Belinda Balluku
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Bajram Begaj
Belinda Balluku | |
|---|---|
.png) Balluku in 2023 | |
| Deputy Prime Minister of Albania | |
| In office 28 July 2022 – 26 February 2026 | |
| President | Ilir Meta Bajram Begaj |
| Prime Minister | Edi Rama |
| Preceded by | Arben Ahmetaj |
| Succeeded by | Albana Koçiu |
| Minister of Infrastructure and Energy | |
| In office 17 January 2019 – 26 February 2026 | |
| President | Ilir Meta Bajram Begaj |
| Prime Minister | Edi Rama |
| Preceded by | Damian Gjiknuri |
| Succeeded by | Enea Karakaçi |
| Member of the 31st Parliament of Albania | |
| Assumed office 10 September 2021 | |
| Parliamentary group | PS |
| Constituency | Tirana |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 9 October 1973 |
| Party | Socialist |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Signature | .svg) |
Belinda Balluku (born 9 October 1973) is an Albanian politician who has served as Deputy Prime Minister of Albania from 2022 until 2026, as well as serving as Minister of Infrastructure and Energy of Albania from 2019 until 2026.[1][2] She has also been a Member of the Parliament of Albania representing the District of Tirana since 2021.
On 20 November 2025, the Special Court Against Corruption and Organized Crime ordered the suspension from her governmental duties and a ban on leaving the country following her being formally charged by the Special Prosecution Office in connection with the Llogara Tunnel affair, including alleged violations of equality in public procurement related to the tunnel project and the fourth lot of Tirana’s Outer Ring Road.[3][4]
Balluku was born on 9 October 1973 in Tirana.[5] She stated in an interview that her family was persecuted during the Communist era of Albania and that her dad, Çlirim Balluku, worked in bitumen mines in Selenicë.[6] Her grandfather was Beqir Balluku, an early member of the communist movement in Albania and the Minister of People's Defence, who was executed in November 1975 for organizing a coup against the government.[7]
She graduated from the Athens Institute of Technology with degrees in law and business administration, and later on obtained an honorary master's degree in management from the International Air Transport Association's facilities in Miami.[8] She was previously director of the companies of Albcontrol, the National Air Traffic Agency, and was a senior member of the state-owned mobile telephone company Telekom Albania as the Director of Customer Care and later of marketing.[5] She is the ex-wife of journalist Sokol Balla.[9] She has two children: Colin and Belen.[5]