Fatos Thanas Nano
Prime Minister

(pronounced "FAH-toess TAHN-ahs NAH-no")

"We [Balkan nations] all have the same priorities, but real change can happen only if we build a regional authority to lead the way."

The Republic of Albania is situated in southeastern Europe and is bordered to the south by Greece, to the east by the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), to the north by Serbia and Montenegro, and to the west by the Adriatic Sea. The total area is 28,748 sq km (17,864 sq mi), of which over two-thirds is mountainous and the rest river valleys and coastal lowlands.

The country's total population was estimated at 3.5 million in July 2002. Over 95% are ethnic Albanian, with Greeks comprising most of the rest. Outside of the country's borders live about an equal number of ethnic Albanians, mainly in the Kosovo region within Serbia and...