Ilir Xhakolli is the Mayor of Pogradec Municipality. He was born in Pogradec, on September 25, 1962. After completing his secondary studies at the “Muharem Çollaku” Gymnasium in the city of Pogradec, he pursued higher studies at the University of Tirana, Faculty of Economics, Finance Department. After completing his studies, Mr. Xhakolli would hold the position of Head of Control and Chief Finance Officer at the Pogradec Commercial Enterprise as well as Deputy Head of the Trade Section at the Executive Committee of the Pogradec District. Then, from 1991 to 1992, he became part of the Albanian Tax System.

From 1992 to 2005, he was transferred to the Customs System. From 2005, he was separated from the state administration for a period of 8 years and until 2013, he exercised activity in the field of business. In 2013, he was nominated by the Socialist Party and ran for the Albanian Parliament, representing the Pogradec district. Mr. Xhakolli was re-elected as a member of the Parliament in the 2017 elections, again representing the Pogradec district. During his term as a member of the Parliament, Mr. Xhakolli was part of the Integration Committee and a member of the Economy and Finance Committee. He would end his mandate as a member of the Parliament in the middle, as in 2019, he was nominated to be the Socialist Party’s candidate for the Municipality of Pogradec in the June 30 elections. Since August 16, 2019, he has been the Mayor of Pogradec.