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Union of Albanian Women was an important mass organization in socialist Albania, [1] founded in 1943 and dissolved in 1992. As with other mass organizations and associations during the time period, it was affiliated with the Democratic Front.[ citation needed ]
The Union of Albanian Women was founded as a branch of the Communist Party in 1943, and named the name Anti-Fascist Women of Albania (or Antifascist Women's Union). It changed name to Union of Albanian Women during its 1946 congress.
Its task was mobilizing the political and social activities of the country's women, handling their ideological training, and leading the campaign for the emancipation of women. [1] This campaign, initiated in 1966 by Hoxha, had considerable success in securing equal social and political rights for women. [1] As part of the campaign, women from the cities were dispatched to rural regions to explain to the party's line on the role of women. [1] By the late-1980s, women accounted for 47 percent of the labor force and about 30 percent of deputies to the People's Assembly. Women held responsible jobs at all levels of government and received equal pay in most jobs. [1]
The union was headed until 1946 by Ollga Plumbi, in 1946-1952 by Nexhmije Hoxha, in 1952-1982 by Vito Kapo, and in 1990 by Lumturie Rexha, a member of the Central Committee of the Party of Labour of Albania.
The Union of Albanian Women was dissolved in 1992.
Enver Hoxha was an Albanian communist politician who was the leader of Albania from 1944 until his death. He was First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania from 1941 until his death, a member of its Politburo, chairman of the Democratic Front of Albania, and commander-in-chief of the Albanian People's Army. He was the 22nd Prime Minister of Albania from 1944 to 1954 and at various times was both foreign minister and defence minister of the country.
During classical antiquity, Albania was home to several Illyrian tribes such as the Ardiaei, Albanoi, Amantini, Enchele, Taulantii and many others, but also Thracian and Greek tribes, as well as several Greek colonies established on the Illyrian coast. In the 3rd century BC, the area was annexed by Rome and became part of the Roman provinces of Dalmatia, Macedonia and Moesia Superior. Afterwards, the territory remained under Roman and Byzantine control until the Slavic migrations of the 7th century. It was integrated into the Bulgarian Empire in the 9th century.
Ramiz Tafë Alia was an Albanian politician serving as the second and last leader of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania from 1985 to 1991, serving as First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania. He was also the country's head of state from 1982 to 1992. He had been seen as a successor by Enver Hoxha and took power after Hoxha died.
Nexhmije Hoxha was an Albanian communist politician. For many years she was the wife of Enver Hoxha, the first leader of the Socialist People's Republic of Albania and the First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania. Very close to her husband, she attempted to remain politically influential after his death in 1985. She was one of the few spouses of a ruling communist party leader with a high political profile of her own.
The Directorate of State Security, commonly called the Sigurimi, was the state security, intelligence and secret police service of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania. Its proclaimed goal was maintaining state security of Albania, but de facto the Sigurimi served to suppress political activity among the populace and preserve the existing political system.
Mehmet Ismail Shehu was an Albanian communist politician who served as the 23rd Prime Minister of Albania from 1954 to 1981.
The Communist Party of Canada is a federal political party in Canada, founded in 1921 under conditions of illegality. Although it does not currently have any parliamentary representation, the party's candidates have previously been elected to the House of Commons, the Ontario legislature, the Manitoba legislature, and various municipal governments across the country. The party has also made significant contributions to Canada's trade union, labour, and peace movements.
The Party of Labour of Albania, sometimes referred to as the Albanian Workers' Party (AWP), was the ruling and sole legal party of Albania during the communist period (1945–1991). It was founded on 8 November 1941 as the Communist Party of Albania but changed its name in 1948. The party was dissolved on 13 June 1991 and succeeded by the Socialist Party of Albania. For most of its existence, the party was dominated by its First Secretary, Enver Hoxha, who was also the de facto leader of Albania.
The Sino-Albanian split was the gradual worsening of relations between the People's Socialist Republic of Albania and the People's Republic of China in the period 1972–1978.
