Sali Berisha is an Albanian politician who has served as Albania’s President and Prime Minister. In addition to being a politician, he is a well-known cardiologist. Berisha attended the University of Tirana and earned a medical degree with a specialty in cardiology. Berisha served as a lecturer and researcher at the University of Tirana before being promoted to professor. Early in his youth, he joined the Albanian Labor Party due to his political leanings. Nevertheless, he did not become a political force until he joined the Democratic Party of Albania, and it was with this party that he entered the Albanian parliament. Sali Berisha was elected president of Albania in 1992, and as a non-Marxist, he ushered in a period of free market economics and privatization that led to the country’s economic resurgence, after the Albanian economy had been in severe difficulties under previous governments. Berisha also served as the Prime Minister of Albania for two consecutive terms.
Youth and Early Life
Sali Berisha was born on October 15, 1944, in Vicodol Tropoje District, northern Albania, to Ram and Shereque Berisha. He was a member of a peasant family, although little is known about them.
Sali Berisha attended obscure schools in his hometown, but he performed well enough to gain admission to the University of Tirana’s medical program. 1967 was the year of Berisha’s graduation, and his field of expertise was cardiology. During his school years, Berisha was also a member of the Albanian Part of Labor.
After receiving his medical degree, Sali Berisha began working as an assistant professor at the University of Tirana, where he was quickly recognized as one of the foremost cardiology researchers in Albania. After becoming a professor at the University of Tirana, he traveled to Paris in 1978 on a UNESCO fellowship for advanced study and training.
Sali Berisha’s Career
Sali Berisha’s reputation as a medical sciences researcher rose over the years, and in 1986 he was elected to the European Committee for Research in Medical Sciences.
In addition to his medical research, he remained politically involved. He demanded that his party, the Albanian Labor Party, adopt a new constitution, recognize the right to free expression, and remove all monuments honoring the former Russian tyrant Joseph Stalin.
Sali Berisha became the leader of the Democratic Party of Albania in 1990, and the following year he was elected to the Albanian parliament as a representative of the party. He had previously agitated for political reforms under the dictatorship of Albanian President Ramiz Alia for many years. In the same year, he also became the chairman of the party.
In 1992, Albania held its first free elections, and in the same year, Sali Berisha was elected president. During his five-year presidency, Berisha launched a push to Islamize the country. He was the first non-communist president of the Albanian people.
During Sali Berisha’s presidency, the collapse of a Ponzi scheme in which the Albanian people purportedly lost a stunning $1 billion sparked huge protests because the government was accused of having a hand in the whole situation. Even the police and the military fled their stations, but Berisha refused to retire. In the 1997 elections, he lost the presidency and spent the subsequent eight years as the Democratic Party’s leader of the opposition.
Sali Berisha became Prime Minister of Albania on September 8, 2005, after the coalition of five parties he headed ultimately won a majority. During his stint as prime minister, George W. Bush became the first president of the United States to visit the country.
In 2009, Sali Berisha led his party to victory with the assistance of another socialist party, the Socialist Movement for Integration of Ilir Meta. His tenure as prime minister was plagued by nasty, violent battles between government and opposition forces, which tarnished Albania’s reputation. As prime minister, Sali Berisha advocated for the passage of laws that would protect the LGBT people of Albania from all forms of discrimination.
Following the tumultuous time of his second term as prime minister, his party lost the 2013 parliamentary elections, and Berisha resigned, taking full responsibility for the fiasco.
His Major Opera
From 1992 to 1997, when Sali Berisha was President of Albania, he reorganized the economy and ushered in an age of privatization that saw the Albanian economy grow by leaps and bounds. Following decades of communist governance, the Albanian economy was in a precarious situation.
Personal History and Legacy
Sali Berisha married the pediatrician Liri Rama in 1971. The couple has a daughter named Argita and a son named Shkelzen.
Estimated Net Worth
Sali is rated as one of the wealthiest and most popular world leaders. According to our research, Wikipedia, Forbes, and Business Insider, Sali Berisha has an estimated net worth of $1.5 million.