Sandër Lleshaj

Sandër Lleshaj
Minister of Internal Affairs
In office
16 November 2018 – 10 December 2020
PresidentIlir Meta
Prime MinisterEdi Rama
Preceded byFatmir Xhafaj
Succeeded byBledar Çuçi
Personal details
Born (1963-01-25) 25 January 1963
Selitë, Mirditë, Albania
SpouseVioleta Lleshaj
Children2
Alma materSkanderbeg Military Academy
University of Tirana
OccupationFormer military officer, politician
ProfessionMilitary officer
Signature
Military service
Branch/serviceAlbanian Armed Forces
RankBrigadier general

Sandër Lleshaj (born 25 January 1963) is an Albanian former military officer and politician who served as Minister of Internal Affairs from 2018 to 2020 in the second government of Prime Minister Edi Rama. Before entering government, he served in senior positions in the Albanian Armed Forces, including as Deputy Chief of the General Staff.

Lleshaj was appointed interior minister in November 2018 after the resignation of Fatmir Xhafaj. His appointment was initially contested after President Ilir Meta refused to decree him as minister, but he was later approved and sworn in. He resigned on 10 December 2020 amid nationwide protests over the murder of Klodian Rasha, a 25-year-old man shot dead by a police officer during a COVID-19 curfew in Tirana.[1][2]

Early life and education

Lleshaj was born in Selitë, Mirditë, Albania, on 25 January 1963. He spent his childhood in his hometown until the age of 14.[3]

He began his military education in 1978, attending the Skanderbeg Military High School and later the Military Academy in Tirana, from which he graduated in 1985.[4] He later completed military and security studies in Germany, Austria and the United States, including courses at the Management Academy in Hamburg, the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California.[4]

Military career

Lleshaj served for several decades in the Albanian Armed Forces. From 1996 to 2000, he was commander of courses at the Defence Academy in Tirana, and from 2000 to 2003 he served as commander of the Skanderbeg Military Academy.[4] From 2003 to 2006, he served as Albania's defence attaché in Germany, also covering the Czech Republic and Hungary as a non-resident attaché.[4]

In 2006, he was appointed commander of the Doctrine and Training Command. In 2009, he received the rank of brigadier general, and in 2010 he was appointed Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Albania.[4]

Before becoming interior minister, Lleshaj also served as a national security adviser to Prime Minister Edi Rama.[5]

Minister of Internal Affairs

Appointment dispute

In October 2018, Interior Minister Fatmir Xhafaj resigned. Prime Minister Edi Rama proposed Lleshaj, then his national security adviser and a former army general, as Xhafaj's replacement.[6]

President Ilir Meta initially refused to decree Lleshaj as interior minister. Meta's office stated that the president had not formed full confidence in Lleshaj as a candidate for the post.[7] The refusal generated a constitutional dispute between the presidency and the government over the president's role in appointing ministers in Albania's parliamentary system.[8]

During the dispute, Rama appointed Lleshaj deputy minister of internal affairs and assigned him effective leadership of the ministry while awaiting a decree.[9] After a second proposal by Rama, Meta decreed Lleshaj as minister, and Parliament approved the decree. Lleshaj was sworn in on 23 November 2018.[10]

Tenure

As Minister of Internal Affairs, Lleshaj was responsible for the Albanian State Police, border security, public order, civil status administration and internal security policy. His term coincided with a period of political polarization, opposition protests, the aftermath of Albania's 2019 earthquake, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2019, Lleshaj's ministry oversaw policing during the 2019 Albanian opposition protests, when opposition supporters organized repeated demonstrations demanding Rama's resignation and early elections. Several of the protests involved clashes with police, use of tear gas and water cannon, and accusations from the opposition of excessive force.[11]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Albanian police were involved in enforcing public-health restrictions, including limits on movement and nightly curfews. These restrictions later became central to public debate after the killing of Klodian Rasha by police during curfew hours in December 2020.[12]

Resignation after the murder of Klodian Rasha

On 8 December 2020, 25-year-old Klodian Rasha was shot dead by a police officer in the Laprakë area of Tirana during a nightly COVID-19 curfew. Police initially said that Rasha had failed to obey an order to stop and had carried a weapon, but later said that he had been holding an object and not a weapon.[12] The killing led to public anger and protests in Tirana and other cities.

