Anthony Albanese
Birth Name: Anthony Norman Albanese
Place of Birth: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Date of Birth: 2 March, 1963
Ethnicity:
*father – Italian, possibly some Arbëreshë/Albanian
*mother – Irish, English, Scottish
Anthony Albanese is an Australian politician. He has served as Prime Minister of Australia, since 23 May, 2022. He has also been Leader of the Labor Party, since 30 May, 2019, as well as, Leader of the House, and Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, both, from 3 December, 2007 to 18 September, 2013, Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, from 27 June, 2013 to 18 September, 2013, and Leader of the Opposition, from 30 May, 2019 to 23 May, 2022, among other duties.
Prime Minister Albanese’s father was born in Barletta, Apulia, Italy. His father is said to have Arbëreshë (Albanian) ancestry. It is not clear if this ancestry has been confirmed. His mother is Australian, and is of Irish, English, and Scottish ancestry. The two met on board the Sitmar Line’s TSS Fairsky ship, traveling from Sydney, Australia to Southampton, England, while his father was a steward on the ship. No father was recorded on his birth certificate, which later helped him avoid the Australian parliamentary eligibility crisis of 2017, which involved questioning the eligiblity of Australian politicians who had been born dual citizens due to foreign-born parents.
Prime Minister Albanese was raised by his mother, in a Sydney City Council home, in the suburb Camperdown, and was told his father was dead; he did not meet his father until 2009.
He has a son with his former wife, politician Carmel Tebbutt, who was Deputy Premier of New South Wales, from 5 September, 2008 to 28 March, 2011, among many other duties.
Prime Minister Albanese’s maternal grandfather was George Vincent Ellery (the son of William Innocent Ellery and Elizabeth Thompson Mealing). George was born in Newtown, New South Wales, Australia. All of George’s grandparents were born in England. William was the son of Valentine Joseph Augustine Ellery and Mary Ann Norris, and had English and Irish ancestry. Elizabeth was the daughter of Mark William Mealing and Ellen Kellard, and also had English and Irish ancestry.
Prime Minister Albanese’s maternal grandfather was Maynor Lenor Thorburn (the daughter of Charles Robert Thorburn and Annie Riordan). Maynor was born in Paddington, New South Wales, Australia. Charles was the son of William Thorburn, who was Scottish, and of Mary Ann Bamford, whose parents were English. Annie was the daughter of David Riordan, who was Irish, and of Mary Grady, whose father was Irish, and whose mother was English.
Prime Minister Albanese is one of six people of significant non-British Isles ancestry to serve as Prime Minister of Australia. The other Prime Ministers of significant non-British Isles ancestry were/are:
*Chris Watson (who served for the Labour Party from 27 April, 1904 to 18 August, 1904; Watson’s father was of Austrian or German descent)
*Harold Holt (who served for the Liberal Party from 26 January, 1966 to 17 December, 1967; two of Holt’s great-grandfathers were German)
*John Gorton (who served for the Liberal Party from 10 January, 1968 to 10 March, 1971; one of Gorton’s great-grandfathers was German)
*Malcolm Fraser (who served for the Liberal Party from 11 November, 1975 to 11 March, 1983; Fraser’s maternal grandfather was Jewish)
*Tony Abbott (who served for the Liberal Party from 18 September, 2013 to 15 September, 2015; Abbott’s maternal grandfather was Dutch)
Sources: Genealogies of Prime Minister Albanese – https://www.geni.com
https://www.wikitree.com
The surname “Albanese”
[Smartphone bug]
The surname Albanese does not imply to have recent or direct Arbëreshë ancestry. It has two origins:
a) nickname for someone from Albania (and we go while back)
b) toponymic for someone from various Italian placenames called Albano (as Albano Laziale, Albano Sant’Alessandro, Albano Lucano etc)
https://www.treccani.it/vocabolario/albanese/
Thus to label him as of Albanian or Arbëreshë descent, as Albanians did on social media, is a big stretch.
Hence the sentence “It is not clear if this ancestry has been confirmed.”
Ok. His dad is not a Arbëreshë because they live in specific towns (in Sicily mostly) where the culture (language, religion, customs) is preserved, while he was from Barletta, a town that is literally in front of Albania (as all Apulia region). So what does it mean? During Middle Ages an ancestor of him had probably links (not necessarily ethnic ones) with Albania, and was nicknamed Albanese then. That’s how surnames work in Italy (unless derive from occupation or physical features).
You’re very persistent about this with Italian profiles for whatever reason, but you can’t prove it one way or the other. It is not unreasonable, then, to include “and/or.”
@oaken
He doesn’t have any Albanian ancestry whatsoever, it’s just a cultural appropration by Albanian websites. He is also sold has having an Irish mother, that turns out to be a little bit different too.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greco_(surname)
“Greco” is one of the commonest surname in S.Italy. Should we consider all people carrying it as part Greek then?