Azem Hajdari
Encyclopedia
Azem Shpend Hajdari (ˈazɛm hajdaˈɾi, March 11, 1963 – September 12, 1998) was the leader of the student's movement in 1990–1991 that led to the fall of communism in Albania
. He then became a politician of the Democratic Party of Albania
(DP). Together with Sali Berisha
, he symbolizes the start of the democratic era in Albania
. He was a member of the Albanian parliament and the Chairman of the Defense Parliamentary Commission. He was assassinated
in Tirana
on September 12, 1998.
On October 2, 1998, Hajdari was posthumously awarded Honorary citizenship of Tirana, and in 2007 he was decorated with the Skanderbeg's Order
by president Bamir Topi
.
An monument honoring Hajdari and Besim Çera was placed on the crime scene where both were killed (41°19′38"N 19°49′19"E).
. Hajdari studied philosophy at the University of Tirana
, and was married to Fatmira Hajdari, with whom he had three children: Kirardi, Rudina, and Azem Junior (who was born four months after Azem Hajdari's assassination). He was one of the main leaders of student demonstrations that brought the collapse of the Party of Labour of Albania in December 1990. He was also, briefly, the first leader of the Democratic Party of Albania
(DP). He remained in that position until he was replaced in early 1991 by Sali Berisha
, who later became Prime Minister of Albania. Hajdari was a close associate of Berisha, and came from the same district of Tropojë
.
. In 1995 he graduated Jurisprudence again at the University of Tirana. On 1993 until 1994: Studied English language
and philosophy
in the United States
and at 1996 he studied defense and security policy in Garmisch-Partenkirchen
in Germany
.
Political activities in his youth included serving as a leader of the students' movement which overthrew communism in Albania. From December 1990 to February 1991, he was Chairman of the Leading Commission of the Democratic Party
(the first opposition party after 50 years of totalitarian regime). From February 1991 to September 1993 he was Deputy-Chairman of the Democratic Party and a member of its steering committee.
, Hajdari has been elected a Member of Parliament.
Hajdari served as Chairman of the Parliamentary Commission on the Public Order and the National Intelligence Service from 1992–1996. In 1996 he was the Chairman of the Parliamentary Commission on the Public Order and the National Intelligence Service, and is November 1996 became President of the United Independent Albanian Trade Unions
. In June 1997 he became the Chairman of the Parliamentary Commission of Defense.
From 1995 to 1998, Hajdari was the President of the KS Vllaznia Shkodër
, the first sport club in Albania. He also served as the President of the Albanian Federation of Martial arts.
and Vili Minarolli) were ambushed; their car was shot with dozens of bullets, two of which gravely wounded the ex-General Director of Albanian Radio and TV
, Bardhyl Pollo, who was in the same car.
, a Member of Parliament of the Prime Minister Fatos Nano
's governing Socialist Party
, in a dispute over a rise in the rate of added value tax. Mazreku opened fire with a pistol five metres from the door of the plenary sessions hall. Hajdari was shot with five bullets, and was seriously injured. After injuring Hajdari, Mazreku ran through the hall shouting, with the pistol in his hand. Hajdari was taken to a military hospital in grave condition. Present at the hospital were almost all the DP parliamentary group and the party leader, Sali Berisha
.
Mazreku left the parliament building and entered the Albanian telegraph agency building, less than 400 metres (1,312.3 ft) away, claiming he had not shot Mazreku. He surrendered to the Commissariat One Police Forces
, and the weapon was confiscated.
Although the opposition portrayed the shooting as part of a political campaign against the Democratic Party
, it had every appearance of a revenge attack, and Mazreku was sentenced to eight years imprisonment by parliament.
On December 17, the court located in Tirana
sentenced Mazreku to eleven years in prison for attempted murder. The prosecutor had demanded a 16-year sentence. Mazreku argued that he fired the shots in an act of revenge after Hajdari verbally assaulted and punched him. Hajdari, however, claimed the attack was politically motivated.
Hajdari died of severe shock from trauma and hemorrhaging due to numerous wounds to the chest and stomach. Hajdari was survived by his wife and two children. He was posthumously awarded a Martyr of Democracy award. Neza asked for asylum in the United States.
and its leaders for the murder. Twelve people were arrested for their alleged involvement in the violence. In February 2002 five people, including Jaho Mulosmani, were sentenced for the murder by a Tirana district court.
