Erion Veliaj

Erion Veliaj
Mayor of Tirana
Incumbent
Assumed office 21 July 2015
Preceded by	Lulzim Basha
Minister of Social Welfare and Youth
In office September 2013 – April 2015
Preceded by	Spiro Ksera
Succeeded by	Blendi Klosi
Prime Minister	Edi Rama
Personal details
Born	17 December 1979 Tirana, Albania
Political party	Socialist Party of Albania
Residence	Tirana
Alma mater	Grand Valley State University, University of Sussex
Religion	Born Muslim, now Evangelical[1]

Erion Veliaj (born in December 17, 1979 in Tirana) is an Albanian politician, who is currently serving as Mayor of Tirana. He is the 42nd elected mayor of Tirana.

He was elected Member of the Parliament for the district of Gjirokastra, during the Albanian parliamentary election of 2013. Between September 2013 and April 2015, Veliaj served as Minister of Social Welfare and Youth in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Edi Rama. During his term as Minister, he successfully drafted and implemented important reforms regarding pensions, employment, social welfare payments and professional education.^[2]

Early life and education

Erion Veliaj was born on December 17th, 1979. After graduating from Sami Frasheri High School in Tirana, he moved to the USA, where he obtained a B.A in Political Sciences at the Grand Valley State University, Michigan. He also pursued postgraduate studies in the University of Sussex, receiving a Masters degree in European Integration. Prior to his return in Albania, Veliaj worked with several international humanitarian organizations in the Americas, Eastern Africa, and Kosovo.

His original religion was Islam, but he converted to Evangelical Christianity under American influence.^[3] His MJAFT! organization showed the controversial Muhammad cartoons on its pages.^[4]

Political career

MJAFT!

In 2003, Veliaj founded the MJAFT! movement, a civic organization that unified activists to raise awareness and inspire the spirit of protest for diverse social, educational and political issues in Albania. MJAFT! gained huge popularity as a youth movement, finding creative and striking ways of protesting as opposed to the tasteless and often violent forms of civic engagements that were dominant in Albania before its inception. In 2004, MJAFT! was granted the United Nations Award for civil society by Kofi Annan for its exemplary and highly efficient methods of protest.

During his tenure, Veliaj became well-known for his innovative leadership that focused on teamwork and division of labor. Instead of centralizing activities to specific people in the organization, MJAFT! (under Veliaj’s guidance) introduced an inclusive approach by delegating tasks to all members of the team. This was perceived to be one of the key factors of the movement's success. Later in his career, teamwork became one of the main characteristics of Veliaj's leadership philosophy.

Erion Veliaj led the MJAFT! movement until November 2007. In the parliamentary elections of 2009, he was a candidate for the Parliament of Albania, through the civil list of G99.

Socialist Party of Albania

In 2011, Veliaj joined the Steering Committee of the Socialist Party of Albania, as Secretary for Youth and Emigration. For the first time, he helped bring structure to the Socialist Party branches in countries where the Albanian diaspora is most prevalent, particularly Greece and Italy.

During the parliamentary elections of 2013, Veliaj was nominated by the Socialist Party as MP candidate for the district of Gjirokastër. His main focus during the campaign was the organization of the voting process for Albanian immigrants. As a result, more than 70,000 immigrants voted in the elections of June 23rd, 2013, which contributed to the landslide victories of the Socialist-led coalition in Gjirokastër and many other neighboring districts.

In September 2013, Veliaj was appointed Minister of Social Welfare and Youth, whose finances consisted of 30% of the central government's annual budget. In a year and a half, the Ministry of Social Welfare and Youth successfully drafted and implemented crucial reforms. His administration also reformed the compensation system for formerly politically-persecuted people in Albania. During his term, the Ministry granted four payments in a single year, quadrupling the frequency of payments at a time when only one payment was distributed over eight years.

Mayor of Tirana

Tirana, now run by Veliaj, experienced notable change not only in infrastructure, but also in attitude since Veliaj was elected mayor. He believes in leading by example, and this style of leadership characterized his campaign and current efforts in office.

Campaign efforts

In 2015, while running for the mayoral elections, Veliaj's campaign team developed a crowd-sourced application that helped draft the electoral program, based on citizen-provided feedback and information. Further along its development, it offers citizens easier access to information and a place to give real-time feedback to the government on problems or issues in their neighborhoods. Tirana residents are able to take pictures of something, describe the issue or problem, and add geographical coordinates to the report. The Municipality team delegates the report to the right department or group. After the problem is resolved, a notification is sent to the original reporter. The application is available free on smartphones and can be found now as Tirana Ime.

In October 2016, the Ljubljana Forum awarded the city of Tirana with the Ljubljana Forum Future of Cities Award 2016 for the Tirana Ime application, a tool that "offers an instant access from the mobile phone to all real-time information related to road traffic, urban transport, tourism and many more things of interest".^[5]

Achievements in office

During his first year, Mayor Veliaj reconstructed thirty-one nurseries and twenty-eight kindergartens. Together, these schools are attended by approximately 6,700 children in Tirana. This was a joint initiative undertaken together with local businesses to "adopt" old and abandoned buildings to transform them into safe, secure, and child-friendly environments.

Veliaj's team works together with architect Stefano Boeri, who is well-known for Bosco Verticale. Boeri and his team work on the General Urban Plan of Tirana (TR030), which makes a series of interventions to the city's infrastructure. The Municipality conducted a series of public hearings and consultations with residents of Tirana, architects, and urbanists who expressed their opinions and provided feedback on the presented proposal. The plan was submitted for approval to the Municipality Council in November 2016.

The issue of urban air pollution is a growing concern in Tirana, and the role of the car can be controversial.^[6] In September 2015, Tirana organized its first vehicle-free day, joining forces with numerous cities across the globe to fight against the existing problem of urban air pollution. This initiative resulted in a considerable drop in both air and noise pollution, encouraging the Municipality to organize a vehicle-free day every month. According to a 2016 report published by the National Environmental Agency, air pollution in Tirana dropped by 15% compared to the previous year. Veliaj's team is working on a minimum grid plan to build dedicated bicycle lanes in Tirana, encouraging the use of bicycles as a transportation method through the city.

References

1. https://olsijazexhi.wordpress.com/2012/12/08/the-political-exploitation-of-islamophobia-in-post-communist-albania/
2. "Albanian Presidency Official Website".
3. "Olsi Jazexhi Shqiptarizimi i demshem i Aleances Kuq e Zi". Shqiperia. Retrieved 2016-11-07.
4. olsijazexhi (2012-12-08). "The Political Exploitation of Islamophobia in post–communist Albania". Olsi Jazexhi. Retrieved 2016-11-07.
5. "Ljubljana Forum 2016 Successfully Concluded". Ljubljana Forum. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
6. Williams, Sean (11 July 2014). "Tirana fights to beat its addiction to cars and get its residents cycling". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved 28 November 2016.

2. http://www.ps.al/author/erion-veliaj/

See also

• MJAFT!