Not only Berisha / 43 non grata american: from the President of Austria to the Romanian Speaker

Politiko.al

Among 43 non-American women, in a 35-year history of 4 such 'titles', 4 are Albanian, the most important among them Sali Berisha, former Prime Minister and then Adriatik Llalla, former Chief Prosecutor, Vangjush Dako, former mayor of SP, Tom Doshi, former deputy of the SP. Coming mainly from former communist countries such as Albania, Russia, Romania, and Cuba, the list is joined by an authoritarian country like Venezuela. But there is no shortage of high-ranking Westerners: former Austrian President and former United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim. He was accused of knowing about the crimes of Nazism committed during the war but did nothing.

Below is the full list:

• On May 19, 2021, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken declared former Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha persona non grata for "involvement in substantial corruption". Berisha has denied the accusations.

• On September 5, 2019, the United States declared the former leader of the Social Democratic Party of Romania and former Speaker of that country, Liviu Dragnea, persona non grata due to his conviction for corruption.

• On February 15, 2018, the United States declared the former Attorney General of Albania, Adriatik Llalla and his family, non grata, charged with corruption.

• On April 16, 2018, the United States declared former SP MP in the Albanian Parliament Tom Doshi, non grata, on corruption charges.

• On July 30, 2019, the United States declared the mayor of Durrës, Vangjush Dako, together with his family, persona non grata, charged with corruption.

• On December 29, 2016, thirty-five Russian diplomats were declared "personae non-gratae" by the United States in response to alleged Kremlin-backed interference in the 2016 United States presidential election.

• On January 6, 2012, the United States notified the Venezuelan government of the declaration of Venezuelan diplomat Livia Acosta Noguera persona non grata and requested that she leave the United States by January 10, 2012. The declaration was announced by the United States on January 8 and came after an FBI investigation into the allegations reported in a Univision documentary. The documentary alleged that several diplomats from various countries, including Venezuela, Iran, and Cuba were seeking information to carry out cyberattacks on U.S. facilities and had been in contact with a group posing as Mexican hackers at the Autonomous University of Mexico.

• On February 19, 2000, the United States proclaimed Jose Imperatori - a designated deputy consul in the Cuban affairs section of the Swiss embassy - persona non grata. The emperor was accused of acting as a mediator to assist Mariano Faget in his suspected espionage activities. The emperor refused to leave and was eventually physically expelled on 26 February 2000.

• In 1987 Kurt Waldheim, former Secretary-General of the United Nations and President of Austria, and his wife were granted persona non grata status in the United States and elsewhere when he was accused of being aware of the Nazi crimes of war and had done nothing for them.