Zog's AlbaniaHistorical information and additional notes
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Ahmet Mutar Zogolli was born in 1895 to a feudal landowning family in the Mati area of what was then still part of the Ottoman Empire. His younger years included an education in Constantinople. He claimed descent via his maternal line from the sister of the great Albanian hero Skanderbeg (who managed a successful, but not permanent, rebellion against the Ottoman Empire in the 1400s. He was an integral part of maintaining a national identity).
Even though he was the second (surviving) son he succeeded his father as leader in the region and was one of the signers of the Albanian Declaration of Independence---separating Albania from the Ottoman Empire and forestalling dreams of annexation by other Balkan powers.
Ahmet Zogolli fought on the Austrian side during WWI and did not return to Albania until 1919 after spending two years in Vienna. Upon his return he entered politics including stints as Governor of Shkoder, Minister of Interior, and Chief of the military ultimately becoming Prime Minister. In 1922 he changed his last name from Zogolli to ‘Zogu’, which means 'bird' in Albanian (and perhaps sounded more Albanian and appropriate for his political career).
In 1924 Zogu was briefly ousted, but returned as Prime Minister with the support of Yugoslav forces and he was ultimately elected President in 1925. At this point he was the leader of an impoverished, primarily rural country, where the remote villages were still essentially separate feudal regions run in the old Bey/serf style.
As President he was reputed to be ruthless and unforgiving to his enemies as he pulled the country together into a single system as a European modeled government. Though reportedly running the country as a police state, he also instituted such reforms as ending serfdom, instituting animal cruelty laws, and ‘banned the veil’ and otherwise forming a more 'European' nation. He required outside support from a modern nation to fund the infrastructure and changes he was making, which were obtained primarily from Italy as Zogu was relatively ignored elsewhere.
In 1928 a constitutional monarchy was proclaimed and President Zogu became Zog I, King of Albania.
As his reforms continued his ties to Italy strengthened, somewhat reluctantly at times. As the King, he tried cultivating relationships with other nations while Italy continued attempts to exert more control. He was not successful and Italy remained a significant presence.
In 1938 King Zog married Countess Geraldine Apponyi, who was a half Hungarian, half American aristocrat. She was also Roman Catholic and was apparently partly chosen--from Zog's point of view--as a unifying force for the religiously diverse country and with the potential to encourage stronger European ties. A real affection was also reported. Also, not being 'local', she would not confer favor to any one faction over another.
By this point Italy was pressuring for more control in Albania, including defense positions and port control. Among other issues was the increasing demand to expulse Jewish Albanians which Zog refused to do. In fact Albania remained open for Jewish immigration and continued to issue visas even in Berlin as late as 1938, which apparently infuriated Italy. (In fact Albanians--Muslim and Christian--actively protected the Jewish Albanian population during the WWII, and the Jewish census increased from 200 at the beginning of the war to 2000 by the end).
On 5 April 1939 Queen Geraldine gave birth and on 7 April Italy invaded.
The Queen and the household were evacuated, followed closely by Zog. This was not unanticipated as King Zog had been delaying and stalling an official response to a final demand from Italy which would have greatly reduced Albanian’s independence. The King was able to leave with the greater part of the gold in the treasury.
His stated plan was to use the funds to return to Albania. But after WWII ended he received little external support, the Communist faction gained control, and the gold was pretty much used to sustain his household. The 'bag-marked' appearance of so much of the otherwise uncirculated state gold coins has been attributed to the rather rough and rapid transport of the gold coins.
Even though he was the second (surviving) son he succeeded his father as leader in the region and was one of the signers of the Albanian Declaration of Independence---separating Albania from the Ottoman Empire and forestalling dreams of annexation by other Balkan powers.
Ahmet Zogolli fought on the Austrian side during WWI and did not return to Albania until 1919 after spending two years in Vienna. Upon his return he entered politics including stints as Governor of Shkoder, Minister of Interior, and Chief of the military ultimately becoming Prime Minister. In 1922 he changed his last name from Zogolli to ‘Zogu’, which means 'bird' in Albanian (and perhaps sounded more Albanian and appropriate for his political career).
In 1924 Zogu was briefly ousted, but returned as Prime Minister with the support of Yugoslav forces and he was ultimately elected President in 1925. At this point he was the leader of an impoverished, primarily rural country, where the remote villages were still essentially separate feudal regions run in the old Bey/serf style.
As President he was reputed to be ruthless and unforgiving to his enemies as he pulled the country together into a single system as a European modeled government. Though reportedly running the country as a police state, he also instituted such reforms as ending serfdom, instituting animal cruelty laws, and ‘banned the veil’ and otherwise forming a more 'European' nation. He required outside support from a modern nation to fund the infrastructure and changes he was making, which were obtained primarily from Italy as Zogu was relatively ignored elsewhere.
In 1928 a constitutional monarchy was proclaimed and President Zogu became Zog I, King of Albania.
As his reforms continued his ties to Italy strengthened, somewhat reluctantly at times. As the King, he tried cultivating relationships with other nations while Italy continued attempts to exert more control. He was not successful and Italy remained a significant presence.
In 1938 King Zog married Countess Geraldine Apponyi, who was a half Hungarian, half American aristocrat. She was also Roman Catholic and was apparently partly chosen--from Zog's point of view--as a unifying force for the religiously diverse country and with the potential to encourage stronger European ties. A real affection was also reported. Also, not being 'local', she would not confer favor to any one faction over another.
By this point Italy was pressuring for more control in Albania, including defense positions and port control. Among other issues was the increasing demand to expulse Jewish Albanians which Zog refused to do. In fact Albania remained open for Jewish immigration and continued to issue visas even in Berlin as late as 1938, which apparently infuriated Italy. (In fact Albanians--Muslim and Christian--actively protected the Jewish Albanian population during the WWII, and the Jewish census increased from 200 at the beginning of the war to 2000 by the end).
On 5 April 1939 Queen Geraldine gave birth and on 7 April Italy invaded.
The Queen and the household were evacuated, followed closely by Zog. This was not unanticipated as King Zog had been delaying and stalling an official response to a final demand from Italy which would have greatly reduced Albanian’s independence. The King was able to leave with the greater part of the gold in the treasury.
His stated plan was to use the funds to return to Albania. But after WWII ended he received little external support, the Communist faction gained control, and the gold was pretty much used to sustain his household. The 'bag-marked' appearance of so much of the otherwise uncirculated state gold coins has been attributed to the rather rough and rapid transport of the gold coins.
A random, cool eBay item--a Zog era miltary Cap badge.