Hoxha, General Enver

1908–1985

   In April 1939 MUSSOLINI’s troops invaded Albania and King Zog and his government fled. Hoxha, an Albanian resistance leader had been trained in Moscow and set about organizing guerrilla bands to fight the Italian threat. In November 1941 he officially founded the Communist Party and in September 1942 he summoned a meeting of other groups which joined together in the LNC (National Liberation Movement). Although this was a broadly based popular movement, it stimulated the opposition of the more conservative elements in the country who formed the Balli Kombetar or National Front. The two sides were hostile to each other and fighting between them broke out after the Germans had occupied the country after the fall of Mussolini. Although the Special Operations Executive sent arms to both sides, they favored Hoxha’s Army which had about 13,000 men and could count on the support of 60,000. By the time the Germans left Albania Hoxha was strong enough to proclaim a Provisional Government in October 1944 and a few months later set up his government in Tirana, capital of Albania. Hoxha was a very efficient political leader who was more concerned with seizing power than with driving the Germans out of Albania.