{{Short description|Albanian statesman, politician, and military commander (1908–2001)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}} {{Distinguish|Spiro Jorgo Koleka}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Spiro Koleka | image = Spiro Koleka (portret).jpeg | office = Minister of Industry and Construction | term_start = 24 July 1953 | term_end = 23 July 1954 | prime_minister = Enver Hoxha | predecessor = Adil Çarçani | successor = Xhafer Spahiu | office1 = Minister of Communications | term_start1 = October 1948 | term_end1 = ? | prime_minister1 = Enver Hoxha {{Collapsed infobox section begin|Other positions}} | office2 = Deputy Prime Minister of Albania | term_start2 = 1 November 1968 | term_end2 = 13 November 1976 | alongside2 = Beqir Balluku, Haki Toska, Adil Çarçani, Xhafer Spahiu, Abdyl Këllezi, and Petro Dode | prime_minister2 = Mehmet Shehu | term_start3 = 4 July 1956 | term_end3 = 18 March 1966 | alongside3 = Beqir Balluku, Manush Myftiu, and Gogo Nushi | prime_minister3 = Mehmet Shehu | term_start4 = 1 November 1949 | term_end4 = 24 September 1953 | alongside4 = Mehmet Shehu, Tuk Jakova, Hysni Kapo, Spiro Pano, Manush Myftiu, Gogo Nushi, and Bedri Spahiu | prime_minister4 = Enver Hoxha | office5 = Chairman of the State Planning Commission | term_start5 = 18 March 1966 | term_end5 = 1 March 1968 | term_start6 = 23 July 1954 | term_end6 = 21 June 1958 | term_start7 = 1 November 1949 | term_end7 = 5 July 1950 {{Collapsed infobox section end}} | birth_date = {{birth date|1908|07|07|df=yes}} | birth_place = Vuno, Janina Vilayet, Ottoman Empire (now Albania) | death_date = {{death date and age|2001|8|22|1908|07|07|df=yes}} | death_place = Tirana, Albania | party = Party of Labour of Albania | alma_mater = University of Pisa | spouse = Lica Koleka | relatives = Edi Rama (maternal-line descendant through Kolekas grandniece Aneta Koleka), Spiro Jorgo Koleka (Cousin) | signature = Spiro Koleka (nënshkrim).svg | footnotes = {{collapsible list | titlestyle = background-color:#FCF;text-align:center; | title = Central institution membership | bullets = on | 1948–1981: Full member, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th Politburo | 1944–1990: Member, People's Assembly of Albania }} }} '''Spiro Koleka''' (7 July 1908 – 22 August 2001) was an important Albanian statesman, communist politician and a high-ranking military officer during World War II. He was a civil engineer by profession. Spiro Koleka served as a parliament member in all legislatures from 1944 until 1990.<ref name="Ligjvenesit Shqiptare">{{cite news|title=Ligjvenesit Shqiptare|url=http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ligjvenesit_Shqiptare.pdf|accessdate=6 May 2012}}</ref> Koleka was a member of the Politburo of the Party of Labor of Albania during the years 1948 to 1981. As part of his political career he also served as Chairman of the State Planning Commission, Minister of Industry and Construction of Albania, as well as Vice Prime Minister.
