Area Handbook for Albania Part 28

_pasha_--A person of high rank; formerly used as a t.i.tle of respect; t.i.tle given to appointed provincial heads during the Ottoman period.

People's Army--The armed forces of Albania. Composed of ground, air, and navy elements.

People's Council--The highest government organ at district and lower echelons. Members are elected for three-year terms.

Politburo--The highest and most powerful executive body of the Albanian Workers' Party. In early 1970 it consisted of eleven full members and five candidate members.

Presidium of the People's a.s.sembly--Administers and conducts governmental functions between a.s.sembly meetings. Issues decrees and judges const.i.tutionality of laws. In early 1970, composed of a president, two vice presidents, and ten members.

revisionism--As interpreted by Albanian Communists, the actions and ideologies of Communist states that are inconsistent with Albanian interpretations of Marxism-Leninism.

Sigurimi--Name applied to state security police under the Communist regime; derived from the Directorate of State Security (Drejtorija e Sigurimit te Shtet.i.t).

Sunni--One of the two major branches of Islam.

Tosks--The smaller of the two subgroups of Albanians. They live south of the Shk.u.mbin River. Differences in social organization between the two groups lessened under Communist rule. They abandoned their tribal pattern of life earlier and were more influenced by foreign cultures before 1945 than were the Gegs.

Zogu, Ahmet--Served as prime minister and president during the early 1920s; then ruled as King Zog from 1928 until 1939. Was leader of conservative forces composed of landowners, former Ottoman bureaucrats, and tribal chiefs.