Jozefina Topalli

Jozefina Topalli
25th Chairperson of the Parliament of Albania
In office 3 September 2005 – 10 September 2013
Preceded by	Servet Pëllumbi
Succeeded by	Ilir Meta
Personal details
Born	26 November 1963 Shkodër, Albania
Political party	Democratic Party
Spouse(s)	Tony Topalli[1]
Alma mater	Luigj Gurakuqi University University of Tirana
Religion	Roman Catholicism
Signature
Website	Official website

Jozefina Çoba Topalli (born November 26, 1963) is an Albanian politician and was the Chairwoman of the Parliament of Albania, since September 3, 2005, and vice-president of the Democratic Party of Albania.

She is married and has two children.

Studies and early jobs

Jozefina Çoba Topalli graduated from Luigj Gurakuqi University in Shkodra with a double major in mathematics and law. She subsequently studied international relations at the University of Padua in Italy and acquired a master's degree from the University of Tirana in public administration and in European Studies ; in 2010, she obtained her Ph.D. at the University of Tirana, with a dissertation on the topic of “The Role of the National Parliament in the process of European integration of the country”. She is fluent in English, Russian, French and Italian.^[2]

From 1992 to 1995 she worked at the Chamber of Commerce in the city of Shkodër, and in 1995-1996 she was chancellor and lecturer at the Luigj Gurakuqi University in Shkodra.

Topalli has been a member of the national legislature since 1997.

In 2005, Topalli was elected President of the Assembly of the Republic of Albania, and retained her position in 2009.

Political career

At the 1996 Albanian parliamentary election Topalli was elected as member of parliament for the Democratic Party of Albania; she was subsequently re-elected four times. She has been member of the Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Family, and also as Deputy President of the Children’s Committee.

Since 1996, Topalli is Deputy Chair of the Democratic Party of Albania.

Parliament Speaker

Jozefina Topalli Çoba is the first woman Speaker of the Albanian Parliament in all the parliamentary history of the country, and the sixth Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Albania in the pluralistic parliamentary history since 1991. She assumed her duty in September 2005, and was re-elected as Speaker of Parliament for a second four-year mandate in September 2009. In two previous consecutive legislatures (1997–2001; 2001–2005), Topalli served as Deputy Speaker of the Assembly.

In September 2005, in her speech at the oath-taking ceremony as Speaker of the Albanian Assembly, Jozefina Çoba Topalli, underlined her steady determination to be an advocate of the opposition, too.

In the framework of parliamentary diplomacy, a novelty the Speaker of the Albanian Parliament brought into Albanian political life, Jozefina Topalli was engaged in the acceleration of the ratification by the EU states parliaments of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement between Albania and EU, as well as the NATO protocols for the accession of Albania into the North Atlantic alliance. She continues her lobbying for the recognition of the Republic of Kosovo.

Honours

For her successful career and political and parliamentary engagements, Jozefina Topalli was awarded in 2010 with the prize “Mediterranean Award” by the International Mediterranean Forum for Peace, consigned by Sergio De Gregorio, president of the Italian parliamentary delegation to the NATO Assembly.^[3][4]

Jozefina Topalli was declared the First Ambassador of UNICEF for the protection of children’s rights in the country, by the UNICEF Office in Albania, as well as representatives of NGO-s and institutions dealing with children’s rights.

For her valuable contribution in politics, Topalli was awarded the “Medal of Honour” by the Chairman of the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg, Vadim Tulapanov.

Also, the Speaker of Parliament, Topalli was honoured with the international title “Millennium Peace Award: Cavaliere per la Pace” by the International Peace Union, at the Catholic University of Milan.

In April 2012, the Čair Municipality in the Republic of Macedonia accorded the title "Honorary Citizen" for Ms. Topalli.^[5]

References

1. http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/Sen/Chamber/392/Debates/pdf/002db_2007-10-17-e.pdf
2. "Jozefina Topalli « Partia Demokratike e Shqiperise" (in Albanian). Democratic Party of Albania. Retrieved 19 March 2010.
3. (Italian) Mediterranean Award
4. (Italian) Fondazione Mediterraneo
5. Jozefina Topalli, qytetare nderi e Çairit, Lexo Shqip, 2012-04-04 (in Albanian)