Erion Veliaj

Amidst the protests against the construction of a new theatre building in the historic National Theatre in Tirana, on 8th May 2020 the Albanian government transferred ownership of the land of the National Theatre to the Tirana Municipality through a special law. This law emphasized that the land must be used only for the construction of a new theatre building.

After more then two years of consecutive protests for the protection of National theatre and after a dubious legal procedure, the building was demolished on Sunday 17th May 2020 by police bulldozers with heavy police presence at 4:30 in the morning. This action which was took place during the emergency state in Albania due to Coronavirus pandemic.

On November 27, 2018, in a televised speech to the City Council, Mr. Veliaj reacted to the developing story about a police officer who lost her fingers in clashes with protesters in Tirana, by saying "We are all men here. Would any of us have eyes to marry someone with no fingers?"

On November 13, 2018, in his speech to the City Council, Erion Veliaj reacted to peaceful protests against his local government's decision to demolish some 317 houses without properly compensating residents, by calling the families protesting the forced eviction "people who don't belong to this city", "people who have no roots in this city", and "cavemen". A large number of Tirana's residents, including a majority of families whose homes are set to be demolished, moved from rural parts of Northern Albania to the capital in the early 1990s. This segment of the population has faced continuous discrimination and prejudice.

Ardit Gjoklaj, a 17 year old boy died in 7 August 2016 working in very poor conditions in the landfill of Sharrë. His death became controversial because the company that managed the landfill of Sharrë, "3R" was promoted publicly by Erion Veliaj himself as having good working conditions. The judicial process surrounding the case was also very controversial.

Previously he has served as a Member of the Parliament for the district of Gjirokastër and as Minister of Social Welfare and Youth under Prime Minister Edi Rama. In April 2015, Veliaj was appointed as mayoral candidate of the Socialist Party in the city of Tirana. He won the elections and took office on July 31, 2015.

The issue of urban air pollution is a growing concern in Tirana, and the role of the car can be controversial. In September 2015, Tirana organized its first vehicle-free day. In January 2017 the new Skanderbeg Square was inaugurated by Veliaj and the Prime Minister. In July 2017 the Municipality of Tiranë voted to raise the water tariff significantly, Veliaj promoted this action by arguing that it would eventually make drinking water available 24 hours a day, and help improve its access and quality. During his term as Mayor, he has earned the nickname ‘Lali Eri’, which can be translated as Dude Eri.

In the Socialist Party, Veliaj was nominated to serve as Secretary for Youth and Emigration. In 2013, he was nominated as a candidate for MP representing the district of Gjirokastër. The center-left coalition of political parties won the 2013 Parliamentary Election and Veliaj was appointed to serve as Minister of Social Welfare and Youth in Edi Rama's new cabinet. He resigned in 2015 due to him being nominated as SPA's candidate for Mayor of Tirana. Veliaj was elected Mayor of Tirana with 53.58% of the vote, defeating Democratic Party's candidate, Halim Kosova and the independent candidate, Gjergj Bojaxhi.

In a 2011 email to EU representatives, Mr. Veliaj briefed them on what he claimed was a politically motivated kidnapping of Kavaja's mayor's wife, Griselda Roshi, which allegedly led to a forced abortion. He related the kidnapping to the fact that Elvis Roshi had been able to flip a district such as Kavaja that traditionally voted for the DPA. The story was debunked after Ms. Roshi revealed to Albanian authorities that she had made up her kidnapping and was not pregnant. In a 2011 meeting on human rights in Albania, MEP Tanja Fajon used this debunked story as an illustrative example. She later apologized and claimed Mr. Veliaj never updated her on this story. This controversy has raised serious concerns over Mr. Veliaj's using of fake news and personal connections to influence high-ranked EU officials.

In 2008, Erion Veliaj and a few other activists from MJAFT! created G99 (Group 99), a center-left political party. While initially unaligned, G99 ended up joining other political parties of the center-left coalition in the 2009 Parliamentary Election. Erion Veliaj ran as G99's leading candidate for the district of Tirana. Despite the media attention, Erion Veliaj and G99 only earned 0.86% of the vote, failing to win a seat in the Parliament. In 2011, Veliaj leaves G99 and joins the Socialist Party of Albania.

Veliaj was one of earliest activists of MJAFT!, a civic organization created in 2003 aimed at protesting social and political injustices in Albania. He soon became one of the central figures of MJAFT! due to his many TV appearances. Veliaj was involved with MJAFT! until November 2007. This Mjaft organization showed the controversial Muhammad cartoons on its pages when Veliaj was a leader of it.

Erion Veliaj (born December 17, 1979) is an Albanian politician, who is currently serving as the 42nd Mayor of Tirana. Stemming from a civil society activism organization as the leader of MJAFT!, Veliaj joined the ranks of the Socialist Party of Albania in 2011, when he was appointed Secretary for Youth and Immigration.

Erion Veliaj was born on December 17, 1979 in Tirana, Albania. His father Luan Veliaj served as an officer in the Albanian Army, while his mother was an HR Manager in the military. He attended the "Sami Frasheri" High School in Tirana and then later Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan where he graduated with a B.A. in political science. He received his Master's degree in European Integration from the University of Sussex. Before returning to Albania, Veliaj worked with several international humanitarian organizations in the Americas, Eastern Africa, and Kosovo.