Enver Hoxha

Enver Hoxha
Official portrait of Hoxha, c. 1985
First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania
In office 8 November 1941 – 11 April 1985
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Ramiz Alia
22nd Prime Minister of Albania
In office 23 October 1944 – 19 July 1954
President	Omer Nishani Haxhi Lleshi
Deputy	Myslim Peza Koçi Xoxe Mehmet Shehu
Preceded by	Ibrahim Biçakçiu
Succeeded by	Mehmet Shehu
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 22 March 1946 – 23 July 1953
Prime Minister	Himself
Preceded by	Omer Nishani
Succeeded by	Behar Shtylla
Minister of People's Defence
In office 23 October 1944 – 31 July 1953
Prime Minister	Himself
Succeeded by	Beqir Balluku
Personal details
Born	(1908-10-16)16 October 1908 Gjirokastër, Janina Vilayet, Ottoman Empire
Died	11 April 1985(1985-04-11) (aged 76) Tirana, Albania
Resting place	People's Cemetery, Tirana, Albania 41°22′21″N 19°48′33″E / 41.37259°N 19.80914°E / 41.37259; 19.80914
Nationality	Albanian
Political party	Party of Labour of Albania
Spouse	Nexhmije Xhuglini ​ (m. 1945)​
Relations	Hysen Hoxha (uncle), Beqir Hoxha (grandfather), Fahrije Hoxha (sister), Haxhire Hoxha (sister), Sanije Hoxha (sister), Besmir Hoxha (grandson), Ermal Hoxha (grandson), Shkelzen Hoxha (grandson)
Children	Ilir Sokol Pranvera
Parent(s)	Halil Hoxha (Father), Gjylihan/Gjylo Hoxha née Çuçi (Mother)
Residence	Blloku Tirana
Alma mater	University of Montpellier Free University of Brussels
Awards	Hero of the People Order of Lenin Order of Skanderbeg Order of the People's Hero Order of Suvorov Hero of Socialist Labour Order of the Partisan Star Order of the Flag
Ideology	Left-wing Nationalism[1] Marxism-Leninism Hoxhaism
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	LANÇ (1941–1945) People's Republic of Albania (1944–1985)
Branch/service	LANÇ (1941–1945) Albanian People's Army (1944–1985)
Years of service	1941–1985
Rank	Army General
Commands	LANÇ Albanian People's Army (supreme commander)
Battles/wars	World War II World War II in Albania Liberation of Tirana Kosovo Operation (1944) Operation Valuable

Enver Hoxha (Albanian: [ɛnˈvɛɾ ˈhɔdʒa] ^ⓘ; 16 October 1908 – 11 April 1985) was an Albanian politician who was the ruler of Albania from 1944 until his death in 1985. He was the First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania from 1941 until his death, a member of its Politburo, chairman of the Democratic Front of Albania, and commander-in-chief of the Albanian People's Army. He was the twenty-second prime minister of Albania from 1944 to 1954 and at various times was both foreign minister and defence minister of the country.

Hoxha was born in Gjirokastër in 1908 and became a grammar school teacher in 1936. Following the Italian invasion of Albania, he joined the Party of Labour of Albania at its creation in 1941 in the Soviet Union. He was elected First Secretary in March 1943 at the age of 34. Less than two years after the liberation of the country, the monarchy of King Zog I was formally abolished, and Hoxha became the country's de facto head of state.

Adopting Stalinism, Hoxha converted Albania into a one-party communist state. As a Stalinist, he implemented state atheism and ordered anti-religious persecution against Muslims and Christians. His government rebuilt the country, which was left in ruins after World War II, building Albania's first railway line, raising the adult literacy rate from 5–15% to more than 90%, wiping out epidemics, electrifying the country and leading Albania towards agricultural independence. The later years of his reign saw stagnation owing to his political breaks with the Soviet Union and China. To implement his radical program, Hoxha used totalitarian methods of governance. His government outlawed traveling abroad and private proprietorship. His government imprisoned, executed, or exiled thousands of landowners, rural clan leaders, peasants who resisted collectivization, and allegedly disloyal party officials. Hoxha was succeeded by Ramiz Alia, who oversaw the fall of communism in Albania.

Hoxha's government was characterised by his proclaimed firm adherence to anti-revisionist Marxism–Leninism from the mid/late-1960s onwards. After his break with Maoism in the 1976–1978 period, numerous Maoist parties around the world declared themselves Hoxhaist. The International Conference of Marxist–Leninist Parties and Organisations (Unity & Struggle) is the best-known association of these parties.