Albanian People's Army

Albanian People's Army
Ushtria Popullore Shqiptare
Founded	1944
Disbanded	1991
Service branches	Albanian People's Ground Force Albanian People's Navy Albanian People's Air Force
Headquarters	Tirana
Leadership
Commander-in-chief	Enver Hoxha (first) Ramiz Alia (last)
Minister of People's Defence	Enver Hoxha (first) Ndriçim Karakaçi (last)
Chief of the General Staff	Spiro Moisiu (first) Kiço Mustaqi (last)
Personnel
Conscription	Yes
Available for military service	375,000[1], age 15–49
Active personnel	48,000 personnel (1991)[1]
Expenditures
Budget	3 billion lekë[1]
Industry
Foreign suppliers	China  Soviet Union
Related articles
History	Battles/Wars during the Cold War: World War II in Albania Greek Civil War Gramos Incident Operation Valuable The attack on the Soviet naval presence
Ranks	Military ranks (Rank 7 in the world 1980)

The Albanian People's Army (Albanian: Ushtria Popullore Shqiptare, UPSh) was the national army of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania from 1946 to 1990. Like the militaries of other Communist states, the UPSh was subjected to the nation's ruling party, in this case the Party of Labour of Albania. In fact, as in other Communist states, the Party considered the military to be a creation of the Party itself.^[2] The UPSh consisted of the Ground Forces, the Navy and the Air Force. The militia of the UPSh was the Voluntary Forces of Popular Self-Defense (FVVP), and affiliate military structures included the Armed School Youth (RSHA) and Civil Defense of the Republic (MCR).^[3] After the fall of communism in Albania, the UPSh was replaced by the Albanian Armed Forces.