Mimi Kodheli

Mimi Kodheli (born 11 September 1964) is an Albanian economist and politician who served as Minister of Defense of Albania in the government of Prime Minister Edi Rama. She was the first woman to be appointed to the post.[1]

Mimi Kodheli
Minister of Defence
In office
15 September 2013 – 11 September 2017
PresidentBujar Nishani
Ilir Meta
Prime MinisterEdi Rama
Preceded byArben Imami
Succeeded byOlta Xhaçka
Member of Parliament
Assumed office
2009
Prime MinisterEdi Rama
Sali Berisha
Prefect of the County of Tirana
In office
2005–2009
Deputy Mayor of Tirana
In office
2002–2005
Personal details
Born (1964-09-11) 11 September 1964
NationalityAlbanian
Political partySocialist Party of Albania
Spouse(s)Leka Kodheli
ChildrenMikel Kodheli
Alma materUniversity of Tirana
University of Nebraska–Lincoln, United States (MPA)[lower-alpha 1]
University of Verona, Italy (Ph.D.)
Signature

Early life and education

Kodheli was born in Tirana, on 11 September 1964.

She received a Doctorate in Economic Science at the University of Verona, Italy, in cooperation with the University of Tirana, Economic Faculty, in 2007. She has a master degree in Public Administration from the Lincoln University in Nebraska, United States, in cooperation with University of Tirana since 2000, and also graduated from the University of Tirana, Economic Faculty, in Finance in 1986. She has studied in various fields such as, international markets, bond and assets, labour and investment markets, trainings on small and medium enterprises and banking management. She has participated in a programme of the U.S. State Department, “Women in Politics”, and in the National Security Policy programme of the Marshall European Centre for Security Studies

She speaks fluent English and Italian, and knows the French and Spanish languages.

Career

Kodheli entered politics in 2002, when she was appointed Deputy Mayor of the Tirana Municipality. In 2005, she was appointed Prefect of the Tirana County.

Since the 2009 national elections, Kodheli has been a Member of Parliament holding the position of Vice Chair of the Economy and Finance Committee throughout the legislature. Since 2007, she is a member of the Socialist Party leadership.

Kodheli was appointed Minister of Defense in the government of Prime Minister Edi Rama on 15 September 2013, replacing Arben Imami in the post.[2] In this capacity, she joined forces with her Croatian counterpart Damir Krstičević and wrote a letter to NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in 2017, calling on NATO to revise plans for its peace-keeping mission in Kosovo and arguing that nationalist rhetoric by Serb politicians threatens to destabilize the region scarred by the 1990s wars.[3]

Since 2017, Kodheli has been serving as chairwoman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Plagiarism Scandal

In October 2018, many public figures and politicians in Albania were involved in a plagiarism scandal, involving their Masters and Ph.D. theses. The name of Mimi Kodheli was one of the many mentioned in the scandal. The denouncement of cases of plagiarism started by Taulant Muka, a young epidemiologist educated in the Netherlands, who waged a crusade against the “fake” PhDs held by many politicians and government functionaries.[4] This scandal among other things, sparked nationwide protests from the students of public universities, requiring a vetting for all academic titles held by public figures, state officials and politicians.

Personal life

Kodheli is married to Leka and they have a son, Mikel.

Notes
  1. Acronym preferred by the University of Nebraska

References
  1. "Women Given Unprecedented Role In Albania Cabinet". Eurasia Review. 1 August 2013.
  2. Nicholas de Larrinaga (16 September 2013). "New Albanian defence minister appointed". IHS Jane's Defence Weekly. London. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
  3. Benet Koleka (February 16, 2017), Albania, Croatia ask NATO to revise Kosovo peacekeeping plan Reuters.
  4. Exit.al (25 December 2018). "Massive plagiarism scandal hits Albanian officials". Retrieved 30 December 2018.
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