Leka, Prince of Albania

Leka, Prince of Albania (Leka Anwar Zog Reza Baudouin Msiziwe Zogu, born 26 March 1982) is a claimant to the defunct throne of Albania and the head of the House of Zogu.

At the time of his birth on 26 March 1982, the South African government, by order of Prime Minister P. W. Botha, declared his maternity ward extraterritorial land, to ensure that Leka was born on Albanian soil.

Leka is the only child of Leka, Crown Prince of Albania and his wife Susan, Crown Princess of Albania.

On 5 April 2004, Leka accepted the Mother Teresa Medal on behalf of his late grandmother, Queen Géraldine, for her humanitarian efforts.

Leka is known to have worked with youth organizations, like MJAFT!, and supported a wide range of humanitarian efforts in Albania, but he maintains that he only supports self-help projects to stimulate Albanian and Kosovar economic growth, Gazeta Sot.

Leka is known as a supporter of Kosovar independence from Serbia and has close ties to the Kosovar leadership in Pristina.

Leka founded the youth leadership of the Movement for National Development, which was a movement created by his father in 2005 to change the political face of Albania.

On 21 August 2007, Foreign Minister Lulzim Basha announced that Leka had been appointed to his office.

The prince intended to pursue a career in diplomacy.

After three years he was transferred to the office of the Minister of Interior.

In May 2010, Leka became engaged to Elia Zaharia, an Albanian actress and singer.

On 24 June 2010, Prince Leka unveiled a blue plaque at Parmoor House in Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom, which was the home of King Zog during his wartime exile.

Leka met Elia Zaharia in Paris, and in May 2010 they were engaged.

Since then she has accompanied him on most of his visits and meetings with members of royal families.

She is also head of the Queen Geraldine Foundation, which is a humanitarian, charitable and non-profit organisation, created by the Royal Court.

The foundation aims to be close to Albanian families who need help and to children who need care.

It has reconstructed numerous schools and kindergartens in northern Albania, especially in the Mat District, from where the Zogu Family comes.

He is the only grandchild of King Zog I of the Albanians, succeeding as head of the royal house upon the death of his father in 2011.

He has worked as an official at the country's interior and foreign ministries.

He also served as a political advisor to the Albanian President from 2012 to 2013.

After the election of Bujar Nishani as president in 2012, Leka was appointed as political adviser to the President.

Leka was considered as a candidate in the 2022 Albanian presidential election, though the position ultimately went to Bajram Begaj.

They married on 8 October 2016 in Tirana.

In January 2024, they revealed they were getting a divorce.

Leka is the son of the pretender to the defunct throne of Albania, Crown Prince Leka, and his Australian wife Crown Princess Susan.

He was named in honour of Egyptian president Anwar El Sadat, his grandfather King Zog I, Emperor Mohammed Reza of Iran, and Baudouin I, King of the Belgians.

Msiziwe is a Zulu term meaning 'the one who was assisted'.

Leka is a member of the House of Zogu.

Leka was educated in South Africa at St Peter's College, Johannesburg, and in the United Kingdom at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, where he was named Best Foreign Student of the Academy, being congratulated by the Albanian Minister of Defence.

He was also educated at the Skanderbeg Military Academy in Albania, at the Università per Stranieri in Perugia, where he studied the Italian language, and in Kosovo, where he studied international relations.

Leka resides in Tirana.

He speaks Albanian, English, some Zulu, and Italian.

He owns boxer dogs, and his interests include martial arts, volleyball, and swimming.

He is fond of wildlife and has taken part in mountain climbing, abseiling, and target shooting.

On 27 March 2016 it was announced by Skënder Zogu (born 1933), a member of the Zogu family, that the couple would be married on 8 October 2016 in the Royal Palace in Tirana.

It was announced on their Instagram page on 17 January 2024 that Prince Leka and Elia would be getting a mutual divorce as their marriage was no longer functioning.

Leka confirmed plans for the divorce two days prior on his personal Instagram page as well.

Leka was married on Saturday 8 October 2016 in Tirana.

The ceremony was a semi-official ceremony, held in Tirana in the Royal Palace, with many guests including members of other noble and royal families.

The event was a civil wedding officiated by the Mayor of Tirana, Erion Veliaj.