Abdurrahman Dibra (1885 – 1961) was an

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. He was born in

Debar Debar ( mk, Дебaр ; Albanian: ''Dibër''/''Dibra'' or ''Dibra e Madhe;'' ) is a city in the western part of North Macedonia, near the border with Albania, off the road from Struga to Gostivar. It is the seat of Debar Municipality. Debar has an ...

in modern-day

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...

. He served under various ministries of the Albanian government including Minister of Finance. In the early 1910s as an Ottoman governor of the area of

Neveska Nymfaio ( el, Νυμφαίο, before 1926: Νέβεσκα - ''Neveska'', rup, Nevesca) and in Ancient Greece: Νυμφαῖον or Νύμφαιον (9th century bc), is a village and a former community in Florina regional unit, Western Macedonia ...

(modern ''Nymphaio'') he instigated the assassination of the guerrilla leader

Spiro Bellkameni Spiro Bellkameni (1885-1912) was an Albanian military commander and activist of the Albanian National Awakening. He led one of the most important bands during the Albanian revolts of the 1900-1910s. Life Born in Bellkamen, in the Manastir V ...

Life

Abdurrahman Dibra was born in 1885 in the city of Dibra, today North Macedonia, where his father Elmaz Dibra, at that time served as treasurer of the Municipality. Of Elmaz Dibra's three sons, only the eldest, Abdurrahman, became famous for his political activity, while the other two, Xhevdeti and Rahimi, had a life quite different from that of their brother. After finishing primary school in his hometown, Abdurrahman continued his secondary education in the city of Monastir (today Bitola) and then went to the capital of the Ottoman Empire, to pursue higher studies. He enrolled in

Mekteb-i Mülkiye The Faculty of Political Science of the University of Ankara ( tr, Ankara Üniversitesi Siyasal Bilgiler Fakültesi, more simply known as "''SBF''") is the oldest faculty of social science in Turkey, being the successor of the "Mekteb-i Mülkiye" ( ...

(modern Faculty of Political Sciences of Ankara University), which he graduated with honors in 1907 as one of the best students of that branch. Seeing his high results, the

Sublime Porte The Sublime Porte, also known as the Ottoman Porte or High Porte ( ota, باب عالی, Bāb-ı Ālī or ''Babıali'', from ar, باب, bāb, gate and , , ), was a synecdoche for the central government of the Ottoman Empire. History The nam ...

appointed him to the local Ottoman administration and after a short time by decree of the Sultan, he was appointed to the post of deputy prefect of

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

. During the years that Abdurrahman studied in Istanbul, he stayed in a room with a compatriot boy from Mati,

Ahmet Zogu Zog I ( sq, Naltmadhnija e tij Zogu I, Mbreti i Shqiptarëve, ; 8 October 18959 April 1961), born Ahmed Muhtar bey Zogolli, taking the name Ahmet Zogu in 1922, was the leader of Albania from 1922 to 1939. At age 27, he first served as Albania's y ...

, who was ten years younger than him. Since then they developed a close friendship with each other, and in 1920 when Zogu was appointed Minister of the Interior, he called on Abdurrahman to leave Istanbul and return to Albania, which already had declared independence in 1912 from the Ottoman Empire. Abdurrahman responded positively to his invitation and in the spring of 1920, he went to Albania and immediately met with Zog.

Notes

Albanian politicians 1885 births 1961 deaths People from Manastir vilayet Year of death missing People from Debar Mekteb-i Mülkiye alumni {{Albania-politician-stub