On 9 December, hundreds of protesters gathered in Tirana and demanded justice for Rasha and Lleshaj's resignation. Reuters reported that protesters threw objects at the Interior Ministry and set Christmas decorations on fire while police used tear gas to disperse the crowd. Two police officers and a journalist were reported slightly injured during the clashes.[12]

On 10 December 2020, Lleshaj submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Edi Rama. Rama announced that he had accepted it.[1] In his resignation statement, Lleshaj said that he was stepping down "as a human being and as a parent" who shared the pain of Rasha's family.[2] He also expressed confidence that the responsible legal bodies would complete the investigation into the killing.[1]

Lleshaj's resignation did not immediately end the protests. Demonstrators continued to gather for several days, demanding wider police accountability, the dismissal of police leaders and the resignation of Rama. Police used tear gas and water cannon during some demonstrations, while protesters threw stones, firecrackers and other objects.[13][14]

On 16 December 2020, Rama announced Bledar Çuçi as Lleshaj's successor as Minister of Internal Affairs.[15] Çuçi was sworn in two days later.[16]

Personal life

Lleshaj is married to Violeta Lleshaj, a professor of education. They have two children.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Albania's interior minister resigns over fatal police shooting". Euronews. 9 December 2020. Retrieved 28 June 2026.
  2. 1 2 "Albania: New protest over police shooting, minister resigns". Associated Press. 10 December 2020. Retrieved 28 June 2026.
  3. ↑ "Profil i paautorizuar i Sandër Lleshit, nga gjeneral në ministër". Panorama (in Albanian). Retrieved 28 June 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Sandër Lleshaj: Minister of Interior of the Republic of Albania" (PDF). Migration, Asylum, Refugees Regional Initiative. 4 December 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2026.
  5. ↑ "Sander Lleshaj: Minister of Interior, Albania". Albania Global FDI Reports. Retrieved 28 June 2026.
  6. ↑ "Albania's interior minister Xhafaj resigns". Reuters. 27 October 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2026.
  7. ↑ "Meta refused to decree Sander Lleshi as Interior Minister". Top Channel. 3 November 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2026.
  8. ↑ "Prime Minister Edi Rama addresses parliament on President's refusal to appoint Sandër Lleshaj". Prime Minister's Office of Albania. Retrieved 28 June 2026.
  9. ↑ "With Lleshaj, Rama Repeats Nomination of "Temporary" General Prosecutor Marku". Exit News. 7 November 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2026.
  10. ↑ "Sandër Lleshi is sworn in as Minister of the Interior". Hashtag.al. 23 November 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2026.
  11. ↑ "Opposition rallies again to get Albanian PM to quit". Reuters. 9 June 2019. Retrieved 28 June 2026.
  12. 1 2 3 "Albanians protest after police shot dead a man for violating coronavirus curfew". Reuters. 9 December 2020. Retrieved 28 June 2026.
  13. ↑ "Albanian interior minister resigns over police killing". RTÉ News. Reuters. 11 December 2020. Retrieved 28 June 2026.
  14. ↑ "Human rights envoy criticizes Albania's handling of protests". Associated Press. 16 December 2020. Retrieved 28 June 2026.
  15. ↑ "PM Edi Rama appoints Bledi Çuçi as new Minister of Interior". Euronews Albania. 16 December 2020. Retrieved 28 June 2026.
  16. ↑ "Albania Has Officially Two New Ministers". Albanian Daily News. 18 December 2020. Retrieved 28 June 2026.
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