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| James Baker in Tirana in 1991 raising two fingers from both hands; the first American official to visit Albania after the fall of communism |
32 years ago in Tirana - June 22, 1991, the US Secretary of State, James Baker, was the first high-ranking American official to visit communist Albania in the early days of pluralism. This visit marked the fall of the world's harshest communist dictatorship and highlighted that the relationship between the United States and the Albanians remained alive among the Albanian people.
The visit of a Secretary of State was the first by a Western leader after the permission of pluralism in Albania, conveying the American messages from James Baker's visit with his famous statement, "Freedom Works."
Albania has been a country where Americans have provided their invaluable assistance since the founding of the Albanian state. At that time, it experienced the historic visit of a Secretary of State to Albania, since the establishment of relations with the USA.
Former Director of the Albanian section of Voice of America, Elez Biberaj, was one of the protagonists of that historic visit. He was the official interpreter for Secretary of State James Baker during the June 22, 1991 visit to Tirana. Every year, he recalls that visit by publishing photographs from Baker's visit and a part of his historic speech delivered in Skanderbeg Square.
Baker took the stage with the then-opposition leader, Sali Berisha, Foreign Minister Muhamet Kapllani, and the Chairman of the Pluralist Executive Committee of Tirana, Llambi Gegprifti, avoiding meeting Ramiz Alia and other communist leaders who were still in power, as the Party of Labour of Albania had just changed its name.
Dr. Prof. Biberaj was the official interpreter for the US State Department during Secretary of State James Baker's visit and said in Albanian:
101 years of US-Albania Relations
On July 28, 1922, President Warren Harding ordered Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes to deliver a diplomatic note to the Prime Minister for signing, establishing diplomatic relations between the United States and Albania. The note was signed by the American commissioner of minister plenipotentiary rank, Maxwell Blake, who delivered it on the same day to the 10th Prime Minister of the Albanian state, Xhafer Ypi, who also held the position of Foreign Minister at the time. (taken from Ilir Ikonomi's book - "Occupation, the American Minister in Tirana, Hugh Grant, recounts the Albanian April 7th" (UET Press, 2012).
The decision to establish diplomatic relations with the United States of America came naturally only three years after President Thomas Woodrow Wilson vetoed at the Paris Peace Conference, restoring Albania's independence.
The first Ambassador of the United States of America in Tirana was Ulysses Grant Smith, who started his diplomatic mission on December 4, 1922.
He was not just a diplomat who laid the first stone on a long path of diplomatic relations, but also the first to enlighten the American government about what Albania was, who the Albanians were, and how America could help Albania at that time.
Until 1939, Albania was a favored nation for the United States, with dozens of Americans pouring into our country, not only as diplomats but also as businessmen, school founders, and even expeditions to discover our underground wealth.
This continued until 1939 when Albania lost its independence after the country was occupied by Italy and King Zog was forced into exile.
The American Embassy in Tirana was officially closed on September 16, 1939, and diplomat Grant left on September 27. With the arrival of the communists in power, for 52 years, no American or Albanian diplomat set foot in Albania or the United States.
Translate to English: In 1946, Enver Hoxha declared America as the number one enemy of the Albanian people, and the United States was referred to as American imperialism, while the American state was called the world's gendarme.
On March 15, 1991, these relations were restored, and Ambassador William Ryerson became the first American ambassador after the reestablishment of these relations.
Just three months after the reopening of the embassy on June 21, 1991, it was Secretary of State James Baker who would visit Tirana. Thousands of Albanians filled Skanderbeg Square, welcoming him with a grand reception etched in everyone's memory.
After the fall of the communist regime and the visit of former Secretary of State James Baker, almost all US Secretaries of State have officially visited Tirana, except for Warren Christopher and current Secretary Anthony Blinken.
In the 101 years of US-Albania relations, the historic visit is that of US President George W. Bush to Tirana on June 10, 2007, where he met and held a press conference with former Prime Minister Sali Berisha, making a statement that solidified the independence of Kosovo.
The unwavering support of the United States of America for an independent and sovereign Kosovo has been steadfast. This was reiterated by President George W. Bush during his visit to Albania in 2007, in his meeting with the then-Prime Minister, Sali Berisha.
Bush declared that the people of Kosovo, him, deserved strong and decisive support for their independence from the United States.
Meanwhile, during their joint press conference, questions were raised about the possibility of delays in declaring Kosovo an independent state. Bush mentioned ongoing discussions with Russian and EU diplomats regarding certain disagreements, but he stated that if a common language cannot be reached, "Enough is enough, and Kosovo is an independent state."