5 Aug. 2002

New NATO military representative in Albania Brigadier General Franco Giannini of Italy replaced Brigadier General Umberto Caparro as NATO Senior Military Representative in Tirana on 5 August 2002. Among other tasks, the Representative provides military advice to Albanian authorities on border security and smuggling issues, advises the Ministry of Defence on current and planned NATO operations and co-ordinates bilateral and multilateral initiatives between NATO member countries and Albania. NATO established a presence in the port of Durres, Albania, in 1999 to monitor lines of communication and support to the NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR). In June 2002, this was transformed into a NATO Headquarters in Tirana, commanded by a Senior Military Representative who reports directly to the Commander-in-Chief Allied Forces Southern Europe. Currently the headquarters comprises approximately 600 military and civilian personnel from five nations (Italy, Greece, Poland, Turkey and the United States). Additional information: Webmodule of the NATO HQ Tirana, hosted on the AFSOUTH website High resolution photos of the Transfer of Authority