The National Liberation Front (Greek: Εθνικό Απελευθερωτικό Μέτωπο, Ethnikó Apeleftherotikó Métopo was an alliance of various political parties and organizations which fought to liberate Greece from Axis Occupation. It was the main movement of the Greek Resistance during the occupation of Greece. Its main driving force was the Communist Party of Greece, but its membership throughout the occupation included several other leftist and republican groups. ΕΑΜ became the first true mass social movement in modern Greek history. Its military wing, the Greek People's Liberation Army, quickly grew into the largest armed guerrilla force in the country, and the only one with nationwide presence. At the same time, from late 1943 onwards, the political enmity between ΕΑΜ and rival resistance groups from the centre and right evolved into a virtual civil war, while its relationship with the British and the British-backed Greek government in exile was characterized by mutual mistrust, leading EAM to establish its own government, the Political Committee of National Liberation, in the areas it had liberated in spring 1944. Tensions were resolved provisionally in the Lebanon Conference in May 1944, when EAM agreed to enter the Greek government in exile under Georgios Papandreou. The organization reached its peak after liberation in late 1944, when it controlled most of the country, before suffering a catastrophic military defeat against the British and the government forces in the Dekemvriana clashes. This marked the beginning of its gradual decline, the disarmament of ELAS, and the open persecution of its members during the "White Terror", leading eventually to the outbreak of the Greek Civil War.
Omer Nishani was an Albanian medical doctor and political figure involved first in the struggle against Ahmet Zogu in the 1920s and 1930s, and then in the struggle against the fascist occupation of Albania during the 1942–44 period, becoming Chairman of the Presidium of the People's Assembly of the People's Republic of Albania in 1946 and serving in this position until 1953.
The Marxist–Leninist League of Tigray (MLLT) was a semi-clandestine Hoxhaist Communist Party that held a leading role in the Tigrayan Peoples' Liberation Front (TPLF) in the 1980s. The majority of the TPLF leadership held dual membership in the MLLT, including Meles Zenawi, Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia from 1995 until his death in 2012.
The People's Socialist Republic of Albania, officially People's Republic of Albania from 1946 until 1976, was the one-party communist state in Albania from 1946 to 1991. It succeeded the Democratic Government of Albania (1944–1946).
The Cultural and Ideological Revolution or Cultural Revolution was a period of political and social change in the People's Socialist Republic of Albania, launched by Enver Hoxha, the First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania (PPSH) at the time. The authorities of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania chose to echo the Cultural Revolution in China, and were inspired by its effects. It originated through a speech held on February 6, 1967 aiming at radical changes in the military, bureaucracy and religious life. During the Cultural and Ideological Revolution, traditional kinship links in Albania, which were centered on the patriarchal family, were shaken by the postwar repression of clan leaders, collectivization of agriculture, industrialization, migration from the countryside to urban areas, and suppression of religion. It also encouraged communist students and workers to use more forceful tactics to discourage religious practices, although violence was initially condemned.
The status of women in North Korea is not fully understood outside the country, due to the political isolation of North Korea, the unwillingness of the North Korean authorities to allow foreign investigators access in the country, and the existence of conflicting reports. The official position of the North Korean government is that women have equal rights with men.
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.
The Democratic Front of Albania was the largest mass organization of the Party of Labour of Albania, which united all other mass organizations of the Party within it. The party was responsible for carrying out the Party's cultural and social programs to the masses, and was in charge of nominating candidates in elections.
Parliamentary elections for a Constituent Assembly were held in Albania on 2 December 1945. Voters were presented with a single list from the Democratic Front, organized and led by the Communist Party of Albania. The Front won all 82 seats.
The Albanian People's Army was the national army of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania from 1946 to 1990. Like the militaries of other Communist states, the UPSh was subjected to the nation's ruling party, in this case the Party of Labour of Albania. In fact, as in other Communist states, the Party considered the military to be a creation of the Party itself. The UPSh consisted of the Ground Forces, the Navy and the Air Force. The militia of the UPSh was the Voluntary Forces of Popular Self-Defense (FVVP), and affiliate military structures included the Armed School Youth (RSHA) and Civil Defense of the Republic (MCR). After the fall of communism in Albania, the UPSh was replaced by the Albanian Armed Forces.
The Albanian–Soviet split was the gradual deterioration of relations between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and the People's Republic of Albania, which occurred in the 1956–1961 period as a result of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev's rapprochement with Yugoslavia along with his "Secret Speech" and subsequent de-Stalinization, including efforts to extend these policies into Albania as was occurring in other Eastern Bloc states at the time.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .Raymond E. Zickel and Walter R Iwaskiw, ed. (1992). Albania: A Country Study. Federal Research Division. Government and Politics.