User:FutureBlock/Linda Rama

Linda Rama (née Basha, born in Tirana, on 30.12.1964), is a senior Albanian economist (Doctor of Economic Science), researcher, university lecturer, and advocate for the rights of women[1] and children[2].

General Profile
After completing her studies at the [[University of Tirana ]] School of Economics in 1987, Linda started her professional career at the Textile Plant in Tirana.[1] Only one year after the fall of communism, (1992), she left Albania to pursue advanced studies in Prague, the Czech Republic, being the first economist with a Master’s degree in Economics who returned to Albania in the 1990s.[2] In 1996, she obtained a Ph.D. in economic science, with a thesis on “The Economic Reform and Mass Privatisation in Albania.” Between 1993 and 1998, Linda Rama offered her expertise at the high levels of public administration (National Privatisation Agency under the Council of Ministers), first focusing on the privatisation of large and strategic state-owned enterprises and later as the Director General of the Agency (1997–1998). In March 1999, she co-founded the Human Development Promotion Centre (HDPC) and has since engaged as a consultant for numerous international institutions. She used to be a member of the Supervisory Board of the Share Registration Centre that preceded the establishment of Albania’s stock exchange (1996 – 1999). Linda has served in various positions in the course of her professional life, inter alia, as a member and Chair of the Board of the Open Society Foundation in Albania (2005 – 2010), member of the Board of Directors of the American Bank of Investment (2015 – 2018), and lecturer of international finance at the University of Tirana, School of Economics and lecturer of public policies and risk management at the European University of Tirana. Her keen academic and research interests have always been strongly driven by her sensitivity toward society’s most vulnerable groups, like children, women, categories in need, people with disabilities, or minorities.[3] In 2001, she became one of the co-founders of the Albanian Children Alliance[4] and in 2002 served as an accredited contributor to the meetings of the Preparatory Committee for the Special UN General Assembly Session on Children. At present, she continues her engagement as a researcher at the Human Development Promotion Centre (HDPC) and a consultant for various international entities with a focus on economics, public policy, and human development issues.

Since 2010, Linda is married to the 33rd Prime Minister of the Republic of Albania, Mr. Edi Rama.