Shefqet Vërlaci Explained

Shefqet Vërlaci
Honorific-Suffix:Bey
Order1:12th
Title1:Prime Minister of Albania
Term Start1:30 March 1924
Term End1:27 May 1924
Predecessor1:Ahmet Zogu
Successor1:Ilias Vrioni
Term Start2:12 April 1939
Term End2:4 December 1941
Monarch2:Zog I
Predecessor2:Kostaq Kotta
Successor2:Mustafa Merlika-Kruja
Birth Date:15 December 1877
Birth Place:Elbasan, Albania (then Manastir Vilayet, Ottoman Empire)
Death Place:Zürich, Switzerland
Party:Progressive Party
Albanian Fascist Party
Profession:Prime Minister
Signature:Shefqet Vërlaci (nënshkrim).svg
Nationality:Albanian

Shefqet Vërlaci bej[1] (in Albanian pronounced as /ʃɛfcɛt vəɾlat͡si/; 15 December 1877, Elbasan, Manastir Vilayet, Ottoman Empire (modern day Albania)– 21 July 1946, Zürich, Switzerland), also known as Shevket Verlaci, was an Albanian politician and wealthy landowner.[2]

Biography

Shefqet Vërlaci was born on 15 December 1877 in Elbasan, Manastir Vilayet, Ottoman Empire, now modern day central Albania, into an Albanian family. In 1922, Vërlaci was the biggest landowner in Albania. He was the leader of the Progressive Party, the biggest conservative party in Albania, which firmly opposed any agrarian reform reducing the landowners' property. The Progressive Party included some North Albanian clan chiefs and prominent Muslim landowners as its members.[3]

He was elected a deputy for the first time in the elections of April 5, 1921.[4] In late 1922, Ahmed Zogu became engaged to Vërlaci's daughter, winning his support and the position of Prime Minister.[5]

In early 1924, Zogu was forced to cede his position of Prime Minister to Vërlaci, because of a financial scandal and an attempt of assassination in which Zogu was injured. The date of Vërlaci taking the position of prime minister is 3 March 1924. Vërlaci held this position until 27 May of the same year and then fled to Italy.[6] During Fan Noli's regime that followed, a special tribunal created by the government condemned Vërlaci to death in absentia along with the confiscation of all his property.

After being crowned King of Albania in 1928, Zogu broke his engagement with Vërlaci's daughter and instead married Countess Géraldine, of the noble Apponyi family. This resulted in a very conflicted relationship between Zog and Vërlaci in the following years.[7] [8]

On 12 April 1939, after the Italian invasion of Albania, Vërlaci became the prime minister of the government of Albania formed under the Italian occupation.[9] From 12 April through 16 April (until Italy's King Victor Emmanuel III accepted the Albanian crown), Vërlaci was the acting head of state. Vërlaci was also named by King Victor Emmanuel III senator of the kingdom of Italy.[10] [11]

Vërlaci remained at the head of the government until 4 December (other sources cite 10 November or 3 December), 1941.

He died in 1946 in Zürich, Switzerland, and is buried in the Protestant Cemetery in Rome.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Book: Elsie . Robert . Historical dictionary of Albania . 2010 . Scarecrow Press . Lanham . 9780810873803 . 105 . 2nd .
  2. Book: Elsie, Robert. Historical Dictionary of Albania. 2010. Rowman & Littlefield. 978-0-8108-6188-6. en.
  3. Book: Pavlowitch, Stevan K.. A History of the Balkans 1804–1945. 2014-09-25. Routledge. 978-1-317-90017-7. en.
  4. Web site: Njihuni me njeriun më të pasur në Shqipëri që u bë kryeministër, por vdiq si 'armik i popullit' në Zvicër. 2017-09-25. Shekulli. sq. 2020-01-06.
  5. Book: European Dictatorships: A Comparative History of the Twentieth Century. Besier. Gerhard. Stokłosa. Katarzyna. 2014-01-03. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. 978-1-4438-5521-1. en.
  6. Web site: Qeveria e Shefqet Vërlacit (3 mars – 27 maj 1924) – ShtetiWeb. shtetiweb.org. August 24, 2012. 2020-01-06.
  7. Book: Albanian Journal of Politics: 2005. Ilirjani. Altin. Elbasani. Arolda. Peshkopia. Ridvan. 2006-03-01. Globic Press. 978-0-9776662-2-5. en.
  8. Web site: Dokumenti, si e prishi Zogu fejesën me Behije Vërlacin. www.panorama.com.al. sq. 2020-01-06.
  9. Book: Albania at War, 1939–1945. Fischer. Bernd Jürgen. Fischer. Fischer, Bernd Jürgen. 1999. Purdue University Press. 978-1-55753-141-4. en.
  10. Book: Lulushi, Albert. Operation Valuable Fiend: The CIA's First Paramilitary Strike Against the Iron Curtain. 2014-06-03. Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.. 978-1-62872-394-6. en.
  11. Book: Pavlović, Vojislav G.. Italy's Balkan Strategies (19th–20th Century). 2014-01-01. Balkanološki institut SANU. 978-86-7179-082-6. en.