Minister, the highest office held by a woman at the time in Albania.
Arben Ahmetaj is an Albanian politician who served as the Deputy Prime Minister of Albania from 2021 to 2022. Since 2013 previously has served in several important departments such as: Minister of Economic Development, Minister of Finance, as well as Minister of State for Reconstruction after the devastating earthquake in 2019 that occurred in the central area of the country.
Mimi Kodheli is an Albanian economist and politician who served as Minister of Defense of Albania in the government of Prime Minister Edi Rama. She was the first woman to be appointed to the post.
The Fino Government better known as the Government of National Reconciliation was a caretaker government that presided over Albania from 13 March 1997 to 24 July 1997, during the Albanian Civil War. It was created as a result of the social, economic, and political turmoil of early 1997, spurred by the collapse of pyramid schemes and the subsequent loss of many Albanians' life savings. This government was formed in the week following the resignation of the government of Aleksandër Meksi on 1 March 1997 by the major political parties of the country with international support. The Government was voted in the morning session at 10:00 a.m. on 12 March 1997, while received the approval of the President Sali Berisha shortly before midnight on the same day.
The Political Academy of the Socialist Party of Albania or simply Political Academy is the first academy of modern left-wing leadership in Albania. It is an academy established by the Socialist Party of Albania and the contribution of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation. The academy holds its lectures in Golem, near Durrës.
Jorida Tabaku is an Albanian liberal politician with the Democratic Party of Albania. During the Tirana mayoral leadership of former DP leader Lulzim Basha, she served as deputy-mayor in the years 2011–2015.
The Institute for Public Policy and Good Governance is an Albanian think tank based in Tirana, Albania. Being focused in public policy and good governance issues, IPPM conducts research and promotes best practices for the good governance in public and private sector being guided from the principles of transparency and public integrity. Its primary focus consists in analyzing public finances developments in Albania and in the Southeastern Europe countries.