Damian Gjiknuri

Meet Gjiknuris with Dan Brouillette in February 2018.

Damian Gjiknuri (born May 25, 1972 in Tirana ) is an Albanian politician ( PS ). From 2013 to 2017 he was Minister for Energy and Industry in the Rama I cabinet . From September 2017 to December 2018 he was Minister for Energy and Infrastructure in the Rama II cabinet .

education

He completed his law studies at the University of Tirana in 1994 with a diploma. In the same year he attended postgraduate training in international law at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands. Two years later he received a Masters in Public Administration from the College of Law in London. In 2000 he continued his education at the Geneva Center for Security Policy . He received his second Masters from the Naval Postgraduate School . In his thesis he dealt with the possibilities for fighting terrorism in Albania.

He attended several courses in the European Union and the United States . The focus of his further education was in the areas of security, public administration, concessions and electoral legislation.

Political career

Damian Gjiknuri has been a member of the Socialist Party and a member of the party executive committee since 2005. Gjiknuri was elected party secretary for legal issues in 2007 and is one of the authors of the 2008 electoral law.

He is considered an expert in the field of national, regional and European energy policy and security. Prime Minister Edi Rama described him as one of his most capable ministers.

Member of the Opposition (2009-2013)

After the national elections in 2009, he entered the Albanian parliament for the first time as a member of the Qark Elbasan . From 2009 to 2013 he was a member of the parliamentary commission for legislation and between 2011 and 2016 he was the secretary responsible for elections. Between 2011 and 2012 he was a member of the board of the electoral reform commission.

Cabinet Rama I (2013-2017)

In 2013 he stood for election and moved again to parliament as a member of the Qark Elbasan. He assumed government responsibility for the first time in the Rama I cabinet and held the post of Minister for Energy and Industry. Damian Gjiknuri was thus responsible for an energy sector with high investment needs and a poor financial situation. In addition, he took over a ministry that was in litigation with the Czech utility company CEZ Shpërndarje .

In March 2009, ČEZ bought 76% of the shares in Operatori i Sistemit të Shpërndarjes (OSSH for short), a subsidiary of the state energy supplier Korporata Elektroenergjitike Shqiptare , for 102 million euros . Due to disputes, Albanian authorities under Prime Minister Sali Berisha revoked the license of CEZ Shpërndarje in January 2013, whereupon ČEZ sued the Albanian state. After Damian Gjiknuri took office, Albania reached an out-of-court settlement with the Czechs. Since then, the shares in OSSH are again in the hands of the Albanian state.

When Gjiknuri took over the energy ministry, only two-thirds of customers paid their electricity bills. About 50% of the electricity was lost due to the ailing power grid and illegal connections. In 2013 OSSHE posted a loss of 199 million euros on income of 282 million euros. The total debt reached a value of 904 million euros in 2014 and grew by an average of 71 million euros per year between 2012 and 2014. Investments in the electrical infrastructure and measures to discipline customers increased revenues for 2015 to 484 million euros. The company achieved a positive operating result of 110 million euros for the first time that year. As a result, the debt decreased to 774 million euros by the end of 2016. Stricter controls resulted in an increase in payment behavior, and the proportion of invoices paid rose to almost 90%. The losses in the network decreased to 28% by the end of 2016.

Cabinet Rama II (2017-2021)

In the 2017 parliamentary elections , Gjiknuri got his third mandate, but this time Vlora County elected him as MP. In the new government, Gjiknuri headed the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, which is considered a super ministry . After a period of prolonged student protests, Rama dismissed eight ministers, including Damian Gjiknuri, in December 2018. Rama explained the change in view of the upcoming local elections in June 2019.

Private life

Damian Gjiknuri is married to Rovena Gjiknuri. The couple have two children, son Aleks and daughter Katerina. Damian Gjiknuri speaks fluent English and good Italian.

Web links

• Profile on the official government website

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Albania's counter-terrorism policy options: finding a strategy of common sense (pdf). In: Naval Postgraduate School. Damian Gjiknuri, June 1, 2004, accessed December 27, 2017 . 
2. ↑ Bilanci 2015 për OSHEE: 65.7 miliard lekë arkëtime, humbjet ulen në 31.3%. (No longer available online.) In: Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure. February 12, 2016, archived from the original on December 27, 2017 ; Retrieved December 27, 2017 (Albanian). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
3. ↑ Bilanci i 11-Mujorit: Rriten arkëtimet, humbjet zbresin në 27.7%. (No longer available online.) In: Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure. December 13, 2016, archived from the original on December 28, 2017 ; Retrieved December 27, 2017 (Albanian). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
4. ↑ "Bibilushi" emërohet zv / kryeministër. In: Sprint.al. December 28, 2018, Retrieved December 28, 2018 (Albanian). 
5. ↑ AP: Albania's PM makes Cabinet reshuffle after student protest. (No longer available online.) In: Miami Herald. December 28, 2018, archived from the original on December 28, 2018 ; accessed on December 28, 2018 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.