As his father-in-law left no male heirs when he died in 1253, Count Meinhard III was able to unite the Gorizia and Tyrolean lands under his rule.

Reigning as Meinhard I of Gorizia-Tyrol, Albert's father, however, also had entered a fierce quarrel with the Sponheim duke Bernhard of Carinthia and his son, Archbishop-elect Philip of Salzburg.

In 1267 Albert participated in an expedition against the advancing Venice forces in the March of Istria alongside the Aquileia patriarch Gregorio di Montelongo, but later had him kidnapped sparking a long-time conflict.

In the war for Capodistria (1274-1279), Albert again sided for Patriarch Raimondo della Torre against Venice, receiving the fortress of Cormons in exchange.

In 1283 Albert and Patriarch Raimondo were again allied against Venice, this time in the war for Trieste; however, in 1289, after an unsuccessful attack against the Romagna fort in April 1289, he signed a separate peace with the Venetians.