Esmeralda Hasani has been proposed by Prime Minister Edi Rama to take over the leadership of the State Information Service, replacing Vlora Hysen, who is under house arrest on charges brought by SPAK.
According to sources, Rama’s proposal has been forwarded to the President of the Republic, while the appointment has not yet been officially announced.
Hasani is a lawyer and project expert, with experience in government administration, academic institutions and international cooperation. She is also known as a friend of Vlora Hysen, who appointed her a while ago to the position of head of the Support Department at SHISH.
This development takes on special importance due to the situation created around the current head of the institution. SPAK accuses Hysen of revealing state secrets and collaborating with Ergys Agas. According to the investigations, telephone communications have evidenced continuous contact between them, even at the time when Agasi was being sought.
Who is Esmeralda Hasani?
Hasani has built a career that combines European law, university teaching, leading institutes and consulting with government institutions.
She is presented as a senior consultant at the Prime Minister’s Office for project planning and financing. He graduated in international law in Milan and completed post-graduate studies in project planning and development in Brussels.
In the period 2015-2019, he directed the Barleti Research and Development Institute, while then he took the direction of the Adriapol Institute, focused on research, educational projects and development initiatives.
Hasani has also had commitments in the government administration. During the years 2017-2018, she served as an advisor and chief of staff to the Minister of State for the Diaspora, contributing to projects for the inclusion of the Albanian diaspora in the economic and social development of the country.
Her name also appears in the management structures of the National Diaspora Agency, where she was appointed in 2018 as a representative of the Minister of State for Diaspora.
In the academic field, she co-authored a study published in January 2023 on the Albanian legal and institutional framework for the fight against violent extremism in cyberspace.
According to the legal procedure, the head of SHISH is appointed by the President of the Republic, with the proposal of the Prime Minister. If Rama’s proposal is approved, Esmeralda Hasani will take the direction of one of the most important national security institutions, at a delicate moment for the State Intelligence Service.
