1. Lulzim Basha is an Albanian lawyer and politician who served as chairman of the Democratic Party of Albania and as the Leader of the Opposition from 2013 to 2022.
21 Facts About Lulzim Basha
1. 2.
Lulzim Basha was the candidate for the position of the prime minister of Albania for the Democratic Party in the 2017 Albanian parliamentary election and in the 2021 Albanian parliamentary election which he lost in both against the incumbent prime minister Edi Rama.
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Lulzim Basha was born in Tirana on 12 June 1974 to a Kosovo-Albanian mother and an Albanian father.
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In 2000, Basha joined the Department of Justice of the UN administration of Kosovo,.
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From November 2002 until January 2005 Lulzim Basha served as special advisor for transition in the same department.
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Lulzim Basha is married to Aurela Basha, a Dutch citizen, and they have two daughters, Victoria and Dafina.
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Lulzim Basha joined the Democratic Party of Albania in January 2005 and became a member of the party's leadership in May of that year.
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Lulzim Basha has since held several ministerial positions in Democratic Party-led governments.
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Lulzim Basha was then nominated in the Berisha government as Minister of Public Works, Transport and Telecommunications, where he served for two years.
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In 2011, Lulzim Basha was the governing party's candidate for the post of mayor of Tirana.
11.
Lulzim Basha defeated the leader of the Socialist opposition, Edi Rama, by a very narrow margin in a hotly contested election.
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Lulzim Basha's main focus was the development of the new strategic urban plan, to increase investments and employment and solve the traffic problems in the city centre.
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Lulzim Basha did not run for a second mandate in the 2015 local elections, which were won by the Socialist Party candidate Erion Veliaj.
14.
On 11 December 2016, during the celebrations for the 26th anniversary of the Democratic Party, party leader Lulzim Basha announced his program for the further modernization and democratisation of the party ahead of the 2017 parliamentary elections.
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On 18 February 2017, members of the Democratic Party and other opposition parties, under the leadership of Lulzim Basha pitched a giant tent outside the Prime Minister's office in Tirana after thousands of protesters rallied to demand free elections and a technocrat government.
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On 21 March 2022, Lulzim Basha resigned as leader of the Democratic Party of Albania, making Enkelejd Alibeaj the leader of the Democratic Party of Albania.
17.
On 30 July 2023, Lulzim Basha was reelected controversially as leader of the Democratic Party.
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Lulzim Basha is a strong supporter of Albania joining the EU.
19.
In June 2017, Lulzim Basha met with President Donald Trump during a visit to the US as part of participation in White House Workforce Development week.
20.
Lulzim Basha asked for his parliamentary immunity to be lifted in order for the justice to conduct a full investigation.
21.
Lulzim Basha's immunity was lifted by parliament at the end of December 2017.