Bajram Begaj, a retired military officer, who won after getting 78 votes in the 140-seat Parliament, formally took office at a ceremony in parliament.

“I will carry out this mission above the parties. I will not remain neutral towards anyone who puts political interests above the nation’s interest and I will support and insist on the cooperation between all political forces,” Begaj said in his first speech at the Parliament.

Begaj, who has had a long career in the Albanian army, served as the 26th Chief of General Staff of the Albanian Armed Forces from July 2020 to June 2022.

Although he is politically independent, on 3 June 2022 Begaj was officially nominated by the governing Socialist Party as the candidate to the fourth round of the 2022 presidential election.

Upon assuming office, Begaj has become the fifth president in the history of Albania to have a military background, after Ahmet Zogu, Ramiz Alia, Alfred Moisiu, and Bujar Nishani. (ILKHA)