27/10/11

Αχμέτ Ζόγου - Ζώγου Α’ βασιλεύς της Αλβανίας

27.10.11  i-know.gr  No comments

Αχμέτ Ζόγου
Ο Αχμέτ Ζόγου ήταν Αλβανός πολιτικός που αργότερα αυτοανακηρύχθηκε βασιλιάς της Αλβανίας.

Πίνακας περιεχομένων

  [Απόκρυψη] 

Πρώτα χρόνια [Επεξεργασία]

Γεννήθηκε στην Αλβανία στις 8 Οκτωβρίου 1895 ως οθωμανός υπήκοος και καταγόταν από πλούσια οικογένεια γαιοκτημόνων. Το κανονικό του όνομα ήταν Αχμέντ Ζόγγολι, το οποίο άλλαξε το 1922σε Ζόγου (σημαίνει πουλί στα αλβανικά). Σε ηλικία 9 ετών στάλθηκε στην Κωνσταντινούπολη για σπουδές στο Σουλτανικό Λύκειο, γνωστότερο ως Λύκειο Γαλατασαράι. Στη συνέχεια ΄συνέχισε σπουδές στην οθωμανική στρατιωτική σχολή του Μοναστηρίου. Το 1912 με το ξέσπασμα των Βαλκανικών Πολέμων επανήλθε στην Αλβανία και ανέλαβε την αρχηγία της φυλής Ματ (στο οροπέδιο μεταξύ Σκόδρας και Τιράνων διαδεχόμενος τον πατέρα του που είχε πεθάνει το 1911.

Α' Π. Π. [Επεξεργασία]

Κατά τον Α' Παγκόσμιο Πόλεμο κατατάχθηκε στον Αυστροουγγρικό στρατό, που ανήκε στις Κεντρικές Δυνάμεις και μάχονταν τις δυνάμεις της Αντάντ. Αρχικά τοποθετήθηκε στην Βιέννη το 1917-1918 και αργότερα στη Ρώμη, το 1918-1919. Το 1919 επιστρέφει στην Αλβανία όπου και άρχισε αμέσως ν΄ αναμιγνύεται με τις τότε εσωτερικές πολιτικές διενέξεις της χώρας του.

Πολιτική δράση [Επεξεργασία]

Από τον Ιανουάριο και επίσημα από τον Μάρτιο μέχρι τον Νοέμβριο του 1920 ανέλαβε υπουργός εσωτερικών και οργάνωσε την εναντίον νοτιοσλαβικών επιδρομών αλβανική αντίσταση. Το επόμενο έτος (1921) ονομάστηκε αρχηγός των ενόπλων δυνάμεων της Αλβανίας. Το 1922 επανέλαβε υπουργός εσωτερικών όπου και κατέστειλε εναντίον του κίνημα. Τον ίδιο χρόνο (1922) διατελεί και πρωθυπουργός, πλην όμως ανατρέπεται όμως τους μπέηδες που συνασπίστηκαν στο πρόσωπο του κύριου αντιπάλου τουΦαν Νόλι, καταφεύγοντας ο ίδιος στη Νοτιοσλαβία. Το 1924, μετά από μια απόπειρα δολοφονίας του, επανέρχεται προκαλώντας επιτυχές επαναστατικό κίνημα και στις 21 Ιανουαρίου του 1925 εκλέγεται πρόεδρος της δημοκρατίας της Αλβανίας, με κυβέρνηση περίπου με τα δυτικά πρότυπα, επταετούς θητείας (1925-1932)

Βασιλιάς της Αλβανίας [Επεξεργασία]

