Political Career a Surprise for Professor
University professor Sali Berisha, leader of Albania’s victorious Democratic Party, was swept into politics by his students a year ago.
“I saw democracy was vital for Albania. I didn’t begin this to be a politician, just to do my duty as a citizen,” he said.
The Tirana university cardiologist dodged troops and tanks to join his students in December 1990, in defying the omnipotent Communist regime with pro-democracy protests.
Within days Berisha had co-founded the first opposition party, the Democratic Party, and set out on an unplanned career in politics as Albania, the onetime Stalinist bastion, turned to pluralism and reform.
Western diplomats in Tirana say Berisha became the sole public face and voice of his party after co-founder Gramoz Pashko moved into the background after internal disputes.
Tall and charismatic, with swept-back hair and a liking for smart Western clothes, Berisha is the son of Albanian peasants. But as a professor at Albania’s only university, there were privileges, and he spent a year studying in Paris in 1980.
Like many educated Albanians, Berisha speaks English and French. He is married with a son and a daughter.
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