Rexhep Meidani

Rexhep Meidani
3rd President of Albania
	In office July 24, 1997 – July 24, 2002
Preceded by	Sali Berisha
Succeeded by	Alfred Moisiu
Personal details
Born	17 August 1944 (age 70) Tirana, Albania
Nationality	Albanian
Political party	Socialist Party
Spouse(s)	Lidra Meidani
Alma mater	University of Tirana

Rexhep Meidani was born on August 17, 1944, in Tirana. Initially Meidani has been very successful as a pedagogue, then as a Department head and later as the Dean of the Natural Sciences Faculty in 1996. Throughout all that period, he published a great number of studies, books and articles in Albania and abroad. Rexhep Meidani has earned and holds the scientific title of Professor Doctor. Studies

Biography

Rexhep Meidani served as the Head of the Central Elections’ Commission in 1991, at the time of the very first multi political parties’ elections and then he was appointed a member of the Presidential Council during the same year. From 1992 to 1996, he was involved in the ranks of civil society serving as the Chairman of the Board of the Albanian Center for Human Rights from 1994 to 1996. In 1996, he became a member of the Socialist Party and was elected to the position of Secretary General. In 1997, he was elected as a Parliamentary Member to the Albanian Assembly by the early elections held in 1997. After those elections that were won by the left coalition led by the Socialist Party, Rexhep Meidani, proposed by the Socialist Party, was elected by the Albanian Assembly to the office of the President of Republic.

Education

He earned a Physics Degree in 1966 from the Faculty of Natural Sciences of Tirana University and then successfully completed his post-graduate studies in 1974 at Cannes University, in France.