In 33 years of democracy, 5 US secretaries of state have visited Albania. The first was James Baker in 1991, to be followed by Madeleine Albright, Colin Powell, Hillary Clinton and John Kerry.
Antony Blinken is the sixth American Secretary of State to visit Albania, in a span of 33 years. The first to set foot in Albania was James Baker.
Baker arrived in Tirana on June 22, 1991, exactly 52 years after Albania established diplomatic relations with the USA. His visit was accompanied by the largest pro-American rally held at the time, while also paving the way for his heirs to come again.
9 years later, on February 18, 2020, Madeleine Albright arrived in Tirana when Ilir Meta was prime minister, and at that time she expressed support not only for Albania, but also for Kosovo, which had just emerged from the war.
The third Colin Powell came down in May 2003 and praised Albania as an ally in the coalition against Iraq, when the debate was about whether the US should go to war there or not.
Even Hillary Clinton, in 2012, gave a powerful message on November 1 in the Albanian parliament. “The US has stood with you for the first 100 years of independence and will stand with you for another 100 years.”
Meanwhile, years later, on February 14, 2016, John Kerry arrived in Tirana when Edi Rama was the prime minister, to promote justice reform. “Justice reform is vital. Albanians want judges and prosecutors who adhere to the law and not the party in power,” declared Kerry.
