Mimi Kodheli

Mimi Kodheli (born 11 September 1964) is the Minister of Defense of Albania in the Rama Government of Prime Minister Edi Rama. She is the first woman to be appointed to the post.

Kodheli was appointed Minister of Defense on 15 September 2013, replacing Arben Imami in the post.

She was born in Tirana, on 11 September 1964. She is married to Leka and they have a son, Mikel.

She received a Doctorate in Economic Science at the University of Verona, Italy, in cooperation with the University of Tirana, Economic Faculty, since 2007. She has a master degree in Public Administration from the Lincoln University in Nebraska, United States, in cooperation with University of Tirana since 2000, and also graduated from the University of Tirana, Economic Faculty, in Finance since 1986.

She entered politics in 2002, when she was appointed Deputy Mayor of the Tirana Municipality. In 2005, she was appointed Prefect of the Tirana County and in 2009 was elected Member of Parliament holding the position of Vice Chair of the Economy and Finance Committee throughout the legislature. Since 2007, she is a member of the Socialist Party leadership. She has studied in various fields such as, international markets, bond and assets, labour and investment markets, trainings on small and medium enterprises and banking management. She has participated in a programme of the U.S. State Department, “Women in Politics”, and in the “National Security Policy” programme of the Marshall European Centre for Security Studies.

She speaks fluent English and Italian, and knows the French and Spanish languages.