== Ethnicity == British academics James Pettifer and Miranda Vickers say that Spiro Koleka was wholly or partly Greek, coming from the village of Himarë, which is predominantly ethnic Greek,<ref>{{cite book|last=Pettifer| first= James | title=The South Slav Journal|volume=22-23|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uhtpAAAAMAAJ|year=2001|publisher=Dositey Obradovich Circle|quote=Some important Albanian communist leaders were wholly or partly Greek, like long-serving Politburo member Spiro Koleka, who came from the predominantly ethnic Greek town of Himara.}}</ref><ref name="VickersPettifer1997">{{cite book|author1=Miranda Vickers|author2=James Pettifer|title=Albania: From Anarchy to a Balkan Identity|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9IbgsDdeVxsC&pg=PA189|year=1997|publisher=C. Hurst & Co. Publishers|isbn=978-1-85065-279-3|pages=189–|quote=Greek minority ... Hoxha ... few favoured members of the minority ... Spiro Koleka}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Pettifer |first= James|title=The Southeastern European Yearbook|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WdsxAQAAIAAJ|year=1994|publisher=ELIAMEP|quote=But there has always been a Greek presence in Albania, despite this general trend. ... integrated into the communist system in Albania, with one member of the minority, Spiro Koleka, a native of Himara, being a close associate of Enver Hoxha ...}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Pettifer |first1=James |title=The Politics of National Minority Participation in Post-communist Societies: State-building, Democracy and Ethnic Mobilization: State-building, Democracy and Ethnic Mobilization |date=23 July 2019 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-45529-5 |page=42 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iHClDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT203 |language=en |quote=Some important Albanian communist leaders were wholly or pardy Greek, like long-serving Politburo member Spiro Koleka}}</ref> which would make him one of the few members of the Greek minority serving in the Socialist People's Republic of Albania political system.<ref name="PettiferPoulton1994">{{cite book|author1=James Pettifer|author2=Hugh Poulton|title=The Southern Balkans|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4Fy2AAAAIAAJ|year=1994|publisher=Minority Rights Group|isbn=978-1-897693-75-9|quote="some Greeks rose to high positions under the one party state, with an ethnic Greek, Spiro Koleka, from the minority southern village of Himarë}}</ref> Spiro Koleka's family was from the village of Vuno, and his clan has had a patriotic Albanian background. In particular, a member of the Koleka clan was Spiro Jorgo Koleka (1879 or 1880–1940),<ref>Kondo, Anastas (31 August 2001). "[http://i.imgur.com/gz1Srfm.jpg U nda nga jeta ish anëtari I shtabit të përgjithshëm të ushtrisë NÇL, shoku Spiro Koleka]. [A former member of the Army General Staff of the National Liberation Front passed away, our friend Spiro Koleka]". Kushtrim Brezash. Retrieved 8 August 2015. "Lindi në një familje me tradita të zjarrta patriotike. Një tjetër Spiro Koleka I fisit të tij, qe ministër i qeverisë së Tiranës më 1920, dhe një nga organizatorët e Luftës së Vlorës, që e hodhi Italinë në det. [Born into a family of an ardent patriotic tradition. Another Spiro Koleka of his clan, that was a Tirana government minister in 1920, and one of the organizers of the War of Vlora, who threw the Italians into the sea.]</ref> a leader of the Albanian national movement and later interwar government minister.<ref name=Meta>Meta, Beqir (2008). "Ballafaqimi shqiptaro-grek për Himarën (1920–1924) [Greek-Albanian confrontation in Himara (1920–1924)]." ''Studime Historike''. 1-2: 43: "Pas mbarimit të Luftës I Botërore lëvizja atdhetare shqiptare në Himarë u rigjallërua. Një vend të veçantë luajti Spiro Gogo Koleka, i cili ndihmoi për mbledhjen e Kongresit të Lushnjës dhe zbatimin e vendimeve të tij. Ai bashkë me patriotë të tjerë ishte nënshkruesi i mjaft dokumenteve dërguar përfaqësuesve të Fuqive të Mëdha në Konferencën e Paqes, në të cilat kundërshtohej çdo përpjekje për aneksimin e Vlorës dhe Himarës1. Në maj të vitit 1920 Spiro G. Koleka u caktua anëtar i qeverisë kombëtare. Ai më vonë u bë njëri nga organizatorët e Luftës së Vlorës kundër italianëve, në të cilën morën pjesë edhe himarjotë të tjerë." "[After the end of World War I, the Albanian patriotic movement in Himarë was revived. A special place Spiro Gogo Koleka played, who assisted at the gathering of the Congress of Lushnja and implementation of its decisions. He and other patriots were signatory to many documents sent to the representatives of the Great Powers during the Peace Conference, that opposed any attempt to annex Vlora and Himarë. In May 1920 Spiro G. Koleka was appointed member of the national government. He later became one of the organizers of the Vlora War against the Italians, where other Himariots participated.]"</ref>
