Albania appoints world’s first AI minister to curb corruption
Albania has made history by becoming the first nation globally to appoint a minister powered by artificial intelligence.
This entirely virtual official is constructed from code, pixels, and machine intelligence.
Dubbed Diella — which translates to “sunshine” in Albanian — the digital minister will oversee all public procurement, as announced by Prime Minister Edi Rama on Thursday. Earlier this summer, Rama hinted at the potential for Albania to eventually have a digital minister, or even an AI prime minister, but few anticipated such a rapid realization.
At the Socialist Party assembly in Tirana, where cabinet changes were confirmed, Rama introduced Diella as the sole non-human member of his cabinet.
“Diella is the first member who is not physically present but has been virtually created through artificial intelligence,” he shared with party members.
According to Rama, all decisions regarding tenders will gradually shift from human ministries to the AI minister, whom he referred to as “the servant of public procurement.” He noted that the implementation would be “step-by-step,” but emphasized the ultimate goal of transforming Albania into “a country where public tenders are entirely incorruptible and every public fund involved in the tender process is fully transparent.” “This is not science fiction; it is Diella’s obligation,” he asserted.
Diella is somewhat familiar to Albanians. She currently powers the e-Albania digital services platform, enabling citizens to access almost all government services online. Her avatar, a young woman in traditional Albanian dress, has also been presented to the public.
In addition to evaluating tenders, Diella has been assigned the task of attracting “talents from around the world,” while eliminating “the fear of bias and rigidity within the administration.”
Albania’s public procurement sector has historically faced issues of corruption, a persistent concern noted by the European Union in its annual assessments of the rule of law. Rama, who won a historic fourth term in May 2025, is committed to striving for EU membership by 2030.
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