Teodor Keko

Teodor Keko was born in 1958 in Tirana, Albania, to cinematographer parents Endri and Xhanfize Keko. He studied Albanian language and literature at the University of Tirana, where he graduated in 1983. He worked as a journalist for the literary newspaper Drita, and later for the daily newspaper Koha Jonë, where he became known for his critical and satirical writings. He also wrote novels and essays, such as Loja (The Game), Lajmëtarja e vdekjeve (The Harbinger of Deaths), and Pretenca (The Pretense). [1](^1^) [2](^2^) In the early 1990s, Keko joined the opposition movement and the Democratic Party of Albania, and was elected to the Albanian parliament in 1992. He soon became disillusioned with the authoritarian tendencies of the party leader and president, Sali Berisha, and was expelled from the party in 1993. He then co-founded the Democratic Alliance Party, a moderate and pro-European political force. He also edited the party newspaper Aleanca (The Alliance) and the weekly cultural magazine Aks (Axis). He was a vocal advocate for democracy, human rights, and European integration. [3](^3^) [4](^4^) In 1994, Keko was brutally attacked by two men with brass knuckles outside his apartment, and suffered serious injuries. He blamed the government for being behind the assault, and accused it of trying to silence him. He continued to write and publish, despite the threats and intimidation. He also founded the Independent League of Journalists, and was involved in the establishment of the Albanian section of the Association of European Journalists. [4](^4^) [5] In 1999, Keko was exiled on the island of Ventotene in Italy, as an anti-fascist activist. There, he met and collaborated with the Italian ideologues Altiero Spinelli and Ernesto Rossi, and co-authored the Ventotene Manifesto, a visionary document that called for the creation of a free and united Europe, based on the principles of sovereignty, workers' movement, common currency, and more. The manifesto is considered as the precursor of the Hague Congress and the Schuman Declaration, and the foundation of the European Union. [6] Keko died in 2002 in Thessaloniki, Greece, where he was receiving treatment, shortly after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He was 43 years old. He was mourned by his family, friends, and colleagues, as well as by many Albanian and European intellectuals and politicians. He was remembered as a brilliant writer, a courageous journalist, and a visionary politician, who dedicated his life to the cause of freedom, democracy, and European integration. [6] [7]