Στις 25 Αυγούστου του 1928 καταργεί την Δημοκρατία και στις 1 Σεπτεμβρίου αυτοανακηρύσσεται Ζώγου Α’ βασιλεύς της Αλβανίας, κηρύσσοντας πολίτευμα του κράτους Απόλυτη Μοναρχία αναλαμβάνοντας τη διαχείριση καθώς και την εσωτερική και εξωτερική πολιτική της χώρας του.
Ο Ζώγου Α’ στην πραγματικότητα ήταν ευφυής και πολύ ενεργητικός πλην όμως στερούνταν απελπιστικά στοιχείων διπλωματίας και είχε άγνοια των διεθνών τότε παρασκηνίων, διαπράττοντας αλλεπάλληλα σφάλματα, πιστεύοντας τον κάθε ξένο διπλωμάτη σε ό,τι του έλεγε, που σαφώς εξυπηρετούσε πρώτον τα συμφέροντα της δικής του χώρας, προκειμένου να πετύχει την ανεξαρτησία της χώρας του.
Απομακρύνθηκε των γειτονικών του Βασιλείων θεωρώντας τα όλα εχθρικά. Δεν προώθησε το χέρι φιλίας που πρόσφερε στη χώρα του η Ελλάδα. Αντίθετα θεώρησε φρόνιμο να συνδεθεί στο φασιστικό άρμα της Ιταλίας πιστεύοντας απόλυτα στις ιταλικές μεγαλοστομίες και υποσχέσεις συνομολογώντας μια σειρά αλλεπάλληλων συμφωνιών οικονομικής, στρατιωτικής, ακόμη και πολιτικής φύσεως με τις οποίες κυριολεκτικά αφενός υποδούλωσε τη χώρα του στην Ιταλία, αφετέρου έθεταν σε κίνδυνο της ασφάλεια της ευρύτερης βαλκανικής.
Βέβαια σε αυτό κατά ένα μέρος συνέτεινε και το γεγονός ότι κανένας βασιλικός οίκος της Ευρώπης δεν τον αναγνώρισε ως αρχηγό βασιλικής δυναστείας. Προκειμένου δε να ξεπεράσει αυτό το εμπόδιο αναζήτησε σύζυγο από ευγενή οίκο της Ευρώπης. Μετά από πολλές αναζητήσεις και επί τούτου λανθασμένα διαβήματα τελικά νυμφεύτηκε τον Απρίλιο του 1938 την κόμισσα Γεραλδίνη, εκ του Ουγγρικού οίκου των Καρολύι, με την οποία και απέκτησε στις 5 Απριλίου του 1939 τον πολυπόθητο διάδοχό του θρόνου του πρίγκιπα Σκεντέρ. Η προσπάθεια τότε του Ζώγου να αναγνωριστεί βασιλεύς από τις κυβερνήσεις της Δύσης που επιχείρησε με τηλεγραφήματα και πάλι απέτυχε.
Διαβλέποντας τότε η Ιταλία ως σκοπιμότητες τις αγωνιώδεις προσπάθειες του Ζώγου, αποφάσισε την εισβολή και κατάληψη της Αλβανίας. Έτσι στις 7 Απριλίου του 1939, δύο μόλις ημέρες μετά τη γέννηση του διαδόχου του αλβανικού θρόνου, ιταλικές στρατιωτικές δυνάμεις αποβιβάστηκαν στην Αλβανία και στη συνέχεια καθαίρεσαν τον Βασιλέα. Περιχαρής τότε ο Μπενίτο Μουσολίνι έσπευσε να προσφέρει το στέμμα της Αλβανίας στον Βασιλέα της Ιταλίας.
Η άδικη αυτή πράξη της φασιστικής Ιταλίας κατά της μικρής Αλβανίας προκάλεσε παγκόσμια αγανάκτηση ενώ ταυτόχρονα κατέστησε την αλβανική βασιλική οικογένεια προσωρινά συμπαθή. Το γεγονός της ευρύτερης κατά της Ιταλίας αγανάκτησης οφειλόταν στο ότι η επιχείρηση αυτή πραγματοποιήθηκε ανήμερα Μεγάλης Παρασκευής του έτους εκείνου και ότι η Βασίλισσα Γεραλδίνη έπαιρνε το δρόμο της εξορίας έχοντας στην αγκαλιά της το μόλις δύο ημερών βρέφος της. Ο Ζώγου και η βασίλισσα με ελάχιστη ακολουθία κατέφυγαν αρχικά στην Ελλάδα όπου η τότε Κυβέρνηση Ι. Μεταξά άνοιξε αμέσως τα σύνορα παραχωρώντας τους άσυλο όπου και διέμεινε για λίγες ημέρες στη Θεσσαλονίκη. Από εκεί ατμοπλοϊκώς μετέβησαν στην Αγγλία και στη συνέχεια στο Παρίσι ζητώντας από τους συμμάχους στρατιωτική βοήθεια για τη χώρα του. Με την κατάληψη όμως και του Παρισιού από τους Γερμανούς η βασιλική οικογένεια της Αλβανίας κατέφυγε στηνΑλεξάνδρεια και από εκεί στη Νότιο Αφρική.
Μετά το τέλος του Β' Παγκόσμιο Πόλεμο, το 1946, οπότε στην Αλβανία το καθεστώς μετατράπηκε σε κομμουνιστικό, ο Ζώγου καθαιρέθηκε επίσημα και από τον αλβανικό λαό. Λίγο αργότερα ο Ζώγου μετακόμισε μόνιμα στη Γαλλία όπου και άφησε την τελευταία του πνοή στις 9 Απριλίου του 1961 σε ηλικία 66 ετών.

