First Lady of Albania


First Lady of Albania is the unofficial title of the spouse of the sitting president of Albania.

History

The royal consorts of Albania were the spouses of the Albanian monarchs. They used the titles "Queen of the Albanians", "Queen of Albania", "Princess of Albania", "Lady of the Kingdom of Albania", etc.
On 21 April 1451 in an Eastern Orthodox Ardenica Monastery, George Kastrioti Skanderbeg married Donika Kastrioti, daughter of Gjergj Arianiti, one of the most influential Albanian noblemen.
On 28 November 1912, Albania declared its independence, Ismail Qemali's Greek wife, Kleoniqi Sumerli was dead before he became the first head and prime minister of Albania.
The Principality of Albania was established on February 21, 1914 the consort of Prince William of Wied, Princess Sophie of Schönburg-Waldenburg became the princess of Albania. Outside the country and in diplomatic correspondence, she was styled "Princess Consort", but in Albania he was referred to as Mbretëreshë, or Queen.
On 27 April 1938 Géraldine Apponyi de Nagyappony married the King Zog I and became the queen consort of the Albanians from 27 April 1938 to 7 April 1939.
In 1939 after Italian invasion of Albania, the royal wife of Victor Emmanuel III of Italy and Albania, Elena of Montenegro became the queen of Albania from 16 April 1939 to 8 September 1943.

Role of the first lady

The first lady is not an elected position, carries no official duties and brings no salary. Nonetheless, she participates in humanitarian and charitable work. Furthermore, many have taken an active role in campaigning for the president with whom they are associated. She accompanies the President in state and official visits abroad.

Incidents

In April 2005 during the Funeral of Pope John Paul II, the prime minister Fatos Nano tried to replace the president's daughter Mirela Moisiu with his new wife, Xhoana Nano. Prime Minister Nano tried to usurp for his wife the "First Lady" title, forcing members of the Council of Ministers to sign a white document.

First ladies of Albania (1925–1928 & 1991–present)

No.NameTerm BeginsTerm EndsPresident of Albania
1stOffice vacant 1 February 19251 September 1928Ahmet Zogu
2ndOffice vacant 30 April 19913 April 1992Ramiz Alia
3rdLirie Ramaj9 April 199224 July 1997Sali Berisha
4thLidra Karagjozi24 July 199724 July 2002Rexhep Meidani
5thMirela Moisiu 24 July 200224 July 2007Alfred Moisiu
6thTeuta Mema24 July 200724 July 2012Bamir Topi
7thOdeta Kosova24 July 201224 July 2017Bujar Nishani
8thBora Meta 24 July 2017IncumbentIlir Meta