Albania mourns Sokol Olldashi, lawmaker, senior politician who died in car crash

A courageous political challenger, Sokol Olldashi had risen to the top of Albania’s political life at an early age, being elected four times to parliament and having served as cabinet minister in two governments
TIRANA, Nov. 21 – Albanian lawmaker Sokol Olldashi, a former cabinet minister and one of the most senior figures of Albania’s main opposition Democratic Party, died late Wednesday in a car crash south of the capital.
The government declared Thursday a day of national mourning in honor of the late lawmaker and parliament postponed its regularity-scheduled session to host the memorial service. His funeral was held Thursday afternoon with the presence of Albania’s top political and civic leaders.
Olldashi, 41, was a member of Albania’s current parliament and had served as transport and interior minister in two previous governments under former Prime Minister Sali Berisha. He had been elected to parliament four times.
Olldashi rose quickly through political ranks in the early 2000s, entering politics after a career as a journalist. A courageous political challenger who took political risks against odds, Olldashi unsuccessfully ran for mayor of Tirana in 2007 and lost an internal party vote to become head of the Democratic Party earlier this year.
The deadly crash happened on the Elbasan-Tirana highway, and it appeared to be a single-vehicle accident. Police said Olldashi’s vehicle left the road and fell into a ravine, rolling several times. Weather may have been a factor as the entire Tirana area had been under heavy rainfall for several hours at the time of the crash.
He leaves behind his wife and two young sons and his mother. Olldashi’s family had been a target of prosecution under the communist regime.