On September 12, 2025, Albania made international headlines by appointing a new government minister who will never set foot in parliament, never accept a bribe, and, for that matter, never physically exist at all. The country’s prime minister, Edi Rama, announced that the newest member of his cabinet would be Diella, an artificial intelligence (AI) entity designed to tackle corruption and manage public funding projects. The move marks a bold and unprecedented step in the world of politics, signaling both Albania’s ambitions and the growing influence of AI in public administration.
Diella, whose name fittingly means "Sun" in Albanian, is not a flesh-and-blood official but a virtual creation, built using the latest AI models and techniques. According to Albania’s National Agency for Information Society, Diella was developed earlier in 2025 through a collaboration with Microsoft, drawing on large language models from OpenAI and Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform. Until now, she had been quietly assisting citizens as a virtual assistant on the e-Albania public service platform, helping users navigate government services and access more than a million digital documents and inquiries. Her avatar—depicted as a young woman in traditional Albanian attire—has already become a familiar sight for many Albanians.
Prime Minister Rama, in a Facebook post and public remarks, described Diella as “the first cabinet member who is not physically present, but has been virtually created by AI.” He was unequivocal about her mission: “public tenders will be 100% free of corruption.” Rama expressed confidence that Diella’s involvement would make Albania “a country where proposals are 100% incorruptible and where every public fund that goes through the tender procedure is 100% legible.” He even noted that Diella would have the authority to assess every proposal made by private companies, keeping a vigilant eye out for signs of money laundering, drug trafficking, or other illegal activities. If needed, she could "hire talents from all over the world" to ensure the integrity of the process.
The context for this technological leap is crucial. Corruption has been a persistent and deeply rooted problem in Albania since the fall of the communist regime in 1990. According to Reuters, the awarding of public tender contracts has long been a source of scandals, with the country serving as a hub for gangs seeking to launder money from drug and weapons trafficking. These issues have not only eroded public trust but have also stymied Albania’s longstanding efforts to join the European Union. In fact, justices and EU officials have repeatedly cited rampant corruption as a major roadblock to accession, a process Albania has been pursuing since 2009.
Rama’s Socialist Party, which secured 83 of the 140 Assembly seats in the May 11, 2025 parliamentary elections, has made EU membership a central pledge. The party holds enough seats to govern alone and pass most legislation but falls short of the two-thirds majority (93 seats) needed to amend the Constitution. The Socialists have set an ambitious timeline, vowing to conclude EU negotiations by 2027 and secure membership by 2030. However, this promise has been met with skepticism from the opposition Democratic Party-led coalition, which won 50 seats and claims the country is far from prepared. Despite disputing the election results and alleging irregularities, the opposition did participate in the inaugural session of the new parliament.
Legal and political questions have quickly surfaced about Diella’s official status. While Albanian President Bajram Begaj has mandated Rama to form the new government—thereby granting authority for the creation and functioning of Diella—he stopped short of confirming that her ministerial role is constitutional. Legal experts and opposition leaders have echoed these doubts. Gazmend Bardhi, the parliamentary group leader for the Democrats, was blunt in his criticism, stating on Facebook, “Prime minister’s buffoonery cannot be turned into legal acts of the Albanian state.” As of Friday, it remained unclear whether parliament would hold a formal vote on Diella’s virtual post, and experts suggested further legal work would be needed to establish her status as a minister.
Nonetheless, Diella’s promotion from virtual assistant to cabinet minister is already being described as a watershed moment in both Albanian politics and the broader intersection of AI and governance. The Week noted that Diella is “impervious to bribes, threats, or attempts to curry favour,” qualities that human officials have sometimes struggled to maintain. Her dual role—continuing to help citizens with e-Albania platform inquiries while overseeing public procurement—has been met with both optimism and skepticism. Some Albanians have expressed hope that AI’s impartiality and efficiency can finally break the cycle of corruption. Others are more cynical, doubting that even the most advanced technology can overcome entrenched problems. As one Facebook user wryly put it, “Even Diella will be corrupted in Albania,” while another predicted, “stealing will continue and Diella will be blamed.”
Beyond Albania, the story of Diella is emblematic of a larger trend: the increasing use of AI in political and governmental decision-making. The Week reported that, in Nepal, a youth movement recently used ChatGPT to select an interim prime minister, while in the United Kingdom, members of parliament have been relying on AI tools to craft their speeches. These developments have sparked debates about legitimacy, transparency, and the limits of what AI can—and should—do in the realm of public affairs. As a Nepali forum user remarked, “To change laws you need research, legitimacy and a real mandate, and that’s not something you can just achieve using ChatGPT.”
For Albania, the stakes are high. The government’s decision to elevate an AI bot to ministerial rank is as much a public relations gambit as it is a practical experiment. With the EU watching closely and public frustration with corruption running high, Rama’s administration is betting that technological innovation can deliver where traditional reforms have failed. Whether Diella’s appointment proves to be a turning point or a footnote will depend on her ability to deliver meaningful results—and on the willingness of Albania’s political class and citizens to embrace a future in which some of the most sensitive decisions are made not by humans, but by algorithms.
As parliament swore in new lawmakers and prepared to formally present Rama’s cabinet, Diella continued her work online, fielding queries from citizens and scanning public procurement proposals for red flags. It’s a brave new world in Albanian politics—one where the sun, or at least its digital namesake, is shining on the fight against corruption.