Albert P. Nikolla has been a member of the Authority for Information on Former State Security Documents since June 2022. He has an in-depth background in the field of cultural anthropology and extensive experience in public administration and civil society. His academic background combines philosophy, political ethics and anthropology, fields in which he has conducted research focused on the impact of totalitarian ideologies on Albanian society, on the figure of the “new man” during the communist dictatorship and the challenges of the post-communist transition. He has completed his doctorate in cultural anthropology and has been a guest lecturer at Albanian and foreign universities, including the University of Florence and the “Aleksandër Moisiu” University in Durrës. In 2014 he earned the title of Associate Professor at the Academy of Albanological Studies. Assoc. Prof. Albert Nikolla is the author of several scholarly publications and books, such as: “The New Albanian Man, Between Communist Morality and the Crisis of Transition” (Onufri, 2012), “Anthropology in MAPO” (UET Press, 2018), and “The ’68 Movement and Albanian Anticulture” (forthcoming, 2023). He has also published articles on the persecution of scientists during the dictatorship, the impact of the Chinese Cultural Revolution in Albania, and the case of Musine Kokalari as a symbol of intellectual resistance. In his role as a member of the Authority, Nikolla has actively participated in national and international conferences dedicated to historical memory, the access of researchers and journalists to the documents of the former State Security, and the importance of verifying the past through archival documentation. In these forums, he has brought an anthropological approach to the analysis of collective trauma and the construction of public memory in Albania. Before joining the Authority, he held important positions in the state administration as Deputy Minister of Health and Social Protection, and served as Secretary for Media and Civil Society Relations in the Socialist Party. He has also been chairman of the Committee for Cultural Heritage and Tourism in the Tirana Municipal Council and for several years the director of Caritas Albania. With an experience that combines academic knowledge, public commitment and commitment to historical justice, Albert P. Nikolla remains an important voice in the debate on memory and social identity in post-totalitarian Albania.
