Petrit Malaj was born in Tirana on October 13, 1978. Since September 2025, he has been reconfirmed as Minister of Finance, a position he has held since July 2024. Prior to this role, from January 2024, Mr. Malaj served as Executive Director of the National Agency of Natural Resources. Under his leadership, the Agency launched a series of initiatives related to the further development and oversight of the rational use of natural resources, in line with government policies, as well as the monitoring of post-exploitation processes in the mining, hydrocarbons, and energy sectors. From 2010, Mr. Malaj held the position of Executive Director of BDO Albania, part of BDO Group, the world’s fifth largest network in Financial Advisory, Audit, and Tax services. Mr. Malaj’s professional background also includes experience in the banking sector in Albania, namely with Raiffeisen Bank and the Italian-Albanian Bank (part of the Intesa Sanpaolo Banking Group). In 2004, he was selected for a program of the German Government focused on capital markets, where he received training at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the Berlin-Bremen Stock Exchange. Mr. Malaj graduated from the University of Tirana, Faculty of Economics, specializing in Finance and Banking in 2001. He later pursued his master’s studies in Business Administration at the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse, USA. Additionally, he has completed advanced qualifications in Banking and Finance at Georgetown University, USA, with a focus on: Financial Institutions Management; Corporate Finance; Money and Capital Markets; Business Law; Business Planning and Decision-Making; and International Business.