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Albania
Alia Takes Over
Before Hoxha died in April 1985, after more than forty years
as the unchallenged leader, he had designated Ramiz Alia as his
successor. Alia was born in 1925 and had joined the Albanian communist
movement before he was twenty years old. He had risen rapidly
under Hoxha's patronage and by 1961 was a full member of the ruling
Political Bureau (Politburo) of the APL. Hoxha chose Alia for
several reasons. First, Alia had long been a militant follower
of Marxism-Leninism (see Glossary) and supported Hoxha's policy
of national self-reliance. Alia also was favored by Hoxha's wife
Nexhmije, who had once been his instructor at the Institute of
Marxism-Leninism. Alia's political experience was similar to that
of Hoxha; and inasmuch as he appeared to share Hoxha's views on
most foreign and domestic issues, he easily accommodated himself
to the totalitarian mode of ruling. That he had managed to survive
several waves of extensive purges bespoke his political prowess
and capacity for survival.
The second-ranking member of the leadership after Hoxha's death
was Prime Minister Adil Çarçani, a full member of the Politburo
since 1961. Among the fifteen candidate and full members of the
party's Politburo in 1985, nine were members of the postwar generation
and most had made their political careers after Albanian-Soviet
ties were severed in 1961. By late 1986, both the Politburo and
the party's other administrative organ, the Secretariat, were
dominated by Alia's supporters.
When Alia took over as first secretary of the APL, the country
was in grave difficulty. Political apathy and cynicism were pervasive,
with large segments of the population having rejected the regime's
values. The economy, which suffered from low productivity and
permanent shortages of the most basic foodstuffs, showed no sign
of improvement. Social controls and self-discipline had eroded.
The intelligentsia was beginning to resist strict party controls
and to criticize the regime's failure to observe international
standards of human rights. Apparently recognizing the depth and
extent of the societal malaise, Alia cautiously and slowly began
to make changes in the system. His first target was the economic
system. In an effort to improve economic efficiency, Alia introduced
some economic decentralization and price reform in specific sectors.
Although these changes marked a departure from the Hoxha regime,
they did not signify a fundamental reform of the economic system.
Alia did not relax censorship, but he did allow public discussions
of Albania's societal problems and encouraged debates among writers
and artists on cultural issues. In response to international criticism
of Albania's record on human rights, the new leadership loosened
some political controls and ceased to apply repression on a mass
scale. In 1986 and 1989, general amnesties brought about the release
of many long-term prisoners. Alia also took steps to establish
better ties with the outside world, strengthening relations with
Greece, Italy, Turkey, and Yugoslavia. A loosening of restrictions
on travel and tourism resulted in a more promising outlook for
Albania's tourist trade.
By the late 1980s, Alia was supporting a campaign for more openness
in the press and encouraging people to talk freely about Albania's
problems. As a result, controversial articles on a range of topics
began to appear in the press. Not everyone, however, was happy
with Alia's cautious program of reform. The entrenched party bureaucrats
were worried that they would lose their powers and privileges
and hence resisted many of the changes. Thus Alia's regime was
not able, or willing, to attempt changes that would put an end
to the repressive elements of the system.
Data as of April 1992
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