Fall of communism in Albania
The Fall of communism in Albania started on December 1990 with the students demonstrations. March 1991 elections left the former Communists in power, but a general strike and urban opposition led to the formation of a coalition cabinet including non-Communists...
. He then became a politician of the Democratic Party of Albania
Democratic Party of Albania
The Democratic Party of Albania is a center-right, Conservative, political party in Albania and the leading party in the governing coalition since the 2005 parliamentary elections...
(DP). Together with Sali Berisha
Sali Berisha
Sali Ram Berisha is an Albanian politician and cardiologist, currently the Prime Minister of Albania and the leader of Democratic Party of Albania ....
, he symbolizes the start of the democratic era in Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
. He was a member of the Albanian parliament and the Chairman of the Defense Parliamentary Commission. He was assassinated
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
in Tirana
Tirana
Tirana is the capital and the largest city of Albania. Modern Tirana was founded as an Ottoman town in 1614 by Sulejman Bargjini, a local ruler from Mullet, although the area has been continuously inhabited since antiquity. Tirana became Albania's capital city in 1920 and has a population of over...
on September 12, 1998.
On October 2, 1998, Hajdari was posthumously awarded Honorary citizenship of Tirana, and in 2007 he was decorated with the Skanderbeg's Order
Skanderbeg's Order
Skanderbeg's Order is an honorary decoration given in Albania to Albanian and foreign citizens that have made an important contribution to the defence, reinforcement and development of Albania and is awarded by the Albanian President....
by president Bamir Topi
Bamir Topi
Bamir Myrteza Topi is the fifth and current President of Albania since 24 July 2007. He was also Honorary President of Albanian football club KF Tirana from 2005 to 2007.-Early life and public activities:...
.
An monument honoring Hajdari and Besim Çera was placed on the crime scene where both were killed (41°19′38"N 19°49′19"E).
Early life
Hajdari came from a working family. He finished elementary school and high school in Bajram CurriBajram Curri
Bajram Curri was an ethnic Albanian politician and activist within the Vilayet of Kosovo, Ottoman Empire. He is awarded the title Hero of Albania....
. Hajdari studied philosophy at the University of Tirana
University of Tirana
The University of Tirana is a public university located in Tirana, Albania.-History:UT was founded in 1957 as the State University of Tirana through the merging of five existing institutes of higher education, the most important of which was the Institute of Sciences, founded in 1947...
, and was married to Fatmira Hajdari, with whom he had three children: Kirardi, Rudina, and Azem Junior (who was born four months after Azem Hajdari's assassination). He was one of the main leaders of student demonstrations that brought the collapse of the Party of Labour of Albania in December 1990. He was also, briefly, the first leader of the Democratic Party of Albania
Democratic Party of Albania
The Democratic Party of Albania is a center-right, Conservative, political party in Albania and the leading party in the governing coalition since the 2005 parliamentary elections...
(DP). He remained in that position until he was replaced in early 1991 by Sali Berisha
Sali Berisha
Sali Ram Berisha is an Albanian politician and cardiologist, currently the Prime Minister of Albania and the leader of Democratic Party of Albania ....
, who later became Prime Minister of Albania. Hajdari was a close associate of Berisha, and came from the same district of Tropojë
Tropojë
Tropojë is a municipality in the Tropojë District, Kukës County, northern Albania; near the border with Kosovo. It is home to the non-navigable Valbonë River.-Etymology:...
.
Education
In 1993 Hajdari graduated on Philosophy Branch at the University of TiranaUniversity of Tirana
The University of Tirana is a public university located in Tirana, Albania.-History:UT was founded in 1957 as the State University of Tirana through the merging of five existing institutes of higher education, the most important of which was the Institute of Sciences, founded in 1947...
. In 1995 he graduated Jurisprudence again at the University of Tirana. On 1993 until 1994: Studied English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and at 1996 he studied defense and security policy in Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Garmisch-Partenkirchen is a mountain resort town in Bavaria, southern Germany. It is the administrative centre of the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in the Oberbayern region, and the district is on the border with Austria...
in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Political activities in his youth included serving as a leader of the students' movement which overthrew communism in Albania. From December 1990 to February 1991, he was Chairman of the Leading Commission of the Democratic Party
Democratic Party of Albania
The Democratic Party of Albania is a center-right, Conservative, political party in Albania and the leading party in the governing coalition since the 2005 parliamentary elections...
