Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama delivered his address on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Order of Skanderbeg.
According to him, alongside the foundations of the Albanian state, a system of state decorations was also established, with the Order of Skanderbeg honoring individuals for their contributions based on merit.
Rama added that after years of trivialization and devaluation of state medals and awards during the transition period, the Albanian state is now restoring dignity to the Order of Skanderbeg, ensuring that medals will no longer be awarded without merit.
Rama stated:
“At every turning point in history when Albanians have gathered to place a new stone on the long path of national effort or to erect a new pillar of our statehood, consciously or unconsciously they have turned their eyes to the figure that stands at the heart of our nation — Gjergj Kastriot Skanderbeg. He sowed the seed of the state in the soil of freedom, choosing the just fight in an age submerged in injustice. He baptized our national identity and our European belonging. As Kadare wrote, ‘One bore the name Gjergj like the Sun, the other like the Moon.’ His name gathers us once again here, 100 years after the establishment of the Order of Skanderbeg.”
Rama emphasized the need to protect and honor the idea of merit, fully aware that honor is the principle that sets a people in motion.
“In December 1925, Albania was still a young state born amid the hardships caused by two great historical earthquakes. A republic with a clear and vocal aspiration: to become part of Europe by enthusiastically adopting the continent’s political creations. It also adopted the system of state decorations. It is no coincidence that a republic fresh out of its swaddling clothes chose not merely a monetary reward but an order rooted in merit. The Order of Skanderbeg was a granite foundation stone in the construction of the new Albania, meant to highlight the power of example.
A system of values where recognition makes merit eternal. The greatness of the name it carried allowed it to survive the sword of the monarchy, the fire of dictatorship, and the mud of transition. The system of decorations eventually turned into an instrument for rewarding submission to the state. Once, those decorated were people who helped elevate the nation; in the end, even the first could not tell the second apart. Medals lost their meaning and any connection to the European constellation of orders and decorations, reduced merely to metallic symbols.”
