TIRANA, July 24 – Ilir Meta has been sworn in as Albania’s new president at a ceremony held Monday in Tirana.
At 48, Meta becomes Albania’s youngest post-WWII president, but he has had a long career in politics, serving as prime minister at the age of 30, back in 1999, and most recently as speaker of parliament. He has also been deputy prime minister twice and held several ministerial posts in both leftist and center-right coalition governments.
After swearing an oath to uphold the country’s constitution, Meta officially took on the duties of head of state, a largely ceremonial role in Albania after constitutional changes in 2008 stripped most of the powers of the office away.
In his first speech to parliament, Meta promised to work for all Albanians, to promote reforms, to help provide balance between the ruling and opposition parties and to promote Albania in the region and beyond.
“I will always serve the spirit of consensus, dialogue, cooperation and inclusion in the interest of strengthening institutions and inter-institutional cooperation, especially in advancing vital reforms to make Albania a more democratic and secure country,” President Meta said in his speech.
He said more must be done to tackle youth unemployment, poverty and emigration.
“I am committed to work to reverse the current trend of young people and the most qualified people emigrating. We need them here to help move the country forward,” Meta said in a media interview Monday night.
He also promised to push forward a major reform of the justice system, voted through consensus in parliament.
“I will also engage as president to support the fair and transparent justice reform in the interest of strengthening the rule of law, the fight against corruption and organized crime and the improvement of the business climate, something that is indispensable to boost our economy and to create well-paid jobs for our young people,” Meta said.
Following the swearing-in ceremony and speech in parliament, a handover ceremony was held at the Office of the President campus, with outgoing President Bujar Nishani welcoming his successor.
Parliament elected Meta to the post on April 28, with 87 votes in favor and two against. The opposition Democratic Party boycotted the vote as part of its protest seeking the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama.
Meta is best known for founding in 2004 and leading since then the Socialist Movement for Integration, the only third party in Albania to get solid representation in parliament, competing and cooperating at different times with the larger Socialist and Democratic parties.
In 2009, he surprised Albanians by deciding to take his leftist force into a coalition with the center-right Democratic Party. In the 2013 elections he joined forces with the Socialists.
SMI will be in opposition in the upcoming parliament for the first time in eight years. But it will also have its largest parliamentary group ever, 19 MPs.
Although he resigned from the SMI leadership, Meta was involved in the electoral campaign, attacking his former ally, the Socialist Party of Prime Minister Rama, who won a ruling majority and kicked the SMI out of his coalition.
Meta’s rhetoric raised questions whether he can stay impartial in his new role as president, which is supposed to be a unifying figure.
Meta’s wife, Monica Kryemadhi, has been elected as the new head of the SMI. She did not participate in the swearing in ceremony as first lady, perhaps to avoid the optics of political interference, leaving the duties to her 18-year-old daughter.
