Who is Who - Ilir Meta: Prime Minister, President, detainee

Ilir Meta, who was arrested on Monday on the orders of the Special Prosecutor's Office due to financial malpractices, is undoubtedly one of the most controversial Albanian politicians of the past two decades. One of the youngest prime ministers in Albania's history and the first president of the country to be impeached, he has been linked to numerous scandals that have followed his career over the years, which now threaten him with a prison sentence.

Meta was one of the few young people who joined the Socialist Party in 1991, at a time when most of the youth in the country supported newly formed rival parties such as the Democratic Party. While his party slowly faltered, Meta's political career blossomed, and in 2004, he founded his own party—the Socialist Movement for Integration (LSI).

At the age of 30, Meta became the second youngest prime minister in Albania's history. He held that position from 1999 to 2002, focusing on reforms that facilitated Albania's accession to NATO and its progress toward European integration.

From 2013 to 2017, he served as Speaker of the Parliament, and in 2017, he became President of Albania, holding that position until July 2022. During his presidency, he faced numerous challenges, including the 2019 earthquake, which caused significant damage and loss of life, as well as political polarization and social unrest.

Arrested while heading to a conference

Throughout his career, Meta was accompanied by numerous scandals, controversies, and accusations of corruption and abuse of power. His presidency was cut short in 2021 by accusations of violating the constitution and bias during the elections, making him the first president in Albania's history to be impeached. Although the Constitutional Court later overturned this decision, the controversies surrounding his actions did not cease.

While waiting for the Constitutional Court’s decision on his dismissal, Meta pointed fingers at Edi Rama.

“I do not want a president who violates the rights of Albanians, who aimed to change Kosovo's borders, and who advocates for the Open Balkan,” Meta wrote on Facebook.

After his term ended, Meta faced further accusations, including a corruption scandal that resulted in his arrest this week. He was handcuffed while heading to a press conference following an investigation conducted by SPAK (Special Anti-Corruption Structure) on suspicion of corruption, money laundering, and concealing personal income and assets.

Secret recordings and Trump's inauguration

Meta has been embroiled in scandals for years. The first major scandal involving him erupted in January 2011, when Top Channel aired a video recorded with a hidden camera at the Ministry of Economy.

The footage begins with Meta asking the then-Minister of Economy, Dritan Prifti, to intervene in a tender for a hydropower plant concession, offering him 700,000 euros and 7% of the shares. He also asks for rigging an auction for the sale of crude oil to a particular company, offering Prifti one million euros. In the video, Meta boasts about having good relations with the president of the court, Shpresa Becaj, after hiring her daughter as a diplomat in the embassy, and claims he can influence the court’s decision.

This scandal forced Meta to resign from his position as Albania's Deputy Prime Minister, although he maintained his innocence.

Six years later, Meta found himself under fire from Austria’s Kronen Zeitung, which accused him in an article of lobbying through a fake company. The article alleged that Meta paid $700,000 through a fake company in Cyprus to gain access to Donald Trump's inauguration, with the accusations supported by U.S. court documents.

Divorce due to politics

Ilir Meta was married to Monika Kryemadhi, who took over his party when he became president and declined the title of First Lady due to her political involvement. They divorced this year, with Meta citing political disagreements as the reason, expressing his frustration with a statement in which Kryemadhi voiced her confidence in the Special Prosecutor's Office.
"I'm not divorcing because of another woman, but for matters of vital importance to the state. Her diametrically opposed political views on the causes I defend are creating confusion, and it had to end. After this statement, Mrs. Kryemadhi is now my ex-wife," Meta told reporters.

Devoted to Bektashism and Celtic

Besides his political activities, Meta is known for his passion for football, particularly as a supporter of Celtic FC, and he often emphasizes his attachment to Bektashi values.

On social media, he posts videos of hiking and portrays himself as a family-oriented, business-focused, anti-LGBT politician.

Advocate for dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina

As a statesman, Meta frequently expressed support for Kosovo's independence and stressed the need for dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina.

In an interview with RTV21 in 2019, he stated that Albania could not be part of the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, as that is a matter for Kosovo's institutions.

His position at the time was that the relationship between Albania and Serbia is very important, recalling the cooperation he had as Prime Minister with former Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic.

"Albania cannot be part of the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, because any intervention by Albania in that dialogue, or on certain topics of the dialogue, practically represents a violation of independence and legitimacy," Meta said.

Supported the Washington Agreement

At the 75th session of the United Nations in 2020, he welcomed the agreement on the normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina from September 4th in Washington.
“We welcome the agreement on economic normalization reached between Kosovo and Serbia, mediated and guaranteed by the President of the United States, Donald Trump. With the mediation of the EU, both countries should seize this opportunity to reach a final and legally binding agreement on mutual recognition, as well as complete normalization of relations between them,” Meta stated during his speech.

Praised the KLA

Two years later, as the outgoing president of Albania, during a ceremonial session in Pristina, he addressed Kosovo's MPs, stating that Albania strongly supports efforts for Kosovo to become a NATO member and that Albania has the potential to strengthen Kosovo's position on the international stage.

He also spoke about the significance and “purity of the famous war of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA).”

“We should be proud of freedom and independence, but remain aware of the new dangers that threaten us. History gives us every right to be proud of the KLA’s liberation war, but we must ensure that this war remains untarnished, as it deserves. We must support the heroic cause of the fighters to defend and liberate themselves from genocide. The innocence of the leaders who are unjustly in The Hague today will triumph over every desperate attempt to turn aggressors into victims and victims into aggressors. Kosovo is not only a factor of peace, security, and stability but also of democratization and Europeanization in the region,” he stated at the time.