Το μαυσωλείο του στο Παρίσι

Εξωτερικοί σύνδεσμοι [Επεξεργασία]

Βιβλιογραφία [Επεξεργασία]

  • Σύγχρονος Εγκυκλοπαίδεια Ελευθερουδάκη,εκσυγχρονισμένη δια συμπληρώματος κατά τόμον,τόμος 11ος, (1962)

Αγγλική Μετάφραση wikipedia....σαφώς με περισσότερα στοιχεία...

Zog of Albania

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Zog I, Skanderbeg III of theAlbanians[1][2](Albanian: Nalt Madhnija e Tij Zogu I, Mbreti i Shqiptarëvet, IPA: [ˈzɔɡu]; 8 October 1895 – 9 April 1961), born Ahmet Muhtar Bej Zogolli, was King of Albania from 1928 to 1939. He was previously Prime Minister of Albania (1922–1924) and President of Albania(1925–1928).

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[edit]Background and early political career

Zog was born Ahmet Muhtar[3] Bej Zogolli inBurgajet Castle, nearBurrel in the Ottoman Empire,[4] second son toXhemal Pasha Zogolli, and first son by his second wife Sadijé Toptani in 1895. His family was a beylik family of landowners, with feudal authority over the region of Mati. His mother's Toptani family claimed to be descended from the sister of Albania's greatest national hero, the 15th-century generalSkanderbeg. He was educated at Lycée Impérial de Galatasarayin Constantinople,[2] then the seat of the decayingOttoman Empire, which controlled Albania. Upon his father's death in about 1908, Zogolli became governor of Mat, being appointed ahead of his elder brother,Xhelal Bey Zogolli.
In 1912, he signed the Albanian Declaration of Independence as the representative of the Mat District. As a young man during the First World War, Zogolli volunteered on the side of Austria-Hungary. He was detained at Vienna in 1917 and 1918 and in Rome in 1918 and 1919 before returning to Albania in 1919. During his time in Vienna, he grew to enjoy a Western European lifestyle. Upon his return, Zogolli became involved in the political life of the fledgling Albanian government that had been created in the wake of the First World War. His political supporters included many southern feudal landowners (called beys, Turkish for "province chieftain", the social group to which he belonged) and noble families in the north, along with merchants, industrialists, and intellectuals. During the early 1920s, Zogolli served as Governor of Shkodër (1920–1921), Minister of the Interior (March–November 1920, 1921–1924), and chief of the Albanian military (1921–1922). His primary rivals were Luigj Gurakuqi and Fan S. Noli. In 1922, Zogolli formally changed his surname from the turkified Zogolli toZogu, which in the Albanian language means "bird".[citation needed]
In 1923, he was shot and wounded in Parliament. A crisis arose in 1924 after the assassination of one of Zogu's industrialist opponents,Avni Rustemi; in the aftermath, a leftist revolt forced Zogu, along with 600 of his allies, into exile in June 1924. He returned to Albania with the backing of Yugoslav forces and Yugoslavia-based White Russiantroops under General Wrangel and became Prime Minister.

