TIRANA, May 16 – A bust of former U.S Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will be erected in the main boulevard of Saranda in southern Albania.
The city council has backed a proposal by Saranda Mayor Floriana Koka for the display of the monument in the city’s boulevard in gratitude for Clinton’s support for the Albanian nation.
A municipality spokesperson said that the decision to erect the bust is not linked to the U.S presidential race.
The bust is a work by Albanian sculptor Idriz Balani.
The Clintons enjoy wide popularity among Albanians due to Bill Clinton’s intervention to end Slobodan Milosevic’s military campaign in Kosovo in 1999.
Several busts of American statesmen have been erected in recent years in Albania and Kosovo, while many streets have also been named after prominent U.S public figures.
Besides the bust of U.S President Woodrow Wilson in Tirana and the bust of U.S President Bill Clinton in Prishtina, a bust of President George Bush has been erected in Fushà«-Krujà« following his visit to the small town in 2007. Meanwhile, a bust of former U.S diplomat Richard Holbrooke was unveiled last year in Fier on the 239th anniversary of independence of the United States.
