Sabit Brokaj

Sabit Brokaj (born 7 January 1942) is an Albanian politician, doctor, and professor. In 1991 Brokaj served as the Minister of Health of Albania.[1][2]

Sabit Brokaj
Albanian Minister of Defence
In office
25 July 1997 – 24 April 1998
PresidentRexhep Meidani
Prime MinisterFatos Nano
Albanian Minister of Health
In office
February 1991 – December 1991
PresidentRamiz Alia
Prime MinisterFatos Nano
Ylli Bufi
Personal details
Born (1942-01-07) January 7, 1942
Vlorë, Albanian Kingdom
(present day Republic of Albania)
Political partySocialist Party of Albania
(from 12 June 1991)
Other political
affiliations		Party of Labour of Albania
(until 12 June 1991)
EducationUniversity of Tirana
ProfessionDoctor

Early life

Brokaj was born 7 January 1942, in Vlorë, Albania during the Italian occupation of Albania.[1] From 1959 to 1964, Brokaj served as a medical assistant on a submarine.[1] After graduating from the University of Tirana's medical faculty in 1969, Brokaj went on to serve as medical chief of a brigade in Shijak from 1969 to 1972.[1][2] From 1972 to 1984, Brokaj worked as a cardiologist at military hospital in Tirana.[1][2] He traveled to France to study cardiology in 1979 and echocardiology in 1982.[2] During this period, Brokaj was one of Enver Hoxha's personal physicians.[2]

In 1984, Brokaj left the military to become a professor at a medical school in Tirana.[1] He was promoted to Deputy Dean of the school in 1987, and Dean in 1989.[1][2] He held this position until he left the school in 1991.[2]

During his medical career, Brokaj was a rival of fellow cardiologist Sali Berisha.[2] Berisha would go on to be President and Prime Minister of Albania as a member of the conservative Democratic Party of Albania. Their rivalry continued during their political careers, to the point that reports stated they were not on speaking terms.[2]

Political career

Brokaj entered into Albanian politics following the fall of communism in Albania, and was seen as a member of the Socialist Party's "old guard".[2] He first served as Minister of Health from February to December 1991.[1] He was elected Deputy of the People's Assembly in 1991, 1996, and 1997.[1] In 1992 he was elected to the presidency of the Socialist Party of Albania.[1] On 25 July 1997, Brokaj was appointed Minister of Defence.[1] His leadership as Defence Minister was seen as lacking, especially because it took place following the 1997 unrest in Albania.[1] The damage to military assets at the time was extensive, and many pieces of military equipment were stolen by rioters. These stolen assets even included Chinese-made HY-1 surface-to-air missiles.[3] To help rebuild the Albanian military following the unrest, Brokaj turned to Turkey and Greece.

Personal life

Brokaj is fluent in English, French, Russian, and Italian, as well as his native Albanian. He is married with two children.[1]

gollark: The problem is that if there's just one fixed answer all the time it could be autotyped in.
gollark: Hmm, I suppose I could add *two* ways to do that.
gollark: They are silly.
gollark: Again, it's not specifically about knowing what a semiprime is as much as being willing/able to actually look up stuff.
gollark: Of course they do. Everyone is obviously like me apart from having had slightly different life experiences.

References
  1. "Leadership Profiles: Background and data on current world leaders". Defense & Foreign Affairs Strategic Policy. 26 (2/3): 14. February–March 1998.
  2. Cekuta, Robert F. (31 December 1997). "Biography of Albanian Defense Minister Sabit Brokaj". WikiLeaks. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
  3. "Nuclear- and Missile-Related Trade and Developments for Selected Countries, July-October 1997". The Nonproliferation Review. 5 (2): 137. Winter 1998.
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