DP History
December 11th, 1990 – the Democratic Party is founded by a group of Albanian students and intellectuals who elected Azem Hajdari, a student as the Chairman of the Initiative Committee and then, the cardiologist Sali Berisha as the Chairman of the Party.
March 22nd, 1992 – The Democratic Party wins an absolute majority in early legislative elections, symbolizing the introduction of democracy and political pluralism in the country.
June 10th, 1992 – under the new democratic government, it signed the first economic and technical agreement with the United States of America after 47 years spent under Communism. During this governing mandate of the DP, thousands of small and medium-sized enterprises were privatized, prices were liberalized and the fiscal and banking systems were established, enabling the country to be practically saved from the clutches of hunger, poverty and misery.
July 29th, 1993 – The Democratic Party drafts, votes and passes in the Parliament the law on the “Status of former political persecuted” determining the legal framework and definitions on “politically convicted and persecuted”, on political “persecution” or “persecution”, including acts undertaken by the state structures that executed orders or decisions of party bodies from 8.11.1941 to 22.3.1992. Pursuant to this decision, on 4.5.1994 the democratic government started the compensation process for the suffering caused to the former political persecuted. The years of political sentencing were also validated and recognized as working years so they could be taken into account for retirement and pension effect. The financial bill awarded by the democratic government in favor of the formerly persecuted covering the period 1993-1997 was about 17.5 million euros. Subsequently, law no. 8001 of 22.9.1995 “On genocide and crimes against humanity committed in Albania during Communist rule for political, ideological and religious motives” was voted and passed, followed by another law on the purity of figures (no. 8043, 30.11 .1995) which was attacked and challenged by the Socialist Party in the Constitutional Court and was further restricted in the 1998s.
July 13th, 1995 – Albania joined the Council of Europe as a fully-fledged member after signing the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities in June of the same year. Membership in the Council of Europe was followed by the ratification on July 31st, 1996 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which also meant that Albania accepted the jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights.
July 3rd, 2005 – DP wins the majority in the legislative elections and Prof. Dr. Sali Berisha is elected Prime Minister, who would lead the country until 2013. One of the major undertaken projects of this mandate was the economy, the comprehensive reform of the framework for entrepreneurship, which for the first time in its history, enabled Albania to attract USD 1 billion in direct foreign investments in 2010, several times more than just a few years ago. The perceived improvement of the business climate in Albania, the increase in legal safety, the low and flat taxes of 10% that were introduced in 2008, the signing of trade agreements with the EU and CEFTA countries, the numerous reforms and the establishment of committed institutions for foreign and local investors brought about and accomplished a success story that doubled Albanian exports, increased wages and the well-fare of the Albanians.
April 4th, 2009 – Albania joins the North Atlantic Treaty Organization – NATO. During the ceremony of the membership protocol signing, in his remarks, Prime Minister Berisha described this achievement of the Democratic Party’s governance as a “Miracle of freedom”.
June 25th, 2009 – the Nation’s Highways is inaugurated, shortening the Prishtina-Tirana freeway distance to 265 kilometers and thus symbolizing one of the most important infrastructure investments in the history of the country and democratic governance.
December 15th, 2010 – The European Union removes the visa regime for Albanian citizens, thus enabling free movement towards the European Union, one of the major commitments undertaken by the DP regarding the Euro-Atlantic integration of Albania. This achievement took place after the signing of the Stabilization and Association Agreement in June 2006, which significantly increased European trade and investment in Albania, as well as a year after submitting the EU membership application on April 9th, 2009, transforming and putting the country at the forefront of European integration in the Balkans.
February 13th, 2013 – The Agreement between Albania, Greece and Italy to build the trans-Adriatic gas pipeline TAP is signed in Athens, representing and marking a key moment regarding the energy independence of Albania and the European continent as well. For the first time in its history, Albania would be gasified! During this governing mandate of the Democratic Party, energy sector received an extraordinary attention which was focused by completely reforming it and investing in new renewable energy sources, with ambitions for Albania’s transformation into a regional power. These exact ambitions, investments and opening of the energy production market during this period meant that in Albania, currently the production of private electricity is higher than the public one.
