By Lucas Szkopinski
Ahmet Zogu was born on 8th October 1895 at Burgayet, in today’s Albania. He was a descendant of the 15th century warrior and founder of the family, Zogu the Great. Born at Zogaj, he later moved to the Mati region where he started to fight against the Turkish occupant and thus became a local hero. His son, Zogu the Small, was granted the title of the Hereditary Governor of Mati by the Ottoman Government. The family governed the Mati region for the next four hundred years. Xhelal Bey Zogu, who lived in mid-19th century, was succeeded by his eldest son, Riza Bey Zogu. Unfortunately, he was killed in 1880s and succeeded by his younger brother, Xhemal Pasha Zogu, aged only sixteen at this time. Xhemal’s first wife gave him one son, Xhelal. She died just a few years later and Xhemal remarried in 1891. His second wife was Sadije Toptani. The couple had six daughters (Adile, Nafije, Senije, Myzejen, Ruhije, and Maxhide) and one son, Ahmet, the future King. It is not exactly known when Xhemal Pasha Zogu died but the most frequently repeated date is 1908. Although his eldest son was Xhelal, Xhemal was succeeded by Ahmet, the younger one, aged about thirteen. This slightly unexpected turn of events is generally attributed to Sadije who wanted her own child rather than her stepson to become the next chief. Soon afterwards, the young Ahmet was sent to Constantinople where he attended the prestigious French school Galatasaray. Meanwhile, an anti-Turk revolt in Albania was squashed in 1909.
Another one, in 1911, was far more successful due to the fact that Turkey had already been weakened by the war with Italy. In October 1912, the first Balkan War broke out. Strange enough, Albanians had to back their occupying power, the Ottoman empire (which they had fought strongly to gain independence), against the Balkan League to avoid the Albanian territory being divided between Serbia, Greece and Montenegro. Ahmet decided to return home and fight. He was also present at Vlora where, on 28th November 1912, Ismail Kemal Bey Vlora proclaimed the independence of Albania which was recognized by the Treaty of London in 1913. It was decided that Albania would be a principality and, after long research of a suitable candidate, Prince Wilhelm zu Wied1 became the first, and only, Reigning Prince of Albania. However, the political and financial situation in his new country was so difficult that after only less than seven months spent in Albania (from March till the beginning of September) Prince Wilhelm decided to leave, without abdicating though.
At the time of the First World War, Albania was occupied by Italy, Greece and Serbia, the latter being replaced by Austria-Hungary in 1915. The Austrian authorities wanted Ahmet Zogu to back them. They even made him a colonel in the Austrian army in 1916 and asked him to organize Albanian troops to fight against the Allies (Italy most of all). The Austrians arrived as liberators chasing away the Serbs who were occupying the North of Albania. However, it soon became clear that one occupier was simply replaced by another. Seeing the rising opposition from Ahmet Zogu’s side, the Austrians decided to move him away from his people. A pretext was needed. When on 21st November 1916, Emperor Franz Joseph I died, it was decided that Zogu would be a part of the official Albanian delegation for the late Monarch’s funeral. Ahmet Zogu did attend the ceremony and his delegation was also received by the new Emperor, Karl I, in January 1917. Everything went smoothly but when he attempted to leave Vienna, he was informed by the Austrian authorities that he had to remain in the capital where he was to be kept under surveillance until the end of the war. This forced stay was for Zogu not only a possibility to taste the splendid Viennese social life but also a great chance to ameliorate his German and to have an even closer look at the Western European civilization.
Soon after coming back to his homeland, together with other Albanian leaders, Ahmet Zogu participated in the Lushnja Congress (January 1920) which ended with the formal signing of the declaration of Lushnja, de facto and Princess Marie Eleonore (1909-1956). the second proclamation of the Albanian independence. Some other extremely important decisions were also made at the Congress: the Council of Regency (with four Regents) and the Provisional Government were established. It was also a crucial moment for Ahmet Zogu himself as he became the Interior Minister, the post he kept for less than a year as the Government resigned in November 1920. He was not a member of the next Governments until December 1921 when he became the Interior Minister again. Exactly one year later, in December 1922, he also became the Prime Minister.
23rd February 1924 was the day of the first session of the new Parliament, elected at the end of 1923. “Shortly after half-past-two, he [Zogu] left his office on the ground floor to go up to the parliamentary chamber for the start of proceedings. He was just on the turn of the steps, when a young man appeared at the top and shot him. After two or three rounds, the pistol jammed and the assassin turned and ran”2. Ahmet Zogu showed an extraordinary charisma as he continued his way to the chamber and, despite being wounded, “he did remain in his place for 15 minutes with every appearance of composure. The bullet had injured his left wrist, thigh, and lower abdomen.”3 Then only he agreed on being looked after by a doctor. A few days later, Ahmet Zogu decided to quit his post. The man shooting at the Parliament was detained and sentenced to prison but he was not the mastermind of the assassination attempt.
The next months were nothing more than the anarchy and Zogu decided to leave the country for Yugoslavia. In the meantime, Fan Noli, a radical bishop with Bolshevik leanings, stood at the head of the Albanian Government. However, his regime did not last long as by the end of 1924, backed by the Yugoslavs and his own small army, Ahmet Zogu returned to Albania. In January 1925, he became the Prime Minister again and on 31st January, after officially abolishing the de facto non-existent Monarchy ten days before, the Parliament elected him the first Albanian President. Ahmet Zogu was to wait, however, three more years before reaching the top of his career. On 1st September 1928, the Parliament proclaimed him His Majesty King Zog I of The Albanians. On the same day, the new King’s mother, Sadije (1876-1934), became Her Majesty The Queen Mother of The Albanians and Zog’s half-brother, Xhelal, and six sisters received the title of Prince/Princess4.
Xhelal Bey Zogu (1881-1944) married four times and he had eight children (of whom the two eldest ones died in their infancy long before the King’s accession). He was educated in Istanbul, like his younger brother, and he later studied law at the Darusafaka University. After the graduation, he worked as Attorney General for a few years. When Ahmet Zogu’s political role was becoming more and more prominent, Xhelal decided to back his brother’s activities and he entered the political scene as a Member of the Parliament. He was a representative of Dibra (1924-1925), Kosova (1925-1928) and then again Dibra (1928). After the proclamation of the Kingdom, as a member of the Royal Family, Prince Xhelal had to abandon his political career but it did not mean that he ceased to be interested in the country’s political life. As his son recalls: “When King Zog’s government voted the first agrarian reform, Prince Xhelal was one of the first landlords who decided to let the peasants exploit part of his property and gave away voluntarily a certain area. He was very popular in the Mati region owing to his generosity and hospitality especially toward the poor people.”5 After the Italian invasion, Xhelal left for Turkey where he lived until his death. “While in exile in Istanbul he enjoyed great respect among the Albanian community and continued his activity against the fascist and Nazi occupation of Albania. He was happy to find in Turkey not only his old student life friends, but also his uncle’s family (Zia Pasha Zogolli) who were established in Ankara.”6 Prince Xhelal died on 26th February 1944 in Istanbul where he was buried at the Ferik
