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{{Quotes-available}}{{Infobox revolutionary|name=Enver Hoxha|birth_date=16 October 1908|birth_place=Gjirokastër, Janina Vilayet, [[Ottoman Empire]]|death_date=11 April 1985|death_place=Tirana, [[People's Socialist Republic of Albania]]|nationality=Albanian|political_orientation=[[Hoxhaism]]<br>[[Marxism–Leninism]]<br>[[Anti-revisionism]] <small>(claimed)</small> | {{Quotes-available}}{{Infobox revolutionary|name=Enver Hoxha|birth_date=16 October 1908|birth_place=Gjirokastër, Janina Vilayet, [[Ottoman Empire]]|death_date=11 April 1985|death_place=Tirana, [[People's Socialist Republic of Albania]]|nationality=Albanian|political_orientation=[[Hoxhaism]]<br>[[Marxism–Leninism]]<br>[[Anti-revisionism]] <small>(claimed)</small><br>[[Dogmatism]]|political_party=[[Party of Labour of Albania|PLA]]|image=File:Hoxha1984.png|caption=Enver Hoxha in 1984.|birth_name=Enver Halil Hoxha}} | ||
'''Enver Hoxha''' (/ˈhɒdʒə/ HOJ-ə, 16 October 1908 – 11 April 1985) was an [[People's Socialist Republic of Albania|Albanian]] revolutionary who served as the First Secretary of the [[Party of Labor of Albania]], from 1941 until his death in 1985. He was also a member of the Politburo of the Party of Labor of Albania, chairman of the [[Democratic Front of Albania]], commander-in-chief of the armed forces from 1944 until his death. He served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Albania from 1944 to 1954 and at various times served as both foreign minister and defense minister of the [[People's Socialist Republic of Albania]]. | '''Enver Hoxha''' (/ˈhɒdʒə/ HOJ-ə, 16 October 1908 – 11 April 1985) was an [[People's Socialist Republic of Albania|Albanian]] revolutionary who served as the First Secretary of the [[Party of Labor of Albania]], from 1941 until his death in 1985. He was also a member of the Politburo of the Party of Labor of Albania, chairman of the [[Democratic Front of Albania]], commander-in-chief of the armed forces from 1944 until his death. He served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Albania from 1944 to 1954 and at various times served as both foreign minister and defense minister of the [[People's Socialist Republic of Albania]]. | ||
Revision as of 15:30, 23 November 2025
Enver Hoxha | |
|---|---|
 Enver Hoxha in 1984. | |
| Born |
Enver Halil Hoxha 16 October 1908 Gjirokastër, Janina Vilayet, Ottoman Empire |
| Died |
11 April 1985 Tirana, People's Socialist Republic of Albania |
| Nationality | Albanian |
| Ideology |
Hoxhaism Marxism–Leninism Anti-revisionism (claimed) Dogmatism |
| Political party | PLA |
Enver Hoxha (/ˈhɒdʒə/ HOJ-ə, 16 October 1908 – 11 April 1985) was an Albanian revolutionary who served as the First Secretary of the Party of Labor of Albania, from 1941 until his death in 1985. He was also a member of the Politburo of the Party of Labor of Albania, chairman of the Democratic Front of Albania, commander-in-chief of the armed forces from 1944 until his death. He served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Albania from 1944 to 1954 and at various times served as both foreign minister and defense minister of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania.
Enver Hoxha led the process of socialist construction in Albania and is upheld by many Marxist–Leninists for his anti-revisionist struggle against Soviet and Chinese revisionism.[1][2] However, others such as Maoists criticize him for maintaining a dogmatic stance against Mao Zedong and the socialist project in China.
Biography
Early life and rise to leadership (1908–1943)
Hoxha was born on 16 October 1908 to a patriotic family in Gjirokastër, located in Southern Albania. Becoming the secretary of a student association at the age of 16, he promoted progressive sentiments of democracy and national independence as well as resistance particularly to the semi-fascist monarchy under Zog I which was ruling Albania at the time. In the late 1920s, Hoxha would begin to be enthused by the French Revolution of the 18th century, and later, the October Socialist Revolution in Russia.
An astute student, Hoxha would spend the early 1930s to pursue studies in France, during which, he would become active in communist organization and would familiarize himself with the writings of Karl Marx and other Marxist theorists, reading Marx's Das Kapital and Engels' Anti-Dühring.
Hoxha would return to Albania in 1936, becoming a school teacher involved in the education of French and morals in the city of Korça. His career in education would end as a result of, in 1939, his refusal to join the Albanian Fascist Party and, by extension, collaborate with the fascist Italian occupiers who had recently invaded Albania. Forced into illegality, Hoxha would involve himself in the communist movement in Albania with him being, at the founding conference of the Communist Party of Albania,[a] elected to hold membership in the party's central committee.
Leadership of Socialist Albania (1944–1972)
After the end of World War II and the liberation of Albania, Enver Hoxha assumed a leading role in the country's political transformation. As head of the ruling party, he contributed significantly to shaping and implementing Albania’s postwar reconstruction and its transition toward a socialist system. His leadership focused on consolidating state power, restructuring institutions, and promoting policies aligned with the principles of a centralized socialist state.
In the immediate postwar years, the government undertook major reforms aimed at dismantling foreign economic influence, nationalizing key industries, and establishing a state-controlled economic sector. Between 1944 and 1947, Albania implemented land redistribution, educational reforms, and other structural changes intended to lay the foundation for a new social order.
On January 11, 1946, Albania was officially declared a People’s Republic. Enver Hoxha was appointed chairman of the Council of Ministers, marking the beginning of his long tenure in government. He also served as foreign minister during the early years of the republic, playing a prominent role in representing Albania on the international stage. At the 1946 Paris Peace Conference, he advocated for Albania’s sovereignty and addressed regional tensions and external pressures. In the immediate postwar years, the Albanian state undertook decisive measures to eliminate the economic power of the bourgeoisie and foreign capital. Between 1944 and 1946, banks, industry, and trade were nationalized, laying the foundation for a socialist economy. The agrarian reform of 1946–1947 expropriated large estates and redistributed land to poor peasants, breaking the grip of feudal landlords and preparing the ground for collectivization.
Under Hoxha’s leadership, Albania launched a program of rapid industrialization, prioritizing heavy industry, mining, and energy production. The country, once dependent on agriculture and foreign aid, developed a self-reliant economy based on socialist planning. The collectivization of agriculture and the creation of cooperatives ensured the integration of rural production into the socialist system.
Cultural and educational reforms were central to the transformation. Illiteracy was eradicated, a unified school system was established, and education became free and accessible to all people of Albania.
Later life and death (1973–1985)
Legacy
Criticism
Enver Hoxha has been criticized by Maoists for his dogmatic stance towards the Chinese revolution, which he characterized as being a bourgeois revolution rather than a socialist one. Critics argue Hoxha failed to consider China's material conditions, mainly its predominately agrarian peasant population, in his analysis of Mao. For this reason, Maoists sometimes consider Hoxha and his followers to be dogmato-revisionist.[3]
See also
Bibliography
External links
References
- ↑ 40 Years of Socialist Albania (1984). «8 Nëtori» Publishing House.
- ↑ "Who are the Five Classics of Marxism-Leninism?". The Espresso Stalinist
- ↑ J. Werner. Beat Back the Dogmato-Revisionist Attack on Mao Tsetung Thought. Available on the Marxists Internet Archive.
Notes
- ↑ The original name of what would become the Party of Labour of Albania.