Sander Lleshi

Sandër Lleshaj (born 25 January 1963) is an Albanian former military officer and politician who served as Minister of Internal Affairs from 2018 to 2020 in the second government of Prime Minister Edi Rama. Before entering government, he served in senior positions in the Albanian Armed Forces, including as Deputy Chief of the General Staff.

Lleshaj was appointed interior minister in November 2018 after the resignation of Fatmir Xhafaj. His appointment was initially contested after President Ilir Meta refused to decree him as minister, but he was later approved and sworn in. He resigned on 10 December 2020 amid nationwide protests over the murder of Klodian Rasha, a 25-year-old man shot dead by a police officer during a COVID-19 curfew in Tirana.

Early life and education

Lleshaj was born in Selitë, Mirditë, Albania, on 25 January 1963. He spent his childhood in his hometown until the age of 14.

He began his military education in 1978, attending the Skanderbeg Military High School and later the Military Academy in Tirana, from which he graduated in 1985. He later completed military and security studies in Germany, Austria and the United States, including courses at the Management Academy in Hamburg, the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California.

Minister of Internal Affairs

Appointment dispute

In October 2018, Interior Minister Fatmir Xhafaj resigned. Prime Minister Edi Rama proposed Lleshaj, then his national security adviser and a former army general, as Xhafaj's replacement.

President Ilir Meta initially refused to decree Lleshaj as interior minister. Meta's office stated that the president had not formed full confidence in Lleshaj as a candidate for the post. The refusal generated a constitutional dispute between the presidency and the government over the president's role in appointing ministers in Albania's parliamentary system.

During the dispute, Rama appointed Lleshaj deputy minister of internal affairs and assigned him effective leadership of the ministry while awaiting a decree. After a second proposal by Rama, Meta decreed Lleshaj as minister, and Parliament approved the decree. Lleshaj was sworn in on 23 November 2018.

Tenure

As Minister of Internal Affairs, Lleshaj was responsible for the Albanian State Police, border security, public order, civil status administration and internal security policy. His term coincided with a period of political polarization, opposition protests, the aftermath of Albania's 2019 earthquake, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2019, Lleshaj's ministry oversaw policing during the 2019 Albanian opposition protests, when opposition supporters organized repeated demonstrations demanding Rama's resignation and early elections. Several of the protests involved clashes with police, use of tear gas and water cannon, and accusations from the opposition of excessive force.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Albanian police were involved in enforcing public-health restrictions, including limits on movement and nightly curfews. These restrictions later became central to public debate after the killing of Klodian Rasha by police during curfew hours in December 2020.

Resignation after the murder of Klodian Rasha

On 8 December 2020, 25-year-old Klodian Rasha was shot dead by a police officer in the Laprakë area of Tirana during a nightly COVID-19 curfew. Police initially said that Rasha had failed to obey an order to stop and had carried a weapon, but later said that he had been holding an object and not a weapon.

On 16 December 2020, Rama announced Bledar Çuçi as Lleshaj's successor as Minister of Internal Affairs. Çuçi was sworn in two days later.

Personal life

Lleshaj is married to Violeta Lleshaj, a professor of education. They have two children.