Bamir Myrteza Topi (born 24 April 1957 in Tirana, Albania) is the fifth President of Albania since 24 July 2007. He was also Honorary President of Albanian football club KF Tirana from 2005 to 2007.
Early Life and Public Activities
Topi graduated from the Agricultural University of Tirana in veterinary studies with high grades and earned a PhD degree in the same field. In 1984, he was appointed a Scientific Researcher at the Institute of Veterinary Scientific Researches until 1995. During the 1987-90 period, he attended post-graduate studies in Italy in the field of Molecular Biology. After his return from Italy, Topi was appointed Director of the Food Safety and Veterinary Institute, a position held until the end of 1995. During the activity in this Institute as the Director and Scientific Researcher, Topi gave a Western world physiognomy to this important institution of the country. Alongside his work as Scientific Researcher, Topi has carried out a dense academic activity in preparing the educational curricula of the Toxicology and Pharmacology subjects for the students and postgraduates of the Veterinary Medicine Faculty while at the same time he was also a Lecturer of these subjects for about a decade. He was first elected as a parliamentarian of the Assembly of Albania in 1996 and was appointed Minister of Agriculture and Food where he served until 1997. He was elected to three mandates in the Assembly of Albania as a candidate of Democratic Party of Albania. In two terms Topi led the Parliamentary Group of Democratic Party in the Assembly. He has been elected vice-chairman of the Democratic Party of Albania, which is led by Sali Berisha. Topi has been distinguished and widely hailed as a politician of a moderated profile, as very active in resolving the crisis between the ruling majority and opposition and as a protagonist of political agreements and various parliamentary initiatives. He also holds the title of Honorary President of Albanian football club KF Tirana.
Support for Kosovo's independence
Topi has been a vocal advocate of independence for Kosovo. He staunchly pointed out the need for a sovereign state of Kosovo before the European Council and other international instances.
With a joint invitation of Kosovo's President, Fatmir Sejdiu, and the head of the UN mission, Joachim Ruecker, Topi stayed for a three-day visit in Kosovo in January 2009. He was proclaimed an honorary citizen of the capital Pristina and awarded with the golden medal, the Goddess on the Throne. During his visit, he was also conferred an honorary doctorate by the University of Pristina.
From : www.wikipedia.org
