Nation Mourns: Thousands Pay Respects to Ismail Kadare at State Funeral

Thousands gathered in Tirana to honor Ismail Kadare, a celebrated Albanian novelist and poet, at his state funeral. The event featured nationwide tributes, with poems recited and flags flown at half-staff. Officials from neighboring regions attended, and two days of mourning were declared in Albania and Kosovo.

Thousands of people paid their last respects to Ismail Kadare in a state funeral held in Tirana on Wednesday, with a minute's silence observed nationwide in honor of the renowned Albanian novelist and poet who passed away earlier this week.

Kadare's coffin, escorted by National Guard officers, lay in state in the entrance hall of the Opera and Ballet Theater in Skanderbeg Square as his poems were recited. "He came, wrote and left," Prime Minister Edi Rama remarked during the ceremony, highlighting that Kadare had elevated Albanian literature to global recognition. As the coffin was taken out of the hall, the crowd in Skanderbeg Square clapped and threw flowers in tribute. Albania has declared two days of mourning, and flags across the country are being flown at half-staff. The neighboring nation of Kosovo, also predominantly ethnic Albanian, declared Wednesday a day of mourning. Officials from Kosovo and North Macedonia, which houses a sizable ethnic Albanian minority, attended the funeral.

"Ismail Kadare will always be remembered as a promoter of national pride, like no one else," said Kosovo President Bajram Begaj.

Kadare was buried in a private family service following the state ceremony.

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