[albanur]

Edi Rama, the chairman of the Socialist Party of Albania

Edi Rama (born July 4, 1964) is an Albanian artist who is the chairman of the Socialist Party of Albania, current Mayor of Tirana, president of the Albanian Association of Mayors, and has served as Minister of Culture of Albania. He won the 2004 World Mayor Award and was included in Time Magazine's 2005 European Heroes list. Edi Rama has been Mayor of Tirana since 2000, currently in his 3rd term.


Political career
In 1992, Edi Rama co-authored a book called "Refleksione" (Reflections) with his long-time friend Ardian Klosi, offering insights into emigration, economics, and the future of Albania. He is a founding member of the Movement for Democracy, a political group that played an important role during the 1997 rebellion sparked by Ponzi scheme failures. Rama's articles and analysis have appeared in several newspapers and magazines such as the Albanian magazine, Klan Magazine, and Albanian newspapers such as Shekulli and Koha Jonë, as well as in the New York Times, The Guardian, Panorama, Frankfurter Allhemeine Zeitung, and The Independent. He is a former Board Member of the Open Society Foundation, Albania, a non-profit foundation that promotes democracy and open market reforms established and financed by financier and philanthropist George Soros. Currently he is a member of the Regional Advisory Board of the United Nations Development Program.


Rama has been an instructor of Arts in the AlbanianAcademy of Arts. He served as Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports from 1998 to 2000. In October 2000, he entered and won the race for the mayor of Tirana against the rival candidate Besnik Mustafaj.


In October 2002, on the occasion of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, Mayor Edi Rama was presented with an award for his work on environmental issues that have contributed to the fight against poverty. The award was delivered at the United Nations Headquarters, New York, by Secretary-General Kofi Annan.


In February 2003, Rama was chosen to serve as the Year 2002/2003 Robert C. Wood Visiting Professor of Public and Urban Affairs at the University of Massachusetts Boston and HarvardUniversity.


On October 12, 2003 Rama was the winner for the mayoral seat of Tirana, gathering 61% of votes from the reporting of 283 out of 346 voting places. At the same time, Edi Rama joined the Socialist Party of Albania.


In December 2004, Rama was named the World Mayor 2004, in an international competition that took place over one year, based on direct voting by internet, organized by the non-commercial organization CITYMAYORS, located in London. He was followed by Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Mayor of Mexico City, in second place, and Walter Veltroni, Mayor of Rome, in third place.


He became chairman of the Socialist Party of Albania on October 9, 2005, after its previous leader, Fatos Nano was defeated. On the same year, Rama was chosen by Time Magazine to be one of the 2005 European Heroes, a tribute to 37 people who are changing the world for the better.


He ran for Mayor of Tirana for a third time in February 18, 2007 elections and won against Democratic Party candidate Sokol Olldashi.


Impact on Tirana
The most noted impact of Rama has been the many demolitions in the city since he took over. In an attempt to widen roads, he has singlehandedly authorized the bulldozing of private properties so that they can be paved over, thus widening streets. He has been accused of corruption and mismanagement of funds by the opposition. Rama's Return to Identity project rid the city of many illegally constructed buildings and kiosks on municipal lands such as local parks and the banks of the Lana. His Clean and Green project in 2000 resulted in the production of 96,700 square metres of green land and parks in the city and the planting of nearly 1,800 trees. He also ordered the painting of many old buildings in what has come to be known as Edi Rama colours (very bright yellow, green, violet). Rama's critics claim that he is focusing too much attention on cosmetic changes without fixing any of the major problems such as shortages of drinking water and electricity.


Rama, a former artist, had this to say about his work as mayor: "It's the most exciting job in the world, because I get to invent and to fight for good causes everyday. Being the mayor of Tirana is the highest form of conceptual art. It's art in a pure state."


Life as a Painter
Rama is also author of several personal painting exhibitions in Europe, North and South America, and other. Personal exhibitions include Janos Gallery, New York (1993), Place de Mediatheque, France (1995), Palais Jalta, Frankfurt, (1997), Acud, Berlin, (1993), Sao Paolo, Brazil (1994) and National Gallery, Albania (1992) and Gallery XXI, Albania (1999). He is no longer active as an artist.