Dr. Shpresa Kureta, Ambassador of Albania to Poland

Shpresa Kureta, a Senior Foreign Service Officer of the Republic of Albania, at the rank of Minister-Plenipotentiary, on April 29, 2014, is nominated Ambassador Resident of the Republic of Albania to the Republic of Poland and Ambassador Non-resident to the Republic of Estonia, Republic of Latvia, Republic of Lithuania and Ukraine.

From January 2014, until assuming her responsibility in Warsaw, in September 2014, Ambassador Kureta has served as Director for Regional Affairs and Neighbouring Countries at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. At the same time she was appointed National Coordinator of Albania at the Central European Initiative (CEI), from May 2013. Ambassador Kureta has been Director for Southeast Europe at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, from August 2009. Prior to assuming that assignment, she was the NATO Membership Action Plan (MAP) Coordinator, at the Department of NATO, from March 2006 to August 2009. As MAP Coordinator, Ms. Kureta coordinated the work of different ministries and agencies involved in MAP process, on drafting and monitoring the implementation of the MAP document, exchanging of information and prepared reports for the Prime Minister Office, as well as prepared meetings of the Interministerial Committee for Integration and meetings of the Working Group.

In September 2001, Ms. Kureta was nominated Ambassador of Albania to Austria, where she served up to the end of December 2005. In December 2000, she was posted to the Embassy of the Republic of Albania in Stockholm, during the Swedish Presidency of the European Union, where she served as Counsellor, up to November 2001. From September 1999 to December 2000, Ambassador Kureta was the Director of the Department for Americas, where she served also as a Desk Officer, since joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in December 1997.

Prior to joining the Foreign Service, Ambassador Kureta was Managing Director of “De Me Tra”, a training and consultancy NGO, which she cofounded. Prior to that, she taught at Tirana University, and received her doctorate there, in 1991. She has a University Diploma from the Faculty of Political Sciences and Law at Tirana University, in 1982.

By the end of her service to Austria, the President of the Republic of Austria awarded Ambassador Kureta “The Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold with Sash”.

Ambassador Kureta is married and mother of Vanina & Endrit.