Enver Hoxha

Enver Halil Hoxha (16 October 1908 – 11 April 1985) was an Albanian politician, revolutionary, and communist political theorist who was the leader of Albania from 1944 until his death in 1985. He served as the First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania from 1941 until his death, while concurrently holding membership in its Politburo, chairman of the Democratic Front of Albania, and commander-in-chief of the Albanian People's Army. Additionally, he was the twenty-second Prime Minister of Albania from 1944 to 1954, periodically assuming the titles of foreign minister and defence minister.

Hoxha was born in Gjirokastër (then part of the Ottoman Empire) in 1908. After the Italian invasion of Albania, he helped unify the fractured Albanian communist movement into the Communist Party of Albania. He was elected First Secretary in March 1943 at the age of 34. Less than two years after the liberation of the country, the monarchy of King Zog I was formally abolished, and Hoxha became the country's de facto head of state.

In 1966, he spearheaded the Cultural and Ideological Revolution, a campaign that, among other things, wished to eliminate the influence of religion on Albanian society. During his time as First Secretary, Albania saw many breakthroughs in standard of living, industry, and social development; however, over the same period he implemented a program of state atheism and ordered the anti-religious persecution of Muslims and Christians. His government outlawed traveling abroad and private proprietorship. The government imprisoned, executed, or exiled thousands of landowners, rural clan leaders, peasants who resisted collectivization, and allegedly disloyal party officials. Hoxha was succeeded by Ramiz Alia, who was in charge during the fall of communism in Albania.

Hoxha's government was characterised by a strict adherence to an anti-revisionist form of Marxism–Leninism, particularly from the mid-to-late 1960s onwards. Following the Sino-Albanian Split between 1976 and 1978, the Party of Labour of Albania formally severed ties with the Chinese Communist Party, and Hoxha declared that the nation would pursue the construction of communism independently. This ideological stance led to numerous parties around the world to declare themselves Hoxhaist. The International Conference of Marxist–Leninist Parties and Organisations (Unity & Struggle) is the best known association of these parties.