Guri Durollari

Guri Rapush Durollari (25 May 1939 – 20 August 2022) was an Albanian‑American political activist and politician best known for re-establishing and leading the Legality Movement Party (Partia Lëvizja e Legalitetit, abrr. PLL), in post Communism Albania, serving from May 1993 until 1998.

Durollari was born into a family from Pogradec, Albania and fled to the United States in 1969 amid the repressive political climate in communist Albania. During his years in America, he was active in the Albanian diaspora community and campaigned against the communist regime in his homeland as well as advocating for the rights of Albanians in the Balkans, including support for Kosovo.^[1]

After the fall of communism in Albania in the early 1990s, Durollari returned to Albania and re‑established the Legality Movement Party in Albania, which had roots in monarchist and anti‑communist traditions. He was elected as the party's chairman,in the XII Congress of the Legality Movement Party in May 1993, Durollari was chosen as chairman after other candidates withdrew. Before the vote, Rasim Sina withdrew his candidacy,and he was subsequently elected party leader at that congress.^[2]

In the 1997 parliamentary elections, Durollari was elected to the Albanian parliament (Kuvendi) as an MP representing the Legality Movement, serving until 2001. During this period he campaigned for the restoration of the monarchy and participated in the 1997 referendum on the form of government, in which he supported re‑establishing a constitutional monarchy.^[3]

Later in life, Durollari continued to be involved in monarchist and diaspora activities.^[4] A resident of Hackensack, New Jersey, he died on 20 August 2022 in at the age of 83.^[5]