Mehmet Shehu

Mehmet Shehu was an Albanian communist politician who served as the prime minister of Albania from 1954 to 1981. He was a close ally of Enver Hoxha, the leader of the Party of Labour of Albania, and a prominent figure in the anti-fascist resistance during World War II. He joined the Communist Party of Spain and fought in the Spanish Civil War as an officer of the Garibaldi Brigade. He returned to Albania after the war and became the minister of internal affairs and later the minister of defence. He was also the commander-in-chief of the Albanian People's Army and a member of the Politburo of the Party of Labour of Albania. He was known for his hard-line Stalinist views and his loyalty to Hoxha. He oversaw the industrialization and collectivization of the Albanian economy, as well as the repression and persecution of any opposition or dissent. He also supported Hoxha's policy of isolationism and self-reliance, and severed ties with Yugoslavia, the Soviet Union, and China at different times. He died in 1981 under mysterious circumstances, which were officially declared as suicide. However, there are persistent rumors that he was actually murdered on orders from Hoxha, who accused him of being a foreign agent and a traitor. After his death, his family was arrested and his name was erased from the public records. He was rehabilitated in 1991, after the fall of communism in Albania.