The first issue of the newspaper “Zëri i Popullit” (“Voice of the People”) was published in Tirana from 1942 to 1944 as a political, economic, and social newspaper. It began as an illegal publication during the Anti-Fascist National Liberation War, serving as the organ of the Communist Party of Albania. The newspaper was published several times a month in typed pamphlet form, with some editions in late 1943 printed secretly in newspaper format by anti-fascist typographers in Tirana’s printing houses. Its circulation peaked at around 1,500 copies, and it was replicated by regional committees of the Albanian Communist Party, supplemented with local informative materials about the war. “Voice of the People” propagated the political line of the Albanian Communist Party and the Anti-Fascist National Liberation Movement, reflecting the struggles of the Albanian people and other nations, and published articles on both domestic and international issues. The publication was discontinued after the November 7, 1944 issue. It resumed on November 5, 1948, as a daily newspaper and the organ of the Central Committee of the Labor Party of Albania. During this period, it promoted the Party’s program and addressed ideological, theoretical, economic, social, and international problems, along with issues related to education, culture, art, and sports. In 1991, “Voice of the People” reported on the early steps toward political pluralism in Albania, including the first pluralist elections on March 3, 1991, and the activities of the subsequent People’s Assembly. Following the 10th Congress of the Party of Labor of Albania on June 13, 1991, which marked the establishment of the Socialist Party of Albania, “Voice of the People” became its official organ. (In the photo: Front page of the newspaper “Voice of the people”)
Text: Albanian encyclopedic dictionary – Vol. 3 , Academy of Sciences of Albania, “Kristalina-KH”, Tirana, 2009, page 2989.
Photo: © Ledio Xhoxhi, personal archive.
Graphic processing: AHCF
