Mehmet Shehu
Mehmet Ismail Shehu (January 10, 1913 – December 18, 1981) was an Albanian communist politician who served as the 23rd Prime Minister of Albania from 1954 to 1981.
Mehmet Shehu | |
|---|---|
Official portrait, c. 1950s | |
| 23rd Prime Minister of Albania | |
| In office 20 July 1954 – 18 December 1981 | |
| Leader | Enver Hoxha (First Secretary) |
| Preceded by | Enver Hoxha |
| Succeeded by | Adil Çarçani |
| Minister of Internal Affairs | |
| In office 23 November 1948 – 23 July 1954 | |
| Prime Minister | Enver Hoxha |
| Preceded by | Nesti Kerenxhi |
| Succeeded by | Kadri Hazbiu |
| Minister of People's Defence | |
| In office 28 October 1974 – 18 December 1981 | |
| Prime Minister | Himself Adil Çarçani |
| Preceded by | Beqir Balluku |
| Succeeded by | Kadri Hazbiu |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 10, 1913 Çorrush, Fier County, Albania |
| Died | December 18, 1981 (aged 68) Tirana, Albania |
| Manner of death | Suicide, Assassination (allegedly) |
| Political party | Party of Labour of Albania |
| Spouse | Fiqrete Sanxhaktari |
| Signature | |
| Military service | |
| Battles/wars | World War II: |
In 1938, he joined the International Brigades in Spain and fought as an officer in the 4th Battalion of the Italian Garibaldi Brigade. A member of the Spanish Communist Party, he moved to France after Franco's victory and was interned there from 1939 to 1942. He was handed over by the Vichy government to the fascists who sent him to Tirana. He left the company of his escort and joined the maquis and the Albanian Communist Party. Commander of the 1st Brigade of the National Liberation Army since 1943, Mehmet Shehu took part in the Battle of Gjorm on January 1, Liberation of Tepelena on September 10 and liberation of Tirana on November 8, 1944.
As an acknowledged military tactician, without whose leadership the communist partisans may well have failed in their battle to win Albania for the Marxist-Leninist cause, Shehu exhibited an ideological understanding and work ethic that singled him out for rapid promotion in the communist party.
Mehmet Shehu shared power with Enver Hoxha from the end of the Second World War. According to official Albanian government sources, he killed himself on December 18, 1981, after which his family was arrested. Persistent rumors remain, however, that Shehu was actually murdered on orders from Hoxha.