The former President of the Republic, Bujar Nishani, passed away at the age of 56. It is learned that he passed away in a hospital in Germany, where he was being treated. 

Nishani was sent for treatment in Germany, after suffering from bilateral pneumonia with respiratory insufficiency, as a result of complications caused by Covid-19. 

The former head of state's health situation worsened after he was infected with coronavirus a few months ago. Bujar Nishani was born on September 29, 1966 and he took over the presidential mandate on July 24, 2012 and ended it on July 24, 2017.

But who was Bujar Nishani? 

Bujar Nishani was born on September 29, 1966 in the city of Durrës. Nishani was elected president of Albania in 2012 and served in this post for a full term until 2017. 

He came to this post from an academic career at the Albanian Armed Forces and several years of engagement in the Albanian Ministry of Defense in the first decade of the democratic transition. 

Nishani was a senior member of the Democratic Party of Albania and served as a member of this party in the Albanian Parliament in 2005. He held the position of Minister of Interior in 2007 and 2011, while that of Minister of Justice in 2009. Nishani was the sixth president of Albania. 

EDUCATION 

He completed his higher studies at the "Skënderbej" Military Academy in Tirana, in 1988. He completed his postgraduate studies in California, in the United States of America, for "Defense Resource Management", in 1996. He studied Law at the Faculty of Law, at the University of Tirana, where he graduated as a lawyer in 2004. In 2005 he received the title "Master", in European Studies, at the School of European Studies, at the University of Tirana. 

Professional and political career 

He started his professional career as a lecturer at the Military Academy "Skënderbej" in 1988. Then, in 1993 he worked in the Directorate of Foreign Relations in the Ministry of Defense, continuing in 1994 in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Directorate of NATO Relations. Mr. Nishani returned in 1996 to the Cabinet of the Minister of Defense. In 1997 he returned to the free profession as President of the Euro-Atlantic Military Forum. 

Mr. Bujar Nishani's political career has gone through several stages: in 1991 he joined the Democratic Party; in 2001 he was elected Secretary of the Democratic Party Branch for Tirana; in 2003 he was elected a member of the Municipal Council of the Municipality of Tirana from the list of the Democratic Party; in 2005, he was elected a member of the National Council of the Democratic Party and later a member of the Central Presidency of this party. 

From March 2007 to September 2009 he held the portfolio of Minister of Interior; from September 2009 to April 2011 he was the Minister of Justice; to return again in April 2011 as Minister of Interior, a position he held until June 2012, when the Albanian Parliament elected him Head of State.