People
20 articles · All topics
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Iliriana Sela: Healthcare Leader and NAR Outreach Director
Profile of Iliriana Sela: Senior Director at Advanced Reconstruction Surgery Alliance and Director of Community Outreach at the National Albanian Registry.
May 11, 2026
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Besa Imami: Albanian Actress of Stage and Screen
Besa Imami is one of the most recognizable Albanian actresses of the post-1990 era, known for her stage work in Tirana and Albanian-language film and TV.
May 5, 2026
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Petro Zheji: The Albanian Polymath Who Translated Faust
Petro Zheji (1929-2015) was an Albanian polymath, translator, and philosopher whose work argued the Albanian language is a key to ancient meaning.
May 5, 2026
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Ded Gjo Luli: The Highlander Who Raised Albania's Flag in 1911
Ded Gjo Luli led the 1911 Albanian Highland Uprising and raised the double-headed eagle at Bratile, the first national flag on Albanian soil since 1468.
May 4, 2026
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Ekrem Bardha: Detroit's Albanian-American Civic Patriarch
Ekrem Bardha (born 1933) is the Detroit Albanian-American businessman who built 18 McDonald's franchises and led Kosovo independence advocacy in the US.
May 4, 2026
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Harry Bajraktari: New York Real Estate, Illyria, and the Kosovo Cause
Harry Bajraktari built a Bronx real estate company, founded the Illyria newspaper in 1991, and lobbied Washington for Kosovo's recognition and freedom.
May 4, 2026
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Kristo Kondakci: Albanian-American Conductor in Boston
Kristo Kondakci, founder of the Mercury Orchestra in Boston, is one of a small but real group of Albanian-American conductors in US classical music.
May 4, 2026
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Ambassador Frank G. Wisner Jr.: US Envoy on Kosovo
Frank G. Wisner Jr. served as US Special Envoy on Kosovo from 2005 to 2008, working with Martti Ahtisaari on the plan that led to Kosovo's independence.
May 3, 2026
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Famous People from Kosovo: 18 Names the World Knows
Famous people from Kosovo and the Kosovar diaspora — Rugova, Rita Ora, Dua Lipa, Majlinda Kelmendi, Granit Xhaka, Action Bronson, William Walker, and more.
May 3, 2026
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Eliza Dushku: Albanian-American Actress (Boston, Buffy, Bull)
Boston-born Eliza Dushku played Faith on Buffy, disclosed CBS's $9.5M Bull harassment settlement, and now works as a trauma therapist focused on PTSD.
May 2, 2026
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Naim Frashëri (1846-1900): Albania National Poet, Diaspora Reader
Naim Frashëri (1846-1900) was Albania national poet, a Bektashi spiritual writer, and the literary heart of the Rilindja Kombëtare read by early diaspora.
May 2, 2026
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Suzanna Shkreli: Albanian-American Prosecutor Who Ran for Congress
Suzanna Shkreli, an Albanian-American Macomb County prosecutor, won Michigan's 8th District Democratic primary in 2016 and faced incumbent Mike Bishop in November.
May 2, 2026
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Fan S. Noli (1882-1965): Founder of Albanian-American Life
Fan S. Noli (1882-1965) founded the Albanian Orthodox Church in America in 1908, briefly served as Albania's prime minister in 1924, and translated Shakespeare.
May 1, 2026
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Bebe Rexha: Albanian-American Pop Star (Brooklyn to Billboard)
Bebe Rexha — Brooklyn-born Bleta Rexha — co-wrote Eminem's Grammy-winning 'The Monster' and topped Billboard's country chart for 50 weeks with 'Meant to Be.'
April 28, 2026
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Famous Albanians: 30 Notable Figures from Albania and the Diaspora
30 famous Albanians across history, science, arts, music, and sports — Skanderbeg, Mother Teresa, Ismail Kadare, John Belushi, Dua Lipa, Mira Murati, and more.
April 28, 2026
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Ferid Murad: Albanian-American Nobel Laureate in Medicine
Ferid Murad (1936-2023) was the Albanian-American pharmacologist who won the 1998 Nobel Prize for discovering nitric oxide as a cardiovascular signal.
April 28, 2026
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Ibrahim Rugova: Kosovo's Founding President (1944-2006)
Ibrahim Rugova (1944-2006) led Kosovo's nonviolent resistance for a decade, founded the LDK, and served as the first president of post-war Kosovo until his death.
April 28, 2026
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Ismail Kadare: Albania's Most Translated Author (1936-2024)
Ismail Kadare (1936-2024) is the most translated Albanian author in history, won the inaugural Man Booker International in 2005, and was a perennial Nobel candidate.
April 28, 2026
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Mother Teresa: The Albanian-Catholic Nun Who Became a Global Icon
Mother Teresa, born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu to an Albanian Catholic family in Skopje, won the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize and was canonized in 2016.
April 28, 2026
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Skanderbeg: Albania's National Hero (1405-1468)
Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg held off the Ottoman Empire for 25 years (1443-1468). His life, the League of Lezhë, and why his banner became Albania's flag.
April 28, 2026