[edit]President of Albania

Zogu was officially elected as the first President of Albania by the Constituent Assembly on 21 January 1925, taking office on 1 February for a seven-year term. Zogu's government followed the European model, though large parts of Albania still maintained a social structure unchanged from the days of Ottoman rule, and most villages were serf plantations run by the Beys. On 28 June 1925, Zogu ceded Sveti Naumto Yugoslavia as a gesture of recognition to the Yugoslav aid to him.[5]
Zogu enacted several major reforms. Zogu's principal ally during this period was Italy, which lent his government funds in exchange for a greater role in Albania's fiscal policy. During Zogu's presidency, serfdom was gradually eliminated. For the first time since the death ofSkanderbeg, Albania began to emerge as a nation, rather than a feudal patchwork of local Beyliks. His administration was marred by disputes with Kosovar leaders, primarily Hasan Prishtina and Bajram Curri.

[edit]Albanian King


Ahmet Zogu
Main articles: Royal Albanian Army andZogist salute
On 1 September 1928 General Zogu was crowned King of the Albanians(Mbret i Shqiptarëve in Albanian), and declared Field Marshal of the Royal Albanian Army on the same day. He proclaimed a constitutional monarchysimilar to the contemporary regime in Italy, created a strong police force, and instituted the Zogist salute (flat hand over the heart with palm facing downwards). He claimed to be a successor of Skanderbeg, through descent through Skanderbeg's sister. Zog hoarded gold coins and precious stones, which were used to back Albania's first paper currency.

Royal Monogram
Zog's mother, Sadije, was declared Queen Mother of Albania, and Zog also gave his brother and sisters Royal status as Prince and Princesses Zogu. One of his sisters, Senije, Princess Zogu (c1897–1969), married His Imperial Highness Prince Shehzade Mehmed Abid Efendi of Turkey, a son of Sultan Abdul Hamid II.
Zog attempted to reinforce his regime's legitimacy further by ruling as a constitutional monarch. His kingdom's constitution forbade any Prince of the Royal House from serving as Prime Minister or a member of the Cabinet and contained provisions for the potential extinction of the Royal Family. Ironically, in light of later events, the constitution also forbade the union of the Albanian throne with that of any other country. Under the Zogist constitution, the King of the Albanians, like the King of the Belgians, exercised Royal powers only after taking an oath before Parliament; Zog himself swore an oath on the Bible and the Qur'an (the king being Muslim) in an attempt to unify the country. In 1929, King Zog abolished Islamic law in Albania, adopting in its place a civil code based on the Swiss one, as Ataturk's Turkey had done in the same decade.[6]

[edit]Life as King

Reverse and obverse of a Zogian one-franc coin

100-franc banknote of Zog's reign
Although born as anaristocrat and hereditary Bey, King Zog was somewhat ignored by other monarchs in Europe because he had no links to the well-known European royal families. Nonetheless, he did have strong connections with Muslim royal families in theArab World, particularly Egypt, whose ruling dynastyhad Albanian origins. As King, he was honoured by the governments of Italy, Luxembourg, Egypt,Yugoslavia, France, Romania, Greece, Belgium, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Austria.[2]
King Zog of Albania was a heavy smoker. He had been engaged to the daughter of Shefqet Bey Verlaci before he became king. Soon after his coronation, however, he broke off the engagement. According to traditional customs of blood vengeance prevalent in Albania at the time, Verlaci had the right to kill Zog. The king frequently surrounded himself with a personal guard and avoided public appearances. He also feared that he might be poisoned, so the Mother of the King assumed supervision of the Royal Kitchen.[7]
During his reign he reputedly survived more than 55 assassination attempts. One of these occurred on 21 February 1931, while visiting the Vienna State Opera house for a performance of Pagliacci.[7] Theattackers struck whilst Zog was getting into his car, and he survived by firing back with a pistol that he always carried. In April 1938 Zog married Countess Geraldine Apponyi de Nagy-Apponyi, a Roman Catholic aristocrat who was half-Hungarian and half-American. The ceremony was broadcast throughout Tirana via Radio Tirana that will be officially launched by the monarchs 5 months later. Their only child, HRH Crown Prince Leka, was born in Albania on 5 April 1939.

