The
Party of Labour of Albania (
Partia e Punës e Shqipërisë,
PPSH in Albanian, sometimes referred to as the Albanian Workers' Party) was the
vanguard party of
Albania during the
communist period (1945–1991) as well as
the only legal political party. It was founded on November 8, 1941, as the
Communist Party of Albania (
Partia Komuniste e Shqipërisë), but its name was changed in 1948. In 1991, the party was succeeded by the
Socialist Party of Albania. For most of its existence, the party was dominated by its First Secretary,
Enver Hoxha, who was also the
de facto leader of Albania.