Abas Ermenji (12 December 1913 – 11 March 2003) was an Albanian politician, historian and nationalist fighter with

social democratic Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote soci ...

views who opposed the Albanian Monarchy and Communism.

History

Ermenji was born in the village of Ermenj, Skrapar on 12 December 1913. He was educated in the Berat elementary and middle school. He attended high school in Shkodra. Between 1934 and 1938, Ermenji went to university at the Sorbonne, Paris and was a member of the Faculty of Literature with a specialization in History. Ermenji returned to Albania in 1938 and was appointed professor at the

Lycée In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children between ...

of Korçë where he taught until November 1939. He was arrested on 28 November 1939 by the Italians as one of the organizers of a rally against the

fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...

occupation in Korça. He went into exile on the island of Ventotene. In 1941, Ermenji returned to Albania and helped organise the National Front ( Balli Kombëtar). He took part in organizing armed resistance against foreign occupation in the Skrapar- Berat area and managed to keep it free from the Italian forces. After the success of the

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

revolution in Albania, Ermenji was forced into exile by the new regime. He settled in Paris where he worked for the Democratic-National Committee "Free Albania", a political organization supported and funded by Western countries where he worked with other nationalists and collaborationists towards the efforts to free Albania from Hoxha's regime and to liberate Kosovo from Yugoslavia. The organization was not successful as a result of multiple conflicts between members of the committee, including opposing views between pro-Italian/German collaborationists and anti-fascist nationalists, regardless of the many attempts to organize a military takeover of Albania. Abas Ermenji was a staunch defender of

Albanians The Albanians (; sq, Shqiptarët ) are an ethnic group and nation native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, culture, history and language. They primarily live in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Se ...

in Yugoslavia and Greece. He published many articles to bring awareness of the issues Albanians faced under foreign rule. Ermenji wrote the book ''Place of Scanderbeg in Albania's history'', a study of

Scanderbeg , reign = 28 November 1443 – 17 January 1468 , predecessor = Gjon Kastrioti , successor = Gjon Kastrioti II , spouse = Donika Arianiti , issue = Gjon Kastrioti II , royal house = Kastrioti , father ...

's impact on the history of Albania and the Albanian nation.

Return to Albania and Politics

After recreating the National Front in Albania in 1991, Ermenji was elected leader of the new National Front between 1994 and 1998. During this period and despite his old age, Ermenji made a major contribution to the establishment of Albanian national sentiment through a series of conferences across the entire country. In the problematic

1996 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1996. * 1995–1996 Azerbaijani parliamentary election * 1996 Beninese presidential election * 1996 Comorian presidential election * 1996 New Zealand general election * 1996 Nicaraguan general electio ...

, he contested the results and boycotted the new parliament even though his party made gains through their pre-electoral alliance with the governing Democratic party. In a speech he denounced the elections as stolen and called the then president Sali Berisha a ''Diktator Qesharak'' (Roughly in English: "Ridiculous Dictator").

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ermenji, Abas 1913 births 2003 deaths Albanian politicians Albanian Muslims Albanian anti-communists Albanian anti-fascists Balli Kombëtar People from Skrapar Albanian people of World War II