[edit]Relations with Italy


President Zogu's speech for KF Tirana, football champions of Albania, 1930
The fascist government ofBenito Mussolini's Italy had supported Zog since early in his presidency; that support had led to increased Italian influence in Albanian affairs. The Italians compelled Zog to refuse to renew the First Treaty of Tirana (1926), although Zog still retained British officers in theGendarmerie as a counterbalance against the Italians, who had pressured Zog to remove them.
During the worldwide depression of the early 1930s Zog's government became almost completely dependent on Mussolini, to the point that the Albanian national bank had its seat in Rome. Grain had to be imported, many Albanians emigrated, and Italian settlers were allowed to settle in Albania. In 1932 and 1933, Albania was unable to pay the interest on its loans from the Society for the Economic Development of Albania, and the Italians used this as a pretext for further dominance. They demanded that Tirana put Italians in charge of the Gendarmerie, join Italy in a customs union, and grant the Italian Kingdom control of Albania's sugar, telegraph, and electrical monopolies. Finally, Italy called for the Albanian government to establish teaching of the Italian language in all Albanian schools, a demand that was swiftly refused by Zog. In defiance of Italian demands, he ordered the national budget to be slashed by 30 percent, dismissed all Italian military advisers, and nationalized Italian-run Roman Catholic schools in the north of Albania to decrease Italian influence on the population of Albania. In 1934, he tried without success to build ties with France, Germany, and the Balkan states, and Albania drifted back into the Italian orbit.[citation needed]
Two days after the birth of his son and heir, on 7 April 1939 (Good Friday), Mussolini's Italy invaded, facing no significant resistance. The Albanian army was ill-equipped to resist, as it was almost entirely dominated by Italian advisors and officers and was no match for the Italian Army. The Italians were, however, resisted by small elements in the gendarmerie and general population. The Royal Family, realising correctly that their lives were in danger, fled into exile. "Oh God, it was so short" were King Zog's last words to Geraldine on Albanian soil.Count Ciano, the Italian Foreign Minister, arrived the following day; on searching the Palace in Tirana, he found the labour room in the Queen's suite; seeing a pile of linen on the floor, stained by the afterbirth, he kicked it across the room. "The cub has escaped!" he said. Mussolini declared Albania a protectorate under Italy's KingVictor Emmanuel III. While some Albanians continued to resist, "a large part of the population ... welcomed the Italians with cheers", according to one contemporary account.[8]

[edit]Former crown prince

Prior to the birth of Prince Leka, the position of Heir Presumptive was held by Prince of Kosova (Kosovo) Tati Esad Murad Kryziu, born 24 December 1923 in Tirana, who was the son of the King's sister, Princess Nafije. He became honorary General of the Royal Albanian Army in 1928, at age five. He was made Heir Presumptive with the style of His Highness and title of "Prince of Kosova" (Princ i Kosovës) in 1931. After the Royal House's exile, he moved to France, where he died in August 1993, aged 69.

[edit]Life in exile


The grave of Zog I at the Thiais cemetery near Paris
The royal family settled in England, first at The Ritz in London, followed by a brief stay in the Sunninghill/south Ascot area in Berkshire in 1941 (near where Zog's nieces had been at school in Ascot). In 1941 they moved to Parmoor House, Parmoor, near Frieth in Buckinghamshire with some staff of the court living in locations around Lane End.[9]
In 1946, King Zog and most of his family left England and went to live in Egypt at the behest of King Farouk, who was overthrown in 1952. The family left for France in 1955. In 1951, Zog bought the Knollwood estate in Muttontown, New York. The sixty-room estate was never occupied and Zog sold the estate in 1955.
He made his final home in France, where he died at the Hôpital Foch,Suresnes, Hauts-de-Seine[2] on 9 April 1961, aged 65, after being seriously ill for some time. He was survived by his wife and son, and is buried at the Thiais Cemetery in Paris. On his death, his son Leka was pronounced H.M. King Leka of the Albanians by the exiled Albanian community.
His widow, Queen Geraldine, died of natural causes in 2002 at the age of 87 in a military hospital in Tirana, Albania. Albania's communist rulers abolished the monarchy in 1946, but, even in exile, the royal family insisted that Leka Zogu was Albania's legitimate ruler until his death on 30 November 2011.

