71 Facts About Edi Rama

Edi Rama was born on Edvin Kristaq Rama, 4 July 1964 and is an Albanian politician, painter, writer, former university lecturer, publicist and former basketball player, who has served as the 33rd and current Prime Minister of Albania since 2013 and chairman of the Socialist Party of Albania since 2005.

Edi Rama was appointed Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports in 1998, an office he held until 2000.

Edi Rama was appointed Prime Minister for a second term following the 2017 parliamentary election.

Edi Rama then won a third term following the 2021 Albanian parliamentary election in which he defeated the Democratic Party of Albania candidate, Lulzim Basha, for the second time in a row.

Edi Rama is the only Albanian Prime Minister in history to have won three terms in a row.

Edi Rama was one of the initiators of Open Balkan, an economic zone of the Western Balkans countries intended to guarantee "Four Freedoms".

Edi Rama's father was Kristaq Rama, a well-known sculptor born in Durres who created numerous statues during the communist era in Albania.

Edi Rama's great-grandfather, named Kristaq Rama, was an intellectual who advocated for Albanian independence and schools, and he originated from Berat before later relocating to Durres.

Edi Rama's mother, Aneta Rama, was a graduate of medicine from the southwestern village of Vuno, Vlore, and a great-niece of Spiro Koleka, a member of the Politburo during Communist Albania.

Edi Rama attended and graduated from the Jordan Misja Artistic Lyceum, an art school in Tirana.

Edi Rama was part of the Albania national basketball team.

Essays from those meetings were collected in the book Refleksione, which Edi Rama published together with publicist Ardian Klosi in 1992.

Shortly before the fall of communism in Albania, Edi Rama attempted several times to get involved with the incipient fight for democracy.

Edi Rama tried to influence student protests and become part of the newly created Democratic Party of Albania, but soon left after a quarrel over ideological matters with Sali Berisha.

In 1994, Edi Rama moved to France, and tried to begin a career as a painter.

On 27 November 2002, Rama changed his first name by shortening it to Edi.

In 1998, while in Albania for the funeral of his father, Edi Rama was offered a cabinet position by then-Prime Minister of Albania Fatos Nano.

Edi Rama earned international recognition by repainting the facades of many soviet-style, demolishing buildings in the city.

Edi Rama was awarded the inaugural World Mayor Prize in 2004.

Edi Rama planted thousands of new trees, making Tirana a much more environment-friendly city.

Edi Rama expanded the existing roads and paved new ones, improving mobility.

Edi Rama was reelected Mayor of Tirana by defeating Democratic Party candidates Spartak Ngjela, a former attorney, in 2003, and Sokol Olldashi in 2007.

In 2011, Edi Rama decided to run for a fourth term in office.

Edi Rama's opponent, Lulzim Basha was a member of Prime Minister Berisha's cabinet.

Edi Rama appealed the court's decision at the Electoral College and demanded the reinstatement of the initial tally.

Edi Rama's bid failed to gain sufficient support from the Assembly delegates.

Edi Rama received 41 votes, Rexhep Meidani received 61, while Fatos Nano was reelected with 456 votes.

Edi Rama replaced many of the Party's influential leaders with younger loyalists.

The Socialist Party led by Edi Rama were only able to win 66 seats in the Parliament.

The 2009 elections narrow defeat prompted Edi Rama to continue his mandate as Chairman of the Socialist Party.

In 2013, the Socialist Party of Edi Rama led the coalition of center-left parties into a landslide victory in the parliamentary election defeating the center-right coalition led by Prime Minister Sali Berisha.

Edi Rama's platform, nicknamed "Renaissance" was based on four pillars: European integration, economic revitalisation, restoration of the public order and democratisation of the state institutions.

Since September 2013, Edi Rama has been serving as the Prime Minister of Albania.

Since 15 September 2013, Edi Rama is serving as the 33rd Prime Minister of Albania.

Edi Rama has been committed to restructure the judicial system in Albania, which was one of the most corrupted and ineffective judicial systems in Europe at that time.

Internationally, Edi Rama is pursuing a historical reconciliation policy between Albanians and Serbs and his visit in Belgrade, in 2014 was the first visit of an Albanian Prime Minister in Serbia in over 70 years.

