| 1944-1949 | : | The Communists established a provisional government with Enver Hoxha as Prime Minister and enter central and northern Albania. (1946) The People’s Assembly proclaimed the Socialist People’s Republic of Albania, signalling the beginning of purges of noncommunists from positions of power. Corfu Channel Incident: Two British ships were destroyed by mines off the Albanian coast in the Straits of Corfu. (1948) The Soviet Union began giving economic aid and sending advisers to Albania. The first Party Congress changed the name of the Communist Party to the Party of Labour of Albania. |
| 1950-1985 | : | A new constitution was approved by the People’s Assembly, under which Hoxha became minister of defense and foreign minister. (1955) Albania became a founding member of the Warsaw Pact. (1959) Khrushchev visited Albania. (1961) The Soviet Union broke diplomatic relations with Albania and Albania to improve its relationship with China. (1968) Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia: Albania condemned the invasion and withdrew from the Warsaw Pact. (1978) China terminated all economic and military aid to Albania. (1980) Hoxha selected Ramiz Alia as the next party head, bypassing Mehmet Shehu. (1985) Hoxha died. (1986) Alia was featured as the undisputed leader of the country and Party at the Ninth Party Congress. |
| 1990 | : | Demonstrations against the Ninth Plenum of the Central Committee at Shkodër forced authorities to declare state of emergency. Young people demonstrated against the regime in Tirana, causing five thousand citizens to seek refuge in foreign embassies. Ismail Kadare, Albania’s most prominent writer, defected to France. The opposition Democratic Party of Albania was established. |
| 1991 | : | Thousands of Albanians attempt to gain asylum in Italy. Prime Minister Fatos Nano and his cabinet resigned in the face of trade unions call for general strike. Albania was accepted as a full member of t |
(Source: Wikipedia.org)
