AMBASSADOR EGLANTINA GJERMENI
Permanent Representative of Albania to the International Organizations in Vienna
 
 
Ambassador Eglantina Gjermeni was appointed Permanent Representative of the Republic of Albania to the OSCE, the UN and other International Organizations in Vienna in February 2022.
 
She has been an elected member of the Albanian Parliament for two terms, 2009-2013 and 2017-2021. In September 2013, she was appointed Minister of Urban Development and Tourism, a position she held until February 2014, to continue as Minister of Urban Development until September 2017.
 
During the 2017-2021 term, she chaired the Subcommittee on Gender Equality and Prevention of Violence against Women, and was a member of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs, and of the Committee on Productive Activities, Trade and Environment. She was also a member of the Albanian Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. In January 2021, Dr. Gjermeni was elected as Chair of the Subcommittee on Gender Equality at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, a function she held until September 2021.
 
As a minister and as legislator, Dr. Gjermeni has been particularly committed to advancing women’s and girl’s rights in Albania, initiating and contributing to different laws aiming at a more gender sensitive legislation.
 
Besides her engagement in politics, Dr. Gjermeni has worked as a lecturer at the Social Work and Social Policy Department in the Faculty of Social Sciences, at the University of Tirana, since 1995. From September 2021, she teaches “Women, Leadership and Power” course at John Wesley School of Leadership, Carolina University, USA.
 
Earlier in her career, for ten years Dr. Gjermeni held the post of Executive Director of the Gender Alliance for Development Center, an organization that provides training, lobbying and advocacy, research, and reports on women and gender issues in Albania.
 
In April 2017, Dr. Gjermeni was awarded the “Distinguished Alumni Award”, by Alumni Association, Grand Valley State University, Grand Rapids, Michigan. Since 2017, she is a member of Steering Committee of Regional Women's Lobby for Peace, Security and Justice in Southeast Europe.
 
Ambassador Gjermeni holds a PhD in Social Work from the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Tirana, Albania, and a Master Degree in Social Work, from Grand Valley State University. MI, USA.