Aleksandër Meksi

Prime Minister of Albania

8 March 1939 Tirana, Albania

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13 April 1992 – 11 March 1997

Aleksandër Gabriel Meksi (born March 8, 1939) is an Albanian politician who served as the 34th Prime Minister of Albania from April 13, 1992, to March 11, 1997. A former archaeologist, he was the first person to be prime minister of Albania after the end of communist rule. Meksi was a member of the Democratic Party of Albania and took office at the same time as President Sali Berisha, who also belonged to that party. Before entering politics, Meksi was a researcher and restorer of monuments of medieval architecture (mainly churches and mosques). Meksi resigned as the country descended into the 1997 Civil War caused by financial problems. A few months after Meksi's resignation, Berisha also resigned. Despite his resignation, his government enjoyed one of the longest tenures of any democratically elected government of Albania. In early May 2009, Meksi became the leader of the Pole of Freedom (Poli i Lirise), a right wing coalition between the Demochristian Party of Albania, the Movement for National Development and several associations of land owners expropriated by the communist regime and victims of communist prosecution. Poli i Lirise is seen by many as a reliable right wing alternative for the elections of 2009 and is perceived to consistently gain political and electoral support. The return of Meksi to active politics, although followed by mixed media reactions, seems to be well perceived by the Albanians.