Ali Riza Kolonja (1880–1930) was an Albanian army general, diplomat and politician who served as

Minister of War A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

in the

Delvina Government The Delvina Government was the 5th ruling government of Albania, led by Sulejman Delvina. It was formed after the events at the Congress of Lushnjë which laid the foundation for the first democratic legislative elections to be held in the country ...

Biography

Ali Riza Kolonja was born on 1880 in the region of

Kolonjë Kolonjë is a municipality in Korçë County, southeastern Albania. It was created in 2015 by the merger of the former municipalities Barmash, Çlirim, Ersekë, Leskovik, Mollas, Novoselë, Qendër Ersekë and Qendër Leskovik. The seat of th ...

, present day south-eastern

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 ...

. He graduated from the military gymnasium of Manastir and then attended two military academies in

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, ...

. Later he enrolled at the

Staff College Staff colleges (also command and staff colleges and War colleges) train military officers in the administrative, military staff and policy aspects of their profession. It is usual for such training to occur at several levels in a career. For ex ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

and subsequently became an officer in the

Turkish Army The Turkish Land Forces ( tr, Türk Kara Kuvvetleri), or Turkish Army (Turkish: ), is the main branch of the Turkish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The army was formed on November 8, 1920, after the collapse of the ...

where he would rise to the rank of general. In the fall of 1912, he served as division commander in the

Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars refers to a series of two conflicts that took place in the Balkan States in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan States of Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria declared war upon the Ottoman Empire and defe ...

that

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

had waged in the Balkans against the

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

to the north and the

Greeks The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...

to the south. At the conclusion of the wars, Kolonja responded to an invitation by

Ismail Qemali Ismail Qemal bey Vlora, mostly known as Ismail Qemali (; 16 January 184426 January 1919), was an Albanian diplomat, politician, rilindas, statesman and the Founding Father of modern Albania, and one of the most famous Southern Albanian person. Th ...

to join a group of soldiers and army officers of Albanian origin that were led by

Mehmet Pashë Deralla Mehmet Pashë Deralla ( tr, Kalkandelen'li Mehmed Paşa Deralla, 1843 - 1918) was an Ottoman Albanian military officer and civil servant, and one of the delegates of the Albanian Declaration of Independence."History of Albanian People" Albanian A ...

. He played a significant role in the organization of the new

Albanian Army The Albanian Land Force ( sq, Forca Tokësore të Republikës së Shqipërisë) is the land force branch of the Albanian Armed Forces. Mission The Albanian Land Force's main mission is the defense of the independence, sovereignty and territoria ...

that was established by the

provisional government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, or a transitional government, is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition generally in the cases of a newly formed state or f ...

. A few years later, as a senior military officer, he gained distinction within the ranks of the Albanian units that were included in the Armée d'Orient led by general Henri Descoigns, during the existence of the Autonomous Province of Korçë (1916–1918). In 1920, he was appointed Minister of War in the Delvina Cabinet which formed after the

Congress of Lushnjë The Congress of Lushnjë (), historically documented by the name ''Mbledhja Kombiare Lushnje'', was a conference of Albanian political leaders held from January 28 to January 31, 1920 in Lushnjë, Albania. Its objective was to deal with the issue ...

and concurrently held the title

Chief of the General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces (militaries), the head of the military staff. List * Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (United States) * Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia) * Chief of General Staff (Afg ...

until December 1921. Throughout this period, he carried out large military operations to suppress the Mirdita Uprising and along with Italian general

Enrico Tellini Enrico Tellini (25 August 1871 – 27 August 1923) was an Italian General whose assassination provoked the Corfu incident of 1923. Biography Enrico Tellini was born in Castelnuovo di Garfagnana in the province of Lucca in Tuscany. After a childh ...

, represented the Albanian side in talks with the Border Commission from 1922–1923. From 1922 until 1924, he served as Albanian minister to

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

and as non-resident minister to

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

(1924). He died in 1930.

Recognition

On December 2009, the President of the Republic,

Bamir Topi Bamir Myrteza Topi (; born 24 April 1957)CV at Albanian presidency website
. i ...

, awarded general Ali Riza Kolonja the medal "For Outstanding Services", with the motivation: "For outstanding merits in the re-establishment of the Albanian Armed Forces and for the protection of state borders". A street in

Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...

bears his name.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kolonja, Ali Riza Government ministers of Albania Defence ministers of Albania People from Kolonjë Albanian generals Albanian politicians 1880 births 1930 deaths