(the first opposition party after 50 years of totalitarian regime). From February 1991 to September 1993 he was Deputy-Chairman of the Democratic Party and a member of its steering committee.
Public service
In the four free elections after the collapse of communismCommunism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
, Hajdari has been elected a Member of Parliament.
- March 31, 1991 MP of ShkodërShkodërShkodër , is a city located on Lake of Shkoder in northwestern Albania in the District of Shkodër, of which it is the capital. It is one of the oldest and most historic towns in Albania, as well as an important cultural and economic centre. Shkodër's estimated population is 90,000; if the...
- March 22, 1992 MP of ShijakShijak-Overview:Shijak is a Town in the country of Albania. Shijak is located within the administration of Durrës, 11 km away from the city of Durrës, and 38 km from the city of Tirana. The communes of Xhafzotaj, Gjepalaj, and Maminas border Shijak. The municipality has a surface area of 3.4...
- May 26, 1996 MP of BulqizëBulqizëBulqizë is a town in eastern Albania with an estimated population of 12,388 . It is the capital of the Bulqizë District, which is part of Dibër County....
- June 29, 1997 MP of TropojëTropojëTropojë is a municipality in the Tropojë District, Kukës County, northern Albania; near the border with Kosovo. It is home to the non-navigable Valbonë River.-Etymology:...
Hajdari served as Chairman of the Parliamentary Commission on the Public Order and the National Intelligence Service from 1992–1996. In 1996 he was the Chairman of the Parliamentary Commission on the Public Order and the National Intelligence Service, and is November 1996 became President of the United Independent Albanian Trade Unions
United Independent Albanian Trade Unions
The Union of the Independent Trade Unions of Albania , is a National Confederation of Trade unions in Albania. It was established in 1991 and held its first national conference in February, 1992...
. In June 1997 he became the Chairman of the Parliamentary Commission of Defense.
From 1995 to 1998, Hajdari was the President of the KS Vllaznia Shkodër
KS Vllaznia Shkodër
Klub Futboll Vllaznia Shkodër is an Albanian football club based in Shkodër. KF Vllaznia have been Albanian champions nine times and won the National Cup six times, the last success coming at the end of the 2007–08 season, after a long 21 year drought in the competition...
, the first sport club in Albania. He also served as the President of the Albanian Federation of Martial arts.
Assassination attempts
Azem Hajdari was threatened with death from the beginning of his days as a leader of the student protests. On March 22, 1991, he received a package which contained a severed head of a rooster and a letter written with blood: Azem Hajdari, you are sentenced to death.Tropojë attack
On June 4, 1998, at about 22:30, Hajdari and other members of the DP (most notably Jozefina TopalliJozefina Topalli
Jozefina Çoba Topalli is an Albanian politician and the current Chairwoman of the Parliament of Albania since September 3, 2005 and vice-president of the Democratic Party of Albania.She is married and has two children....
and Vili Minarolli) were ambushed; their car was shot with dozens of bullets, two of which gravely wounded the ex-General Director of Albanian Radio and TV
Radio Televizioni Shqiptar
Radio Televizioni Shqiptar is the public broadcaster of Albania, founded in 1938 in Tirana....
, Bardhyl Pollo, who was in the same car.
Shot in Parliament
On September 18, 1997, Hajdari was involved in a fight with Gafur MazrekuGafur Mazreku
Gafur Mazreku was a member of Socialist Party of Albania. He was a deputy in parliament and was sentenced for 11 years after he shot in Palement Azem Hajdari...
, a Member of Parliament of the Prime Minister Fatos Nano
Fatos Nano
Fatos Thanas Nano is an Albanian economist who was Prime Minister of Albania during several periods, the first leader of the Socialist Party of Albania, and member of the Albanian Parliament from 1991 to 1996 and 1997 to 2009...
's governing Socialist Party
Socialist Party of Albania
The Socialist Party of Albania , is a centre-left, social democraticand socially liberal political party in Albania, it is currently the leading opposition party in Albania. It seats 66 MPs in the 2009 Albanian parliament . It achieved power in 1997 after a political crisis and governmental...
