Prof. Dr. Sali Berisha

Born on October 15, 1944 Sali Berisha graduated at the medical faculty of the University of Tirana in 1967 “with honors”. He specialized in cardiology and was subsequently appointed as an assistant professor of medicine at the same university and as staff cardiologist at the Tirana General Hospital.

During the ‘70s Mr. Berisha gained distinction as the leading researcher in the field of cardiology in Albania and became professor of cardiology at the University of Tirana. In 1989 he was awarded the title Professor at the Tirana University.

Mr. Berisha was an avid critic of the Alia regime during the late eighties and early nineties. By the beginning of 1990 Mr. Berisha had emerged as one of the most respected spokespersons for the reform movement in Albania. Following the resignation of President Alia, the DP-dominated People’s Assembly on April 8, 1992, elected Sali Berisha to the position, as the first noncommunist head of state.

Following his election as the President of Republic of Albania, Mr. Sali Berisha and the democratic government were engaged into a profound course of political, economic, institutional, legislative and multifaceted reforms. 

In ’97, right after the rebellion organized by the former communists, who took advantage of the fraudulent pyramid schemes collapse, Mr. Berisha resigned from the President’s Office, since DP turned into an opposition party in the general parliamentary elections and he was, then, elected the Chairman of Democratic Party and this is a position that he has been holding from ’97 up to date.

Mr. Berisha led the coalition of the center right wing parties in the general political lections held in 5 rounds in June-August 2001. Although OSCE/ODIHR International Election Observation Mission called these elections as manipulated ones, the coalition won 37% of the votes.

On the 1st of July 2005 Sali Berisha leaded a coalition of five right center parties, which eventually won a majority of 74 MP’s from a total of 140. He was appointed Prime Minister of Albania on the 8th of September 2005, with a majority vote of 81 MP’s.