Eduard Halimi
Eduard Halimi | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Albanian Parliament | |
| In office 7 September 2009 – 9 February 2018 | |
| Constituency |
|
| Minister of Justice | |
| In office 21 July 2011 – 11 September 2013 | |
| Prime Minister | Sali Berisha |
| Preceded by | Bujar Nishani |
| Succeeded by | Nasip Naço |
| Deputy Minister of Justice | |
| In office 2005–2008 | |
| Prime Minister | Sali Berisha |
| State General Advocate | |
| In office 2008–2009 | |
| Prime Minister | Sali Berisha |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 8 December 1972 |
| Party | Democratic Party |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | University of Tirana Albanian School of Magistrates |
| Occupation |
|
| Profession | Lawyer |
| Signature | .svg) |
Eduard Halimi (born 8 December 1972) is an Albanian lawyer and former Democratic Party member of the Albanian Parliament. He served as a member of parliament from 2009 until 2018 and as Albania's Minister of Justice from 2011 until 2013 in the Berisha II Government.[1][2]
Early life and education
[edit]Halimi was born in Korçë on 8 December 1972.[3] He received a bachelor's degree in law from the University of Tirana in 1995. He also graduated from the Police Academy in 1997 and completed studies at the Albanian School of Magistrates in 2000.[1][2]
Legal career
[edit]Halimi worked as a lawyer before entering government service. In 2001, he founded Halimi Law Firm, later known as Halimi Law & Tax, which he suspended after entering public office because of conflict-of-interest rules.[2] From 2002 to 2005, he served as a legal expert for parliamentary inquiry committees.[1][2]
After leaving parliament in 2018, Halimi returned to private legal practice. His law firm later became known as Halimi Ahmetaj Law and Tax, with Halimi described as its founder and a senior legal professional with experience in public office, private law, banking and technology.[4][5] In 2025, he promoted the legal-practice book Becoming a Good Lawyer at Luarasi University.[6]
Political career
[edit]In October 2005, Halimi was appointed Deputy Minister of Justice in the government of Prime Minister Sali Berisha.[1][2] In 2007, he was elected to the Tirana Municipal Council, and in 2008 he was appointed State General Advocate.[1] He was elected as a member of the Albanian Parliament for the Democratic Party of Albania in the 2009 Albanian parliamentary election.[7][8]
From 2009 to July 2011, he served as secretary of the parliamentary Committee on Legal Affairs, Public Administration and Human Rights.[1] On 21 July 2011, Halimi was appointed Minister of Justice, succeeding Bujar Nishani.[1][9] As justice minister, he also served as a member of the High Council of Justice.[10]
During his time as minister, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights wrote to Halimi in 2012 urging Albania to make its legal-aid system more accessible to vulnerable people.[11]
Halimi was re-elected to parliament in the 2013 and 2017 elections.[2][12] In the 2017–2021 legislature, he represented Berat County and was listed as deputy chair of the Committee on Legal Affairs, Public Administration and Human Rights.
Judicial reform
[edit]After the Democratic Party entered opposition in 2013, Halimi was one of its main representatives on justice-sector issues. In 2014, he said that the opposition would join the special parliamentary commission on judicial reform following intervention from international representatives.[13] In 2015, during debates on constitutional amendments for the justice reform, Halimi criticised proposals by the governing majority, arguing that the process risked political capture of justice institutions.[14] He was the Democratic Party's vice-chairman of the Justice Reform Commission in 2015.[15]
Resignation from parliament
[edit]On 9 February 2018, Halimi resigned from parliament, saying that he would pursue a private international law project in the Balkans.[16] Later that month, the Central Election Commission gave the mandate to Astrit Veliaj, who replaced Halimi in parliament.[17]
In March 2021, ahead of the 2021 Albanian parliamentary election, Halimi returned to Democratic Party campaign work as a political coordinator but said that he would not be a candidate for parliament.[18][19]
Personal life
[edit]Halimi has two children.[1]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Minister CV". Albania Ministry of Justice. Archived from the original on 15 March 2012. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Eduard Halimi". Halimi Law & Tax. Retrieved 22 June 2026.
- ↑ "Eduard Halimi". GLP. Archived from the original on 10 June 2015. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
- ↑ "Halimi Ahmetaj Law and Tax > Albania". The Legal 500. Retrieved 22 June 2026.
- ↑ "Halimi Law & Tax - Legal services in Tirana, Albania". Lawzana. Retrieved 22 June 2026.
- ↑ "'Becoming a good lawyer', Eduard Halimi promotes the book at Luarasi University". BalkanWeb. Retrieved 22 June 2026.
- ↑ "Parliamentary group". pd.al. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
- ↑ "List of elected members". Albanian parliament. Archived from the original on 14 May 2011.
- ↑ "Albania names new justice, culture ministers after delay". Macleans. Associated Press. 19 July 2011. Retrieved 8 September 2012.[permanent dead link]
- ↑ "Halimi on HCJ: Deputy-chairman to be appointed by Nishani". Albanian Screen. 26 June 2012. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
- ↑ "Albania should make its legal aid system more accessible". Council of Europe. 6 November 2012. Retrieved 22 June 2026.
- ↑ "U zgjodh deputet në Berat, Eduard Halimi falenderon mbështetësit e PD, ja mesazhi". Gazeta Shqiptare (in Albanian). 27 June 2017. Retrieved 22 June 2026.
- ↑ "Opposition joins justice reform commission". Tirana Times. Retrieved 22 June 2026.
- ↑ Erebara, Gjergj (7 August 2015). "Albanian Justice System 'Needs Surgery'". Balkan Insight. Retrieved 22 June 2026.
- ↑ "Eduard Halimi: Whoever says that the DP is boycotting is wrong". BalkanWeb. Retrieved 22 June 2026.
- ↑ "DP MP leaves office, who will take Eduard Halimi's place in parliament". BalkanWeb. 9 February 2018. Retrieved 22 June 2026.
- ↑ "Astrit Veliaj replaces the resigned DP deputy Eduard Halimi". Koha. 19 February 2018. Retrieved 22 June 2026.
- ↑ "Eduard Halimi returns to politics, but not as an MP". Tirana Post. 7 March 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2026.
- ↑ "April Polls, DP with Special Political Coordinator". Albanian Daily News. 7 March 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2026.