Nexhmije Hoxha

Nexhmije Hoxha (Albanian pronunciation: [nɛdʒˈmijɛ ˈhɔdʒa]; née Xhuglini; 8 February 1921 – 26 February 2020)[1] was an Albanian Communist politician, for many years the spouse of Enver Hoxha, first leader of the Socialist People's Republic of Albania and First Secretary of the party of Labour of Albania. Very close to her husband, she attempted to remain politically influential after his death in 1985.[2]

Nexhmije Hoxha
Born
Nexhmije Xhuglini

(1921-02-08)8 February 1921
Bitola, Kingdom of SCS
Died26 February 2020(2020-02-26) (aged 99)
Tirana, Albania
NationalityAlbanian
Alma materQueen Mother Pedagogical Institute
University of Tirana
Political party
Spouse(s)
​
(
m. 1945; died 1985)
Children3
Signature

Biography

Hoxha was born Nexhmije Xhuglini in Bitola, in present-day North Macedonia.[2] Later moving with her parents to the Albanian capital, Tirana, she studied at the Queen Mother Pedagogical Institute.[2] In November 1941, while still training to be a schoolteacher, she joined the newly founded Albanian Party of Labour and a year later was elected to the General Council of the Albanian National Liberation Movement.

During the Second World War she fought against the forces of Fascist Italy and German Wehrmacht troops, as part of the First Division of the National Liberation Army, a resistance group dominated by Communists and supported by Special Operations Executive forces sent by the British.[2] In 1943 she was elected to the Secretariat of the (Communist) Albanian Women's League, and served as chairwoman from 1946 to 1952, replacing Ollga Plumbi.[3]

Relationship with Enver Hoxha

The then Nexhmije Xhuglini met Enver Hoxha at a meeting of the Albanian Party of Labour. Hoxha proposed to her in 1942 at a house rented to him by generous party supporter Syrja Selfo, who would be sentenced to death and executed after a show trial in 1946.[4] The Hoxhas then stayed for several months on and off in the house of Enver's brother in law Bahri Omari, destined to be executed by firing squad in 1945.[4] Enver Hoxha steadily rose to a prominent position after the end of the war and the establishment of a Communist government.[2]

Influence

In 1966, as Albania increasingly isolated itself, she became director of the Institute of Marxist–Leninist Studies, a body responsible for ensuring ideological purity and spreading propaganda.[2] Her relation with the Sigurimi secret police is widely discussed.[5] Nexhmije later claimed in her 1998 memoir, My Life with Enver, that her husband did express some regret for the number of executions carried out.[5]

After her husband died in 1985, Nexhmije was elected chairwoman of the Democratic Front, an umbrella association, and defended her husband's heritage during the period of reforms (1990–1991). She was forced to resign as chairwoman of the Democratic Front in December 1990, and was replaced by Prime Minister Adil Çarçani.

Later life and death

She was expelled from ALP in June 1991 and the party organ Zeri i Popullit criticised her for her allegedly pompous way of life.[6] She was arrested on 4 December 1991 and at the end of January 1993 she was sentenced to nine years in prison for embezzlement of 750,000 leks.[6] The sentence was increased to eleven years by the appeal court.[6] Hoxha was released from prison in January 1997.[6][7][8]

Hoxha died on 26 February 2020 aged 99 at her home in Tirana from natural causes. At the time of her death she was the oldest living member of the communist leadership of Albania.[9]

Personal

According to her former daughter in law, Lilliana, one of Nexhmije Hoxha's hobbies was viewing the video of Mehmet Shehu, once Prime Minister, being tortured before he either committed suicide or was murdered on the orders of Enver Hoxha.[4] She lived for many years with her husband in the section of Tirana known as the Bllok, reserved for the ruling elite.[4] Being at the apex of the party elite, they had access to foreign goods not available to ordinary Albanians and reportedly owned 25 fridges and televisions.[2] However, Nexhmije herself maintained she did not live extravagantly and never had done, emphasizing the prosaic nature of her marriage ceremony in 1945, which did not include a dress, a reception or a honeymoon.[10]

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References
  1. Elsie, Robert (23 April 2010). "Historical Dictionary of Albania". Rowman & Littlefield. Retrieved 23 April 2019 – via Google Books.
  2. "Nexhmije Hoxha obituary". The Times. London. 4 March 2020. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  3. opolitike.org http://opolitike.org/analiza/ollga-plumbi-gruaja-e-zhdukur-nga-vemendja-publike/. Retrieved 27 February 2020. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. Theodore Dalrymple (5 March 2020). "Murderess with no regrets". The Critic. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  5. Thomson, Ian (2 March 2020). "Nexhmije Hoxha obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  6. Wojciech Roszkowski og Jan Kofman. Biographical Dictionary of Central and Eastern Europe in the Twentieth Century (p. 358). Taylor and Francis. Kindle Edition. 2015
  7. The Associated Press (11 January 1997). "Widow of dictator leaves prison In Albania, Nexhmije Hoxha serves five years for corruption". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
  8. "MY FATHER, ENVER HOXHA". www.oneparty.co.uk. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  9. "Albanian dictator Hoxha's widow, his staunchest defender, dies at 99". Reuters. 26 February 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  10. Qosja, Griselda (22 March 2020). "Nexhmije Hoxha (1921–2020)". Jacobin. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
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