Mehmet Shehu

Mehmet Shehu
Official portrait, c. 1950s
23rd Prime Minister of Albania
In office 20 July 1954 – 18 December 1981
Leader	Enver Hoxha (First Secretary)
Preceded by	Enver Hoxha
Succeeded by	Adil Çarçani
Minister of Internal Affairs
In office 23 November 1948 – 23 July 1954
Prime Minister	Enver Hoxha
Preceded by	Nesti Kerenxhi
Succeeded by	Kadri Hazbiu
Minister of People's Defence
In office 28 October 1974 – 18 December 1981
Prime Minister	Himself Adil Çarçani
Preceded by	Beqir Balluku
Succeeded by	Kadri Hazbiu
Personal details
Born	(1913-01-10)January 10, 1913 Çorrush, Fier County, Albania
Died	December 18, 1981(1981-12-18) (aged 68) Tirana, Albania
Manner of death	Suicide, Assassination (allegedly)
Political party	Party of Labour of Albania
Spouse	Fiqrete Sanxhaktari
Signature
Military service
Battles/wars	Spanish Civil War World War II in Albania Battle of Gjorm Liberation of Tepelena Liberation of Tirana Cold War Operation Valuable Albanian–Yugoslav border conflict

Mehmet Ismail Shehu (January 10, 1913 – December 18, 1981) was an Albanian communist politician who served as the Prime Minister of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania from 1954 to 1981. He was known as a close confidant of Enver Hoxha and served in various high-ranking positions in the government.

Shehu was Chief of the General Staff of the Albanian People's Army from 1946 to 1948 and later served as Minister of the Interior from 1948 to 1954. He then assumed the position of Chairman of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister) from 1954 to 1981 and additionally served as Minister of People's Defense from 1974 to 1980. Shehu was often regarded as the right hand of Enver Hoxha and played a central role in Albania's political leadership during that era.^[1]

In 1938, he joined the International Brigades in Spain and fought as an officer in the 4th Battalion of the Italian Garibaldi Brigade. A member of the Spanish Communist Party, he moved to France after Franco's victory and was interned there from 1939 to 1942. He was handed over by the Vichy government to the fascists who sent him to Tirana. He left the company of his escort and joined the maquis and the Albanian Communist Party. Commander of the 1st Brigade of the National Liberation Army since 1943, Mehmet Shehu took part in the Battle of Gjorm on January 1, Liberation of Tepelena on September 10 and liberation of Tirana on November 8, 1944.

As an acknowledged military tactician, without whose leadership the communist partisans may well have failed in their battle to win Albania for the Marxist-Leninist cause, Shehu exhibited an ideological understanding and work ethic that singled him out for rapid promotion in the communist party.^[2]

Mehmet Shehu shared power with Enver Hoxha from the end of the Second World War. According to official Albanian government sources, he killed himself on December 18, 1981, after which his family was arrested. Persistent rumors remain, however, that Shehu was actually murdered on orders from Hoxha.