Fatos Nano

Prime Minister of Albania

(Albanian Government, Official Presidential Website)

Fatos Nano, who is leading his third cabinet since 1991, was born in Tirana in 1952.

Nano received a degree in political economy from Tirana University. A well-known liberal economist, he received a PhD in economics in 1989, after ten years of university professorship. Meanwhile, he was a functionary of the Institute of Marxist-Leninist Studies.

At the end of 1990, Nano was invited by the government to contribute in the transformation of the Albanian centralized economy to a market economy. In February 1991, Albanian President Ramiz Alia nominated Nano to head the technical government, where his main duty was to prepare the first pluralistic elections in Albania, which were held 31 March 1991. Later that year he resigned as prime minister in the middle of popular protests and strikes.

On 13 June 1991, Nano was elected chairman of the Socialist Party of Albania, the renamed political structure of the former communists' Labor Party, a post he still holds. Following the 22 March 1992 elections, Nano led the Albanian opposition until he was jailed on 30 July 1993 for misuse of state funds. He was released from prison during the riots of 1997. His imprisonment has been widely considered politically motivated.

President Rexhep Mejdani appointed Nano prime minister for the second time after the civil unrest of 1997. Nano had to resign due to the protests following the murder of the historic opposition leader, Azem Hajdari. After the 24 June 2001 parliamentary elections, he served as the head of the Foreign Affairs Parliamentary Commission.

Subsequently, Nano headed the Socialist Party, where he caused turmoil by voting out the prime minister twice -- Pandeli Majko and Ilir Meta. He has repeatedly urged the public towards an open discussion about the transparency of the governance, forcing the opposition to be more reasonable and public-oriented. On 25 July 2002, President Alfred Moisiu decreed Nano in his third prime minister mandate.