Even before the collapse, his growing authoritarian rule had been increasingly questioned.

An estimated 90% of Albania's population invested around $2bn in the get-rich-quick schemes, and lost the best part of their money - often their life savings - when the crisis came.

Sali Berisha: called on the the prime minister to resign

The financial turmoil soon escalated into violence and then civil war, the worst since the country abandoned Stalinism in 1991.

When President Berisha was called on to resign, he accused former communists and unspecified foreign secret services of plotting his overthrow.

Parliament, dominated by Mr Berisha's Democratic Party, declared a nation-wide state emergency to put an end to the violence.

President Berisha resigned - only to be re-elected President for another five year term, unopposed.

Violence, however, continued to spread. In a desperate attempt to restore at least some kind of stability, the president signed agreements with all the political parties, creating a unity government and announcing elections for June 1997.

From government to opposition

Following two rounds of voting, Mr Berisha's Democratic Party, after five years in government, found itself in opposition.

Fatos Nano and his Socialist Party, together with its coalition partners, won a two thirds majority.

Mr Nano repeatedly stressed during a hard-fought campaign that the Socialists had shed the legacy of their predecessor, the hard-line Communist Party which ruled Albania for 45 years.

Also, Mr Berisha, who was initially seen by the international community as the politician steering Albania onto the path of market economics, fell out with the West because of the pyramid shemes.

But outside Tirana, especially in the north of the country, Mr Berisha and his Democratic Party still had a broad support base.

The authorities of Mr Nano have struggled with questionable success to maintain law and order there.

Now the killing of Azem Hajdari, a leading figure within the Democratic Party, has again raised tension in Tirana.

Mr Berisha has blamed the government for the killing and called on Prime Minister Nano to resign.