Party of Labor of Albania

The Party of Labor of Albania (PLA) was a political party in Albania.

History

Tito dispatched Comintern agents to Albania in 1941, to unite the local communist and socialist political movements. The party was established that year as the Communist Party of Albania (PKSh) (Partia Komuniste e Shqipërisë). The first leader was Hoxha, who was a hardline Stalinist.

Through the political front National Liberation Movement, of which the party was dominant, the Italian occupation was repelled and Zog was barred from returning.

The party adopted the name Party of Labour in 1948.

During the Khrushchev era of reforms, Hoxha led the party to break from Moscow. Albania left the Warsaw Pact in 1968, and relations were instead pursued with China.

After Hoxha died in 1985, Ramiz Alia led Albania into a reform era. He legalized opposition parties. He organized elections for March 1991, in which the party won a majority. The Parliament produced a new constitution creating the Republic of Albania, and also electing Alia to the presidency.

The party reformed into the SP for the 1992 elections.

Policies

The Communist regime was a single-party system. The PLA dominated political life in Albania for close to 5 decades. The actual politics of the party were determined entirely by the chair.

Hoxha was a hardline Stalinist but left the Warsaw Pact in 1968, objecting to the premiership of Khrushchev. He was a brutal dictator and Albania saw frequent purges of dissidents.

Ramiz Alia in contrast was a reformist, and effectively allowed a peaceful transition of regimes. He nonetheless defended, and claimed, Hoxha's legacy.

Leadership

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