, in a dispute over a rise in the rate of added value tax. Mazreku opened fire with a pistol five metres from the door of the plenary sessions hall. Hajdari was shot with five bullets, and was seriously injured. After injuring Hajdari, Mazreku ran through the hall shouting, with the pistol in his hand. Hajdari was taken to a military hospital in grave condition. Present at the hospital were almost all the DP parliamentary group and the party leader, Sali Berisha
Sali Berisha
Sali Ram Berisha is an Albanian politician and cardiologist, currently the Prime Minister of Albania and the leader of Democratic Party of Albania ....
.
Mazreku left the parliament building and entered the Albanian telegraph agency building, less than 400 metres (1,312.3 ft) away, claiming he had not shot Mazreku. He surrendered to the Commissariat One Police Forces
Albanian Police
The Albanian State Police is the national police and law enforcement agency which operates throughout the Republic of Albania. The falling down of the Communist system and the setting up of the political pluralism after the year 1991 brought important changes in the structure of the Albanian Police...
, and the weapon was confiscated.
Although the opposition portrayed the shooting as part of a political campaign against the Democratic Party
Democratic Party of Albania
The Democratic Party of Albania is a center-right, Conservative, political party in Albania and the leading party in the governing coalition since the 2005 parliamentary elections...
, it had every appearance of a revenge attack, and Mazreku was sentenced to eight years imprisonment by parliament.
On December 17, the court located in Tirana
Tirana
Tirana is the capital and the largest city of Albania. Modern Tirana was founded as an Ottoman town in 1614 by Sulejman Bargjini, a local ruler from Mullet, although the area has been continuously inhabited since antiquity. Tirana became Albania's capital city in 1920 and has a population of over...
sentenced Mazreku to eleven years in prison for attempted murder. The prosecutor had demanded a 16-year sentence. Mazreku argued that he fired the shots in an act of revenge after Hajdari verbally assaulted and punched him. Hajdari, however, claimed the attack was politically motivated.
Assassination
Azem Hajdari was shot dead as he stepped out of the Democratic Party’s office in Tirana with his two bodyguards, Besim Çera, who was killed, and Zenel Neza, who was seriously injured but survived. The three men were shot by Fatmir Haklaj, Jaho Mulosmani, and Naim Cangu, who had been waiting in a car parked nearby. Cangu was seriously injured, and later died in hospital.Hajdari died of severe shock from trauma and hemorrhaging due to numerous wounds to the chest and stomach. Hajdari was survived by his wife and two children. He was posthumously awarded a Martyr of Democracy award. Neza asked for asylum in the United States.
Reaction
The murder triggered two days of violent protests. During Hajdari's funeral procession on September 14, 1998, armed DP supporters ransacked government offices, and for a brief period, held the PM's office, the parliament building, and the Albanian State television and radio building. Estimates of casualties during the protests and riots ranged between 3 and 7 deaths and 14 and 76 injuries. After 72 hours, the Government restored order and reclaimed tanks and armored personnel carriers seized by DP supporters. Parliament subsequently lifted Berisha's immunity due to his alleged role in what the government described as a coup d'état, but no charges were laid. Berisha blamed the Socialist Party of AlbaniaSocialist Party of Albania
The Socialist Party of Albania , is a centre-left, social democraticand socially liberal political party in Albania, it is currently the leading opposition party in Albania. It seats 66 MPs in the 2009 Albanian parliament . It achieved power in 1997 after a political crisis and governmental...
and its leaders for the murder. Twelve people were arrested for their alleged involvement in the violence. In February 2002 five people, including Jaho Mulosmani, were sentenced for the murder by a Tirana district court.
Awards
- Honorary citizenship of Tirana, AlbaniaAlbaniaAlbania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
(1998) - Order "Honor of the country", AlbaniaAlbaniaAlbania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
(2002) - Gold medal of the League of Prizren, KosovoKosovoKosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
- Skanderbeg's OrderSkanderbeg's OrderSkanderbeg's Order is an honorary decoration given in Albania to Albanian and foreign citizens that have made an important contribution to the defence, reinforcement and development of Albania and is awarded by the Albanian President....
, AlbaniaAlbaniaAlbania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
(2007)
Further reading
- Po vjen Azem Hajdari
- Assassinated Albanian People: Assassinated Albanian Politicians, Essad Pasha, Azem Hajdari, Patrona Halil