Rafaela Prifti/
In the month of September, a number of politicians of Albanian descent in the West have risen to positions of legislators and diplomats. Is it the outcome of activism from a generation who wants change? Is it a glimpse of the future? It would be premature to make any predictions now yet not too early to start thinking about what it could mean for Albanians inside and outside of Albania. I will attempt to present the issues in several parts.
Part 1
Two Albanians are elected to the Swedish parliament. Aida Birinxhiku and Adnan Dibrani joined Sweden’s parliament on September 16 following parliamentary elections, held on September 11.
This is the third mandate as Member of Parliament for Adnan Dibrani and the first one for Aida Birinxhiku.
Both Birinxhiku and Dibrani are members of the Swedish Social Democratic Party. Dibrani was 7 years old when he came to Sweden from Mitrovica in 1992. He has studied economics and has made reforming the taxation system a priority of his political career. Adnan Dibrani, a three term Congressman says that he tried especially through the Council of Europe to contribute to Kosovo.
At 23 years old, Aida Birinxhiku is a well-known name in Swedish politics. Her parents immigrated to Sweden in 1998. Aida was born there a year later. She entered politics in 2014 and ran for Congress in 2022 focusing her campaign on education issues. “Education is very important to me. I am committed to ensuring that all children, whether they are foreigners, rich or poor, have the same education conditions. It is important that every child succeeds in school, especially children who come from other countries to Sweden. Education is a way out of criminality, alienation, and poverty”, she said to Gazeta Infokus. Aida has made history by becoming the first Albanian woman who is a Member of Swedish Parliament and the youngest legislator elected in the parliament.
Arber Gashi and Aurora Pirraku Eriksson, two other Albanian candidates from Kosovo, campaigned for a seat at the Swedish Parliament for 2022 but did not get enough votes. Nevertheless, 26-year-old Albanian Arber Gashi is the chairman of the Social Democratic Party in the city of Halmstad. In another region in the northeast, Arbresha Sabani, Albanian from Struga, was a candidate of the Green Party for the parliamentary elections. Both winning candidates, Adnan Dibrani and Aida Birinxhiku are elected by and represent the district of Halland, Falkenberg, Sweden.
In the United States, on September 16, the White House nominated B. Bix Aliu as new ambassador to Montenegro. A career member of the High Foreign Service, class of Counselor, B. Bix Aliu was appointed by President Biden to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Montenegro, press release stated.
Ali has a Medical Degree from the University of Pristina, Kosovo and a Master’s Degree in Strategic Studies from the US Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
His prior assignments include serving as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Podgorica, Montenegro from 2014-2017, Public Diplomacy Officer in Tirana, Albania, US Consul General in Krakow, Poland. B. Bix Aliu returned to U.S. Embassy Warsaw to serve as the Deputy Chief of Mission in June 2019, thirteen years after he was appointed Vice-Consul and Deputy Cultural Attaché at the Embassy. Most recently he served as Charge d’Affaires, Ad Interim at the US Embassy in Budapest, Hungary.
Ali, who is a native of Chicagoland, comes from a family of immigrants. He started studying medicine at the University of Chicago and graduated from the School of Medicine in Kosovo. He is “proud of the fact that the son of an immigrant could become a diplomat.”
B. Bix Aliu began his Foreign Service career in Macedonia where he was involved in the Rambouillet Peace Accords as a member of the delegation of the U.S. Special Envoy to Kosovo.
He has received numerous State Department Awards, including seven Superior Honor Awards and six Meritorious Honor Awards.
Earlier this year, US Congress announced new nominations for Members of the Foreign Service of the Department of State to be a Consular Officer and Secretary in the Diplomatic Service of the United States of America. A new member of the Foreign Service is our colleague, Ardita Dunellari. She was a VOA journalist for two decades prior to joining diplomatic and consular services.