Albania’s last communist leader Ramiz Alia dies

President Ramiz Alia, Albania's last communist president, has died. He is largely credited with opening up one of the world's most isolated political systems to democracy, according to BBC News.  

According to doctors, Alia died of lung problems.

He succeeded Enver Hoxha as president. Hoxha ruled Albania with an iron fist, but Alia did not build the same cult of personality. He began democratic reforms after Hoxha's death. 

The country's first free elections were held in 1991, and he was elected president. However, he resigned a year later, when his coalition government had collapsed.  

Alia was convicted of abuse of power in 1994, according to the Seattle Post Intelligencer. He was sentenced to nine years in prison.  In 1995, he was released after an appeal court ruled in his favor.  He returned to jail in 1996, awaiting trial on charges of crimes against humanity. In 1997, he, along with thousands of other prisoners, escaped from prison. The guards had abandoned their posts after learning that pyramid investment schemes fueled by the savings of most Albanians had collapsed. The country exploded into chaos, and Alia relocated to Sweden.  

Alia is survived by two daughters and a son.