Alfred Moisiu was born in Shkodër, President of the Republic of Albania from 2002 to 2007, a general, and a doctor of military sciences. He was born into the family of Spiro Moisiu. He participated in the National Liberation Anti-Fascist War. He attended Military Engineering School in Leningrad (1946–1948). He served at the United Officers School in Tirana (1948–1949), and as an instructor at the “Skënderbej” (“Skanderbeg”) Military Academy (1949–1951). He pursued higher studies at the Academy of Military Engineering in Moscow (1952–1958), where he graduated with a gold medal. From 1958 to 1966, he worked in the Military Engineering Directorate at the Ministry of Defense. He completed the senior staff course at the Defense Academy in Tirana (1967–1968). Director of Military Engineering and Fortification at the Ministry of Defense (1971–1981), Deputy Minister of Defense (1981–1982). During the political purges of this period, he was dismissed from this position and appointed chief of military engineer in the Burrel Brigade, where he retired (January 1985). He supported democratic changes and the establishment of pluralism in 1990. In December 1991, he accepted the position of Minister of Defense in the Technical Government (December 1991 – March 1992). After the victory of the Democratic Party in the March 1992 elections, he was initially appointed advisor to the Minister of Defense (1992–1994) and later Deputy Minister of Defense (1994–1997). In 1994, he was elected president of the Albanian Atlantic Association (a non-governmental organization). He completed a course for senior personalities at the NATO Defense College in Rome (1995). On June 24, 2002, with the consensus of all parliamentary political forces, the Albanian Parliament elected him President of the Republic of Albania. He was decorated with the “Red Star” order, the Order of Skanderbeg, third and second class, the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George by Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain, and the Order of the Grand Cross of Merit by the President of Poland. (In the photo: Alfred Moisiu)
Text: Albanian encyclopedic dictionary – Vol. 2 , Academy of Sciences of Albania, “Kristalina-KH”, Tirana, 2008, page 1755.
Photo: © https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Moisiu
Graphic processing: AHCF
