Who led communist Albania from the end of WWII until 1985, created a highly repressive regime, initially Stalinist but aligned with China, later isolating Albania?

• A. Enver Hoxha
• B. Tito
• C. Kim Il Sung
• D. Nicolae Ceaușescu

Answer: (A)

Enver Hoxha led communist Albania from the end of World War II until his death in 1985, establishing a tightly controlled, one-party regime with a pervasive security apparatus and a personality cult. In the early postwar years he built a Stalinist system modeled on Soviet-style repression and central planning. After the Soviet-Yugoslav split, Albania broke with Moscow and aligned with Maoist China, adopting a more radical line and receiving aid from Beijing. As China’s own strategy shifted and global Cold War dynamics changed, Albania moved toward even deeper isolation, pursuing autarky and cutting most international ties. This combination of a repressive state structure, initial alignment with Stalinist-era norms before switching to China, and eventual complete isolation fits Enver Hoxha. The other figures led different countries—the Yugoslav leader in Yugoslavia, the North Korean leader, and the Romanian leader—so they do not match Albania's history.