BELGRADE (Reuters) – Ismail Kadare, an acclaimed Albanian novelist and playwright who opposed the long rule of late Communist dictator Enver Hoxha, has died in a Tirana hospital after having a heart attack, local television cited his editor as saying. He was 88.
Kadare, a leading figure in Albanian and international literature, gained recognition in 1963 with his novel “The General of the Dead Army”, which drew praise from literary critics around the world.
Prime Minister Edi Rama paid tribute to Kadare in a message on Facebook, hailing him as a “monument of Albanian culture”.
Kadare, who split his time between Albania and France, was the Balkan country’s best-known novelist and his works have been published in 45 languages. He also produced poems, essays and screenplays.
He received numerous international awards, including the Man Booker International Prize in 2005, the Prince of Asturias Prize for the Arts in 2009, and the Jerusalem Prize in 2015.
Born in the town of Gjirokaster in 1936, in the-then Kingdom of Albania, Kadare was the son of a post office employee and a housewife. After World War II, he graduated in languages and literature from the University of Tirana.
He is survived by his wife, the author Helena Kadare, and their two daughters.
(Reporting by Aleksandar Vasovic; Editing by Helen Popper)