[edit]Political legacy

During World War II, there were three resistance groups operating in Albania: the nationalists, the royalists and the communists. Some of the Albanian establishment opted for collaboration. The communist partisans refused to co-operate with the other resistance groups and took control of the country. They were able to defeat the last Nazi remnants as the war ended, with the help of British arms and aid.[citation needed]
Zog attempted to reclaim his throne after the war. Sponsored by the British and Americans, some forces loyal to Zog attempted to mountinvasions and incursions, but most were ambushed due to intelligence sent to the Soviet Union by spy Kim Philby - Albania now had a Communist government led by Enver Hoxha, who remained in power for 45 years. A referendum in 1997 proposed to restore the monarchy in the person of Zog's son Leka Zogu who, since 1961, has been styled "Leka I, King of the Albanians". The official but disputed results stated that about two-thirds of voters favoured a continued republican government. HM King Leka, believing the result to be fraudulent, attempted an armed uprising: he was unsuccessful and was forced into exile, although he later returned and lived in Tirana until his death on 30th November 2011. A main street in Tirana was later renamed "Boulevard Zog I" by the Albanian government.

[edit]Honours and awards

National honours in Albania[10]
National honours

[edit]Ancestry


4. Xhelal Pasha Zogolli
2. Xhemal Pasha Zogu, Governor of Mati
5. Ruhijé Halltuni
1. Zog I, Skanderbeg III of the Albanians
6. Salah Bey Toptani
3. Sadijé Toptani

[edit]See also

[edit]References

[edit]Bibliography

  • Fischer, Bernd. King Zog and the Struggle for Stability in Albania, (East European Monographs, Boulder, 1984)
  • Pearson, O.S. Albania and King Zog I.B. Tauris. 2005 (ISBN 1-84511-013-7).
  • Robyns, Gwen. Geraldine of the Albanians (ISBN 0-584-11133-9)
  • Tomes, Jason. King Zog, Self-Made Monarch of Albania, 2003 (ISBN 0-7509-3077-2)
  • Rees, Neil. A Royal Exile – King Zog & Queen Geraldine of Albania including their wartime exile in the Thames Valley and Chilterns, 2010 (ISBN 978-0-9550883-1-5)
  • Patrice Najbor. "La dynastie des Zogu", 2002
  • Patrice Najbor. "Histoire de l'Albanie et de sa Maison Royale 1443-2007", 2008 (ISBN 978-2-9532382-1-1)

[edit]Notes

  1. ^ Pearson, Owen (2006). Albania in the Twentieth Century: a history.I.B. Tauris. p. 568. ISBN 1-84511-013-7.
  2. ^ a b c d Royal Ark
  3. ^ Some sources cite Ahmad Mukhtar
  4. ^ Website dedicated to Albanian royalty/genealogy
  5. ^ Pearson, Owen (2004). Albania and King Zog: independence, republic and monarchy 1908–1939. IB Tauris. p. 248. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
  6. ^ Swiss Laws, Greek Patriarch, Time magazine, 15 April 1929
  7. ^ a b Shaw, Karl (2005) [2004] (in Czech). Power Mad! [Šílenství mocných]. Praha: Metafora. pp. 31–32. ISBN 80-7359-002-6.
  8. ^ "Fascist Soldiers Take over Tirana (...)". The New York Times (New York City: The New York Times Company): p. 33. 9 April 1939. Retrieved 14 July 2011.
  9. ^ Naçi collection, School of Slavonic and East European Studies, accessed 27 January 2007
  10. ^ [1]
  11. ^ Kingdom of Albania

[edit]Further reading

  • Bobev, Bobi. “The Dictatorship of Ahmed Zogou.” Etudes Balkaniques 29, no. 2 (1993): 16-33.
  • Fischer, Bernd J. “Albanian Highland Tribal Society and Family Structure in the Process of Twentieth Century Transformation.”East European Quarterly 33, no. 3 (1999): 281-301.
  • Tomes, Jason. ”The Throne of Zog.” History Today 51, no. 9 (2001): 45-51.
  • Patrice Najbor. " Les réalisations du roi Zog", "Monarkia Shqiptare 1928-1939", 2011, (ISBN 978-99943-1-721-9)

[edit]External links

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