Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Albania Parliament approves new female-dominated Cabinet

Albania’s Assembly, or parliament, has approved a Cabinet dominated by women, aiming to bring the country back to economic growth focusing on tourism and agriculture, infrastructure and energy

Via AP news wire
Friday 17 September 2021 08:23 BST
Albania New Government
Albania New Government (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Albania’s Assembly, or parliament, on Friday approved Cabinet dominated by women, aiming to bring the country back to economic growth focusing on tourism and agriculture, infrastructure and energy.

Following a 20-hour debate, the 140-seat parliament voted 77-53 for Prime Minister Edi Rama’s new Cabinet and program.

The left-wing Socialist Party secured a record third consecutive mandate in an April 25 parliamentary election, with 74 seats. The main opposition center-right Democratic Party got 59 seats.

The 57-year-old Rama boasted in his speech that “this new government will enter history as the Cabinet with the highest number of women” — 12 in the 17-member cabinet, propelling Albania to the top of global rankings in terms of the percentage of women holding Cabinet positions.

The government’s main challenges will be completing the reconstruction process following the November 2019 earthquake and coping with the pandemic and its impact on the economy, as well as fighting corruption and drug trafficking, boosting growth to at least 4% annually, raising salaries and lowering unemployment.

Rama wants to make Albania by 2030 “an absolute champion of tourism in the Balkans

Albania, population 2.8 million, has been a NATO member since 2009 and hopes to launch full membership negotiations with the European Union later this year.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in