Edi Rama is a key supporter of the Berlin Process, an intergovernmental platform of cooperation between the European Union and Western Balkans countries.

The Socialist Party led by Edi Rama participated at the 2017 parliamentary elections on 25 June 2017.

Edi Rama stated that Haradinaj "lies due to ignorance or on purpose".

In 2020 Edi Rama filed a lawsuit for defamation against Haradinaj.

In 2018, Edi Rama adopted a law, welcomed by the European Union, providing for competition between universities and their openness to the market.

Edi Rama visited the earthquake epicentre to see the situation and damage, whereas political rivalries between him, Meta, and Basha were sidelined as they became involved in relief efforts.

Edi Rama reconfigured the state budget for 2020 to manage the post-earthquake situation to provide funds for the construction of homes.

Edi Rama tasked a group of fundraisers to manage the donations from the Albanian diaspora and to provide oversight for their usage.

Edi Rama contacted and held discussions with some influential world leaders and countries asking for assistance and the creation of an international donors conference.

The 1st Cabinet of Edi Rama was sworn in by President Bujar Nishani on 15 September 2013, becoming the 8th Cabinet of the Albanian Republic, since the collapse of communism in Albania.

The 2nd Cabinet of Edi Rama was sworn in by President Ilir Meta in September 2017, becoming the 9th Cabinet of the Albanian Republic, since the collapse of communism in Albania.

On several occasions, Edi Rama has stated that the European Union needs to accelerate the integration process of the Western Balkans, considering it the only way to subdue the dangerous fractions in the region, preventing a possible eruption of violence, like the one that hammered the region in the 1990s.

Edi Rama has denounced as destabilising the rising Russian influence in the region.

In May 2016, Edi Rama attended the wedding of Erdogan's daughter and Erdogan's presidential inauguration in 2018, whereas Erdogan endorsed him in mid-2017 for Albania's parliamentary elections.

Edi Rama has strengthened ties with Turkey, namely with the Erdogan government despite possible and growing contradictions with his pro-European enlargement stance.

On 10 October 2019, together with Aleksandar Vucic, President of Serbia, and Zoran Zaev, Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Edi Rama signed the so-called Mini Schengen deal on regional economic cooperation, including on the free movement of goods, capital, services, and labour between their three countries, while they await progress on EU enlargement.

Edi Rama describes Turkish leader Erdogan as a "friend of Albania and strategic ally".

Edi Rama lays wreath at Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery, US, 2016.

Edi Rama is an active painter and has had several personal painting exhibitions.

In 2014 and 2017 Edi Rama held an exhibit in the Venice Biennial.

In 1992, while a professor at the Academy of Arts of Albania, Edi Rama published a book with various notes together with publicist Ardian Klosi entitled Refleksione.

In November 2011, Edi Rama published a reflection book on his years as mayor of Tirana entitled Kurban.

Edi Rama was baptized as Catholic and identifies as Catholic.

Edi Rama has a son from his first marriage, Gregor, who is a cancer survivor.

Edi Rama's daughter-in-law was one of the 51 fatalities in the 2019 Albania earthquake.

Since 2010, Edi Rama has been married to Linda Edi Rama, an economist and civil society activist.

Mrs Edi Rama is a graduate of the University of Tirana and holds a Master of Arts in Economy and is a Doctor of Sciences in Economy.

Edi Rama has a long academic experience as a lecturer in International Finance at the University of Tirana and a lecturer of Public Policies in the European University of Tirana.

Edi Rama is the author of several scientific researches and publications in her field.

Edi Rama is a supporter of the sports teams FK Partizani and Juventus.

In one of the tapes Edi Rama is recorded in a conversation with Arben Keshi, a local police official, asking if "the objective had been met".

Edi Rama took up to Twitter where he accused the organization of making up "lies" and called the accusations "fantasies".

In January 2023, Edi Rama was implicated in a US federal indictment concerning former senior FBI official Charles McGonigal.

At the beginning of December 2021, on board of a Lufthansa plane headed towards Detroit from Frankfurt, Edi Rama refused to wear a mask as required by the company's Covid-safety guidelines.

However, Edi Rama refused any proposal and was then escorted off board by the federal police.