Fatos Nano, Father of Albania’s modern left, dies aged 73

Fatos Nano, a dominant figure in Albania’s post-communist political life and a founder of the country’s modern socialist movement, has died at 73, Prime Minister Edi Rama announced on social media Friday.

Nano passed away in a Tirana hospital after spending days in a coma caused by serious respiratory problems, officials said.

Nano’s political career spanned the turbulent years when Albania transitioned from rigid state socialism to a multiparty, market-oriented system.

He first led the government in 1991 during the initial phase of democratic change and later served as prime minister in the late 1990s and again from 2002 until 2005. Over decades he remained a central — and at times polarising — voice on the left, steering the Socialist Party through both reform efforts and internal strife.

Colleagues and political opponents alike credited Nano with pushing Albania toward institutional modernisation and opening the door to economic liberalisation after decades of isolation.

Supporters remember him as a pragmatic reformer who helped guide the country through chaotic episodes, including the 1997 collapse of pyramid investment schemes that triggered nationwide unrest.

But Nano’s legacy was also shadowed by persistent controversy.

He faced prosecution in the 1990s on charges related to the handling of humanitarian aid and was jailed; elements of those cases have been the subject of long debate and legal review. International observers and European institutions repeatedly urged Albania to do more to tackle corruption and organised crime critiques that at times targeted governments in which Nano played a central role.

The European Commission’s rule-of-law assessments have highlighted persistent shortcomings in Albania’s anti-corruption and judicial reforms.

Current Prime Minister Edi Rama paid tribute on social channels, posting a portrait of Nano and brief words of farewell as the country reflected on the passing of a man who shaped modern Albanian politics for more than three decades.

Tributes and reactions from across the political spectrum are expected in the coming hours as officials and citizens commemorate his impact.

Nano retired from frontline party leadership after 2005 but remained a symbolic figure for many on the left. His death closes a chapter in Albania’s often fraught journey from a closed, centrally planned state to an aspirant European democracy.