Edi Rama, a maternal descendant of the Koleka family, has said that the family originates from Mirdita, and that the surname was derived from an ancestor named ''Kol Leka''.<ref name="Spie">{{cite news|title=Rama: 23 qershori s'është ndeshje futbolli, me votën luani me jetën tuaj|url=http://www.lajmi.info/rama-23-qershori-seshte-ndeshje-futbolli-me-voten-luani-me-jeten-tuaj/%7Cpublisher=Lajmi%7C|quote=Po të jetë puna kështu, stërgjyshërit e mamasë time kanë zbritur nga Mirdita. E keni dëgjuar Koleka, Koleka, ka qenë Kol Leka.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Një biografi e shkurtër/ Kush ishte Aneta Koleka Rama|date=August 2020|url=https://www.syri.net/politike/358392/nje-biografi-e-shkurter-kush-ishte-aneta-koleka-rama/|quote=Vetë Edi Rama në një nga intervistat e tij kur ka folur për familjen e nënës, ka thënë se Kolekat e Vunoit po të kthehesh në origjinë disa shekuj më parë, rezultojnë nga krahina e Miriditës dhe se mbiemri rrjedh nga një paraardhës, Kol Leka.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-06-05 |title=Edi Rama tregon për origjinën e tij familjare |url=https://telegrafi.com/edi-rama-tregon-per-origjinen-e-tij-familjare/ |access-date=2024-04-02 |website=Telegrafi |language=sq}}</ref>
== Life and career == Koleka was born in the village of Vuno. After completing his secondary education in the Italo–Albanian college of San Demetrio Corone (Collegio of Sant'Adriano), in the Italian province of Cosenza, Spiro Koleka continued his higher education at the University of Pisa (1930–1934) where he graduated as a civil engineer.<ref name="Background Notes to Albania's Party Congress">{{cite web|author=J. F. Brown|title=Background Notes to Albania's Party Congress|year=1961|url=http://www.osaarchivum.org/files/holdings/300/8/3/text/1-6-145.shtml|access-date=8 May 2012|pages=46–47|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120601152926/http://www.osaarchivum.org/files/holdings/300/8/3/text/1-6-145.shtml|archive-date=1 June 2012}}</ref> After his return to Albania, he was involved in anti-Zogist and anti-Italian activities;<ref name="PrestonPartridge1999">{{cite book|author1=Paul Preston|author2=Michael Partridge|author3=Denis Smyth|title=British documents on foreign affairs: reports and papers from the Foreign Office confidential print. From 1945 through 1950. Europe / editor, Denis Smyth|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hm2QAAAAMAAJ|year=1999|publisher=University Publications of America|isbn=978-1-55655-769-9|page=449|quote=Koleka, Spiro Born 1908 near Himara. Member of small family of landowners. Son of King Zog's Minister of Public Works. Educated at Cosenza. in Italy, and at Pisa University as a civil engineer. On his return to Albania he took part in anti-Zogist and anti-Italian activities. On the Italian occupation he escaped to Yugoslavia. He returned in December 1939, and in 1941 got in touch with resistance movement. The Labinot Conference (1943) elected him a member of the F.N.C. General Council and of the General Staff. In May 1944. at the Pennet Conference, he was placed in charge of Public Works and in October became Minister of Public Works in the first Hoxha Government. Minister of Communications from October 1948. and president of the State Planning Commission from November 1948. A member of the Politburo. Visited Moscow with the Trade Delegation 1949. Deputy Prime Minister November 1949. Said to be a good organiser.}}</ref> in 1935 he participated in the Fier rebellion against King Zog and shortly after found himself arrested by the authorities.<ref name="Background Notes to Albania's Party Congress" />
During 1937–39 Spiro Koleka travelled extensively in Italy while taking an active part in the resistance against the Italian occupation of Albania.<ref name="Background Notes to Albania's Party Congress" /> Upon the Italian occupation (7 April 1939) he fled to Yugoslavia, but returned to Albania in December 1939.<ref name="PrestonPartridge1999" /> During 1940–41 he began cooperating with the communist resistance underground while at the same time co-founding and running the Mani and Koleka Engineering Company.<ref name="Background Notes to Albania's Party Congress" /> Koleka was elected as a member of the General Council and of the General Staff of the Communist Party of Albania at the Labinot Conference (1943).<ref name="PrestonPartridge1999" /> In May 1944, he was appointed Minister of Public Works at the Pennet Conference, officially in October as part of the first of Hoxha's governments.<ref name="PrestonPartridge1999" />
