experimentation with the military education system by changing the education model every 2–3 years, with long-term negative consequences. III. Personnel management The military leadership currently has no appointment authority over officers of any rank, which rests with the Ministry of Defence. This unpleasant situation is also reflected in the perception of the public, where 54.4% of respondents think that the army is little or not at all free from political interference 26 . It is true that the management of human resources in the defence sector has not always been like this, and it is important to acknowledge this fact. Until 1990, although there was strict political and civilian control over every unit of the Army, the military leadership had some powers in the management of personnel, according to the level of the unit represented. So for example, a brigade commander, which was at the tactical level, had the right to appoint staff officers at the battalion level, company commanders and platoon leaders, and staff officers in the brigade headquarters. The division commander, at the operational level, had the right to appoint battalion commanders and chiefs of the staffs of subordinate brigades. Such powers continued to be in force until 2007 when the Force Commander had the right to appoint and promote officers up to the rank of captain, while the Chief of the General Staff(Chief of Defence) had the power to appoint officers up to the rank of lieutenant colonel. Although limited, military leadership had some powers in personnel management. After 2008, an administrative order of the Minister of Defence removed all these powers. According to paragraph 3 of Article 18 of Law 64/2014(as amended by Law 98/2015), the Minister of Defence has the possibility to delegate certain powers in this area, although this has not yet happened in practice. It is worth mentioning that the General Directorate of the State Police manages all personnel under its authority and budget as well. 27 28 3.1 How do Western countries engage with this issue? In all Western countries studied, military leadership manages personnel up to the rank of colonel. The minister’s role is limited to policies and not involved in military personnel management except for the highest military position. 26 “Albanian Security Barometer, National Survey – 2020”, Center for the Study of Democracy and Governance, 2020, pg. 52. https://csdgalbania.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Security_barometer_2020_ENGLISH­WEB.pdf 27 Parliament Decision: Ligji 108/2014, Për Policinë e Shtetit, pg. 4-5, https://mb.gov.al/wp­content/uploads/2018/02/LIGJI_I_POLICISE_SE_SHTETIT_-_2014.pdf. 28 Ibid. pg. 5, 6. DEMOCRATIC CONTROL AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEM IN THE ARMED FORCES | 10