The purpose of this paper is to show how the ministers of finance and economy have shaped Albania's governance towards economic transition. Albania began its transition to a free market in 1992, following the first democratic elections and the end of the communist economy in 1991. Since the beginning of the new era, the government has received support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) due to the economic collapse and the urgent need for financing. Therefore, the economic transition has been mainly oriented by the Washington Consensus, centred on shock therapy, rapid privatisation, and liberalisation. In 1997, the country faced a severe financial crisis, followed by a civil war, due to the collapse of pyramid-scheme companies. In this paper, we will analyse whether the economic transition was directed only by the IMF or also by the ideological thought of the ministers of finance and economy. Therefore, through the comparative analysis, we are going to compare three periods of time directed by three different ministers: (i) Genc Ruli periode who directed the very early years of transition from 1992-1997 under the governance of the right party (PD), (ii) Arben Malaj from 1997-1998, soon after the financial crises and 2003-2005 under the left Party (PS); and (iii) Ridvan Bode who was leading the finance sector from 2005-2013 again with PD. The three ministers are from academia, PhD or Professors in economics, and all graduated during the communist period, except Malaj, who also completed postgraduate studies at Harvard University in the United States of America. We will see, through the analysis of Albanian economic reports and papers, whether the ministers directed the economy under the influence of the IMF or, at times, whether their academic preparation and personal thought dominated decision-making. In this regard, the annual reports of the IMF and the EU, academic studies, several newspaper articles, and various interviews conducted by ministers will serve as a basis for the research.