Liri Berisha

{{Short description|Albanian pediatrician (born 1948)}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Liri Berisha

| image name =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1948|7|5|df=y}}

| birth_place = Tirana, Albania

| birthname = Slobodanka Ramaj

| office = First Lady of Albania

| term_label = In role

| term_start = 9 April 1992

| term_end = 24 July 1997

| president = Sali Berisha

| predecessor = Semiramis Xhuvani (1986)

| successor = Lidra Meidani

| office1 = Spouse of the Prime Minister of Albania

| term_label1 = In role

| term_start1 = 8 September 2005

| term_end1 = 11 September 2013

| primeminister1 = Sali Berisha

| predecessor1 = Xhoana Nano

| successor1 = Linda Rama

| nationality = Albanian

| spouse = {{marriage|Sali Berisha|1971}}

| alma_mater = University of Tirana

| children = 2

| parents = {{plain list|

  • Rexhep Ramaj Balidemaj
  • Milica Bulatović}}

| image = File:Liri Berisha (cropped).jpg

}}

File:Sali Berisha with Obamas.jpg and Michelle Obama, September 2009]]

Liri Berisha ({{nee|Ramaj}}; born 5 July 1949) is an Albanian pediatrician, former first lady of Albania and the president of the Albanian Children Foundation, and also a UNICEF ambassador.

She is married to Sali Berisha, the former President and Prime Minister of Albania, with whom she has two children, daughter Argita and son Shkëlzen.

Early life and career

Liri Berisha was born Slobodanka Ramaj. She is the daughter of Rexhep Ramaj Balidemaj, an ethnic Albanian from Martinovići near Plav, at the time part of Yugoslavia (now Montenegro), and Milica Bulatović, a Montenegrin woman. After the Yugoslav–Albanian split in 1948, her name was changed by the government to Liri Ramaj{{citation|url=http://www.gazetadita.al/korigjojeni-emrin-e-nenes-ne-gjendjen-civile-znj-berisha/|language=Albanian|publisher=Gazeta Dita|date=2015-05-08|title=FAKSIMILE: A e ka korrigjuar më në fund emrin e nënës në Gjendjen Civile, zonja Berisha?|trans-title=Facsimile: Did Mrs. Berish correct her mother's name in the Civic Office registers?|quote=Liri Berisha është e bija e Rexhepit dhe Milicës. Rexhep Ramaj është një shqiptar i Malit të Zi dhe është martuar hershëm me shtetasen “Milica”, mbiemri i vajzërisë të së cilës është ende i pakonfirmuar tërësisht. Por në përpjekje për të mësuar më shumë, zbuluam se në prezantimin zyrtar të kryeministrit të Shqipërisë, zonja Liri Berisha përshkruhet si e bija e Rexhep Ramajt dhe Milica Bulatoviçit.|access-date=2015-11-28|archive-date=2015-12-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208152937/http://www.gazetadita.al/korigjojeni-emrin-e-nenes-ne-gjendjen-civile-znj-berisha/|url-status=dead}}

In 2008, Berisha founded the Mother Teresa Cultural Foundation.{{Cite web |url=http://capitolwords.org/date/2010/04/27/E683-3_honoring-the-first-lady-of-albania-dr-liri-berisha/ |title=Honoring the First Lady of Albania, Dr. Liri Berisha | Capitol Words |access-date=2015-11-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151124223455/http://capitolwords.org/date/2010/04/27/E683-3_honoring-the-first-lady-of-albania-dr-liri-berisha/ |archive-date=2015-11-24 |url-status=dead }} In 2009, the Women's Information Network named Berisha "Woman of the Year".{{cite web|url=http://capitolwords.org/date/2010/04/27/E683-3_honoring-the-first-lady-of-albania-dr-liri-berisha/|title=Honoring The First Lady Of Albania, Dr. Liri Berisha|publisher=Capitol Words|date=|accessdate=2015-11-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151124223455/http://capitolwords.org/date/2010/04/27/E683-3_honoring-the-first-lady-of-albania-dr-liri-berisha/|archive-date=2015-11-24|url-status=dead}}

Berisha joined Autism Speaks in 2011 in celebrating the opening of a new centre for autistic children in Albania, calling the centre a way to improve the lives of children with autism there.{{cite web|url=https://autismspeaksblog.wordpress.com/2011/11/30/albania-autism/|title=First Lady of Albania Attends Opening of New Autism Support Center in Tirana

|publisher=Autism Speaks|date=2011-11-30|accessdate=2016-12-18}}

References

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