Bardyl Tirana

Bardyl Rifat Tirana (December 16, 1937 – April 22, 2023) was an Albanian American lawyer and politician who served as the last Director of the Office of Civil Defense from 1977 to 1979.

Early life and family

Bardyl Rifat Tirana was born in Geneva, Switzerland, on December 16, 1937, the son of prominent Albanian economist Rifat Tirana and American artist Rosamond English Walling. His family settled in the United States after the outbreak of World War II, where they moved to Washington, D.C.

Tirana received a bachelor's degree from Princeton University in 1959 and a law degree from Columbia University in 1962.

Career

Public service

During the Presidency of John F. Kennedy, Tirana began his legal career as a trial attorney in the Civil Division of the United States Department of Justice, serving in the role from 1962 to 1964.

In 1970, Tirana was elected to an at-large seat on the District of Columbia State Board of Education, where he served from 1970 to 1974.

In 1977, Tirana was appointed by Defense Secretary Harold Brown to serve as the Director of the Office of Civil Defense. In his role, one of his primary recommendations led to the creation of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

In the 1980s, Tirana founded the China Phillips Academy High School Program with the Harbin Institute of Technology.

His final office held was through his role as the village justice of Grand View-on-Hudson, New York, where he was paid a salary of $1 per year.

Private practice

Before and after his public service, Tirana was a partner at various law firms and later ran a law office in Washington, D.C. In the 1970s he was general counsel for Executive Jet Aviation, where he played a critical role in expediting the purchase and sale of jets from the Israeli government to Afghanistan.

Political activism

Tirana was a delete to the Democratic National Convention in 1968, 1972, and 1976. He was also a supporter of the political campaigns of Robert F. Kennedy, George McGovern, and Jimmy Carter.

In 1976, Tirana was the co-chairman of the Inauguration of Jimmy Carter, responsible for planning a 'public festival.' Tirana was regularly involved in issues related to Albania and Kosovo, and was an active leader and advocate within the National Albanian American Council.

Tirana also served as a director of the Rocky Mountain Institute from 1982 to 1995, where he advocated on energy sustainability, innovation and national security issues.

Death

In 2023, Tirana died at age 85 in Nyack, New York.