Haxhi Lleshi

Haxhi Lleshi (October 19, 1913 – January 1, 1998) was an Albanian military leader and communist politician.

As part of the anti-Zogist movement, Lleshi's family fled to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, where they settled in Debar, and later in Banjishte near Debar. With the Italian invasion of Albania, Lleshi and his émigré friend Myslim Peza were sent to Albania. Lleshi received financial aid from the Yugoslavs, part of which went to sponsor the scattered anti-Italian activities in Albania; most notorious was the guerrilla unit known as "Çeta of Peza" (Albanian: Çeta e Pezës).

On the eve of the German invasion of Yugoslavia, several paramilitary units (mostly Albanians) backed by the Yugoslav army crossed the border and attacked the Italian positions, badly organized and prepared, in two directions: near Shkodër and near Pogradec (Qafë Thanë). Haxhi Lleshi, leading 200 men, together with his uncle Aqif Lleshi, leading 100 men (both reporting to colonel Gojko Jovanović), crossed the border and positioned from Ostren i Vogël to Bllatë. The fast advancement of the Nazi army caused the Yugoslav insurgency to fail; the units retreated to Yugoslavia where Lleshi was involved and fought alongside the Yugoslav army in the failed short attempt at stopping the Germans from entering Debar.

Lleshi was one of the top commanders in Albania's fight against the Italians and Germans during World War II and is still considered by some to be a hero in Albania for his actions during the war. When a Communist-dominated government was set up in Albania in 1944, Lleshi became interior minister and served in that position from 1944 to 1946. His name was mentioned in a CIA report of 1952 as an Yugoslavian informant, together with Myslym Peza.

On August 1, 1953, Lleshi became chairman of the Presidium of the People's Assembly of Albania, a post equivalent to that of president. He was nominally the third most powerful man in Albania, behind general secretary Enver Hoxha and prime minister Mehmet Shehu. During Lleshi's time in power, Albania became known as one of the most independent communist nations, as it feuded with the Soviet Union, became an ally of the People's Republic of China, and then feuded with China in the 1970s.

Lleshi retired from his position as chairman of the Presidium on November 22, 1982, after nearly 30 years in office, when Hoxha reshuffled the government. Hoxha died three years later, and during the early 1990s, the communist regime fell, but Lleshi continued to live in Albania. In 1998, he died from natural causes.