Ismail Qemali’s bust unveiled in Bucharest

TIRANA, June 24 – A bust of Albania’s independence leader, Ismail Qemali, has been inaugurated in Romania’s capital, Bucharest, where Albania’s road to independence kicked off a century ago.
“The work of Ismail Qemali and all his contemporaries is clear proof of our country’s state formation and state-building abilities,” said Albania’s Foreign Minister Ditmir Bushati in the inauguration ceremony in Bucharest last weekend.
The realization and placement of the bust were made possible thanks to the cooperation of the Embassy with the Municipality of Bucharest, under the auspices of Foreign Minister Ditmir Bushati, the Albanian Ambassador to Romania, Sami Shiba and the Mayor of Bucharest, Sorin Mircea Oprescu.
The Mayor of Bucharest and Minister Bushati praised the very good level of relations between Albania and Romania, the historical friendship ties between the two peoples, the contribution of Albanians in Romania to the preparation and declaration of independence and their role in sustaining bridges of friendship and cultural dialogue between our countries, which date back to the National Renaissance. They also praised the contribution of the Embassy and Ambassador Shiba to the progress of relations between the two countries and the realization of this project.
Ismail Qemali (1844 – 1919) is remembered as a distinguished leader of the Albanian national movement, a founder of the modern Albanian state and its first head of state and government. Together with Isa Boletini and Luigj Gurakuqi, he raised the flag on the balcony of the two-story building in Vlor롷here the Declaration of Independence had just been signed. He was prime minister of Albania from 1912 to 1914.