In October 1948 he became Minister of Communications, and then also President of the State Planning Commission in November 1948.<ref name="PrestonPartridge1999" /> He was a member of the Politburo.<ref name="PrestonPartridge1999" /> Koleka was part of the Trade Delegation's visit to Moscow in 1949.<ref name="PrestonPartridge1999" /> In November 1949 he became Deputy Prime Minister.<ref name="PrestonPartridge1999" /> In the capacity of Deputy Prime Minister, Koleka presented in 1952 the very first Five-Year Plan for the economy.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://dlib.eastview.com/browse/doc/14110734 |title=Albania's first five-year plan, S.Koleka, 1952 |newspaper=Current Digest of the Post-Soviet Press |publisher=Dlib.eastview.com |date= 5 July 1952|accessdate=24 December 2013|last1=Koleka |first1=Spiro }}</ref>
Koleka was often accused by various members of the Greek minority for its role in the forced dislocation of their compatriots.<ref name=Dimitropoulos>{{cite thesis|last1=Dimitropoulos|first1=Kontsantinos-Fotios|title=The Social and Political Structure of Hellenism in Albania in the Post-Hotza Era|website=www.didaktorika.gr|date=2011|pages=210–211|doi=10.12681/eadd/23044|url=http://www.didaktorika.gr/eadd/handle/10442/23044?locale=en|accessdate=29 June 2015|publisher=Panteion University|hdl=10442/hedi/23044|type=Doctoral Dissertation|hdl-access=free}} " Οι Βόρειοι Υπεριώτες πρόσφυγες της Ελλάδας, συχνά κατηγορούν συμπατριώτες τους ως υπαίτιους για τους εκτοπισμούς. Ο Γιώργος (Γκόγκος) Νούσης από τον Βουνό της Χημιάρς και ο επίσης Χιμαραίος Σπύρος Κολέκας, κατηγορούνται την εμπλοκή τους σε πολλές αποφάσεις εκτοπισμών, συμπατριωτών τους. Οι εξόριστοι γράφονται στα δημοτολόγια τον νέων τόπων όπου υποχρεούνται να διαμείνουν, ως αυτόχθονες Αλβανοί, τους επιβάλλεται η απαγόρευση της ομιλίας στην ηθική τους γλώσσα κ.α. [The Northern Epiriot refugees in Greece, often accuse their compatriots as perpetrators of the deportations. George (Gogo) Nushi from Vuno in Himara and also Himariot Spiro Koleka are accused in their involvement in many decisions displacements, of their compatriots. The exiles written to the registries of new sites where required to reside as indigenous Albanians, while a ban was imposed on speaking the language etc.]"</ref>
In 1966, he was again appointed chairman of the State Planning Commission.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Economist|volume=220|issue=3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x8O7AAAAIAAJ|year=1966|publisher=Economist Newspaper Limited|page=906}}</ref>
Koleka's background and experience as a technocrat allowed him to lead numerous economic and political delegations of the time to many East European countries, including the Soviet Union.<ref name="High-Level Albanian Economic Delegation to Peking">{{cite news|title=High-Level Albanian Economic Delegation to Peking, RADIO FREE EUROPE Research, 1967|url=http://www.osaarchivum.org/files/holdings/300/8/3/text/123-3-321.shtml|accessdate=7 May 2012}}</ref> Moreover, he was reported by the national and international press to be the chief architect of Albanian industrial development which was the backbone of the program of the Albanian Workers' Party after the Second World War.<ref name="High-Level Albanian Economic Delegation to Peking" />
== Awards == * Albanian Medal of Freedom, First Class<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.qbz.gov.al/doc.jsp?doc=docs/Dekret%20Nr%202703%20Dat%C3%AB%2005-07-1958.htm|title=DEKRET PËR AKORDIM DEKORATE, PRESIDIUMI I KUVENDIT POPULLOR, 1958}}</ref> * Yugoslav Partisan Star<ref>{{cite web|url=http://osaarchivum.org/files/holdings/300/8/3/text/1-6-145.shtml|title=Background Notes to Albania's Party Congress, 1958|publisher=RFE EVALUATION AND ANALYSIS DEPARTMENT|author=J.F. Brown|access-date=9 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208213648/http://osaarchivum.org/files/holdings/300/8/3/text/1-6-145.shtml|archive-date=8 December 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist}}
{{Politburo of the Party of Labour of Albania}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Koleka, Spiro}} Category:1908 births Category:2001 deaths Category:People from Himarë Category:Party of Labour of Albania politicians Category:Members of the Politburo of the Party of Labour of Albania Category:Members of the Parliament of Albania Category:Government ministers of Albania Category:Deputy prime ministers of Albania Category:Industry and mines ministers of Albania Category:Public works ministers of Albania Category:State auditors of Albania Category:Albanian engineers Category:20th-century engineers