Albania has appointed an artificial intelligence bot called Diella as its new minister for public procurement in an unprecedented move to combat corruption in government contracting.
Prime Minister Edi Rama announced the appointment on Thursday, September 11, 2025, as he unveiled his fourth-term cabinet in Tirana. “Diella is the first cabinet member who isn’t physically present, but is virtually created by AI,” Rama said during the cabinet presentation. The name Diella means “sun” in Albanian.
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The artificial intelligence bot minister will oversee all public tenders where the government contracts private companies for various projects. Rama said Diella would help make Albania “a country where public tenders are 100% free of corruption.”
According to Reuters, the AI system is designed to be immune to bribes, threats, or influence peddling, common issues that have plagued Albania’s procurement processes. Public contract awards have been a persistent source of corruption scandals in Albania, damaging the country’s reputation and complicating its European Union membership bid.
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Diella was initially launched earlier this year as an AI-powered virtual assistant on the e-Albania government platform. The system, depicted wearing traditional Albanian clothing, helped citizens and businesses obtain state documents through voice commands and issued electronically stamped documents to reduce bureaucratic delays.
The government has not disclosed what human oversight mechanisms will govern Diella’s ministerial functions or how it will address potential risks of artificial intelligence manipulation.
The appointment has drawn scepticism from some citizens. One Facebook user commented: “Even Diella will be corrupted in Albania.” Another said: “Stealing will continue, and Diella will be blamed.”
The move represents one of the first instances worldwide of an AI system being formally appointed to a ministerial position in government.
According to Transparency International, “Since 2016, when Albania was ranked 83rd in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, its performance has declined, resulting in a five-year stagnation with scores ranging between 35 and 36. In 2022, it ranked 101st out of 180 countries. This reaffirms the European Commission’s repeated conclusion that corruption remains prevalent.
Albania has committed to anti-corruption reforms, approving extensive legislation and prioritising governance reforms within the EU integration process. However, the legislative framework remains fragmented, and the effectiveness of the reforms is limited, with many public institutions lacking the necessary capacities, resources and staff for their duties.”
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In the country, The government holds considerable sway over parliament, whilst independent watchdog bodies like the audit office, anti-corruption agency and public advocate struggle to mount meaningful pressure for better corruption-fighting policies.
Government ministers effectively control parliamentary proceedings through their party’s dominance and face little resistance from a fragmented opposition. This leaves MPs unable to properly fulfil their constitutional duty of holding the executive accountable. Parliament needs to beef up its scrutiny powers, streamline how laws are made, and review government regulations more promptly.
For three years running, Albania’s top court was essentially paralysed – lacking enough judges to function properly – only getting back to full strength in December 2020.
The country has overhauled its entire justice system, putting judges and prosecutors through rigorous background checks whilst creating fresh oversight bodies. These intensive reviews – examining officials’ wealth, character and professional skills – resulted in 138 judges losing their jobs out of 408 assessed by July 2023.
High-profile corruption prosecutions are becoming more common, with ongoing investigations targeting Albania’s former president and prime minister, the deputy PM, environment minister, several mayors and at least one parliamentarian. These cases signal a shift towards tackling corruption at the highest levels of government.
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