Albania revisited: Xan Smiley reports on Albania

In April 2023 Xan Smiley, Editor at Large of The Economist, visited Albania for the first time in 30 years. His previous visit was with his late father, David Smiley, one of the first two British officers in the Special Operations Executive (SOE) to serve alongside Albania’s guerrillas, including Enver Hoxha, in 1943-44. This time Xan met the Prime Minister, Edi Rama, several other ministers, leaders of the opposition, ambassadors, prominent businessmen and journalists from across the political spectrum. He spent a week in Tirana and also visited Berat.

In his talk, Xan will present his impressions of the general state of this fascinating country and its people.

This event will be livestreamed online: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83222743247?pwd=NXJWcjdVNUxyL1ZhUmN4V3haNk9NUT09

About the speaker:

Xan Smiley has previously been The Economist’s political editor and Bagehot columnist (1992-94), its Europe editor (1994-2003), when he created its Charlemagne column, and its Middle East and Africa editor (2003-14). He has also been a leader writer for The Times and a correspondent in Moscow, Washington, Baghdad and Nairobi. In the 1970s and 80s he edited and co-owned “Africa Confidential”, a specialist newsletter.