Bedri Pejani (or Bedri bej Ipeku; 10 October 1885 – 6 July 1946) was 20th century Albanian politician. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, he was one of the founders of the

Second League of Prizren The Second League of Prizren was an organisation founded by Albanian officials in Kosovo in September 1943 to campaign for the ethnic unification of Albanians in Albania. From 1918, Kosovo was integrated into the newly formed Kingdom of Yugosla ...

Biography

Pejani was born in the city of İpek (now Peja) in the Kosovo Vilayet of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

on 10 October 1885 with the name Bedri Thaçi, son of Abdi Thaçi (Pejani). To refer to his family origin he used the last name ''Pejani'' (from Ipek) as was custom for that period. Pejani was active in the Nationalist Movement of Albanians in the

Skopje Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and List of cities in North Macedonia by population, largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre. The territory of Sk ...

region against the Young Turk administration in 1908. He was condemned to death by the Ottoman military court, and according to

Sejfi Vllamasi Sejfi Vllamasi (1883–1975) was an Albanian congressman and well-known politician during the first half of the 20th century. He was born in the village of Novoselë, in Kolonjë, Albania (at the time part of the Ottoman Empire). Vllamasi studied ...

's memories he passed a psychological shock which would affect him later. He was a delegate at the

Congress of Monastir The Congress of Manastir ( sq, Kongresi i Manastirit) was an academic conference held in the city of Manastir (now Bitola) from November 14 to 22, 1908, with the goal of standardizing the Albanian alphabet. November 22 is now a commemorative da ...

of 1908, and President of the Second Congress of Manastir. At the age of 27 Pejani became a signatory of the

Albanian Declaration of Independence The Albanian Declaration of Independence ( Albanian: ''Deklarata e Pavarësisë'') was the declaration of independence of Albania from the Ottoman Empire. Independent Albania was proclaimed in Vlorë on 28 November 1912. Six days later the Ass ...

. He represented there the regions of Plav,

Gusinje Gusinje ( cyrl, Гусиње, ; sq, Gucia) is a small town in north-eastern Montenegro. According to the 2011 census, the town has a population of 1,673 and is the administrative center of Gusinje Municipality. Name Two alternative etymologies ...

Gjakova Gjakova, ) and Đakovica ( sr-Cyrl, Ђаковица, ) is the seventh largest city of Kosovo and seat of Gjakova Municipality and Gjakova District. The city has 40,827 inhabitants, while the municipality has 94,556 inhabitants. Geographicall ...

, and İpek, and signed under the name "Bedri Pejani". Elected at the first Albanian senate, he represented

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

at the

Conference of Versailles A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main p ...

in 1919. Pejani was one of the founding members of the

Committee for the National Defence of Kosovo The Committee for the National Defence of Kosovo ( sq, Komiteti "Mbrojtja Kombëtare e Kosovës" abbrev. KMKK) was an Albanian organization founded in Shkodër on 1 May 1918. It was mainly consisted of the political exiles from Kosovo and was le ...

, founded in Shkodër in November 1918. In 1920 he became editor-in-chief of ''Populli'' ("The people") after the assassination of Sali Nivica, a newspaper based in Shkodër. During the 1921-1923 period he was head of the People's Party ( sq, Partia e Popullit) formed by Fan Noli and other liberal-nationalists and member of the

Albanian Parliament The Parliament of Albania ( sq, Kuvendi i Shqipërisë) or Kuvendi is the unicameral representative body of the citizens of the Republic of Albania; it is Albania's legislature. The Parliament is composed of no less than 140 members elected to a ...

. In 1922, after failing to become Minister of the Interior, his relationship with Ahmet Zogu would aggravate. Pejani feared an assassination attempt from Zog's side and had another psychological breakdown. He was sent in a psychiatric hospital in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, returning shortly after being recovered.
Pejani was one of the main participants of the

June Revolution The history of Albania forms a part of the history of Europe. During classical antiquity, Albania was home to several Illyrian tribes such as the Ardiaei, Albanoi, Amantini, Enchele, Taulantii and many others, but also Thracian and Greek tribe ...

in 1924, fleeing Albania after the Conservative forces overthrew Noli's government. When Ahmet Zogu came to power, he was condemned again to death ''in absentia'' by Zogu's regime, which subsequently amnestied him. Pejani joined

KONARE Konare may refer to: People * Alpha Oumar Konaré Alpha Oumar Konaré (born 2 February 1946) is a Malian politician, who served as President of Mali for two five-year terms from 1992 to 2002 and was Chairperson of the African Union Commission ...

founded by Fan Noli in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. While in exile, Pejani moved up as Head of the Committee for the National Defence of Kosovo, together with Ibrahim Gjakova and Qamil Bala. During this time the Committee would receive some financial support from Comintern, same as did KONARE due to Noli's and

Kosta Boshnjaku Kostandin Boshnjaku (20 October 1888 – 22 December 1953) was an Albanian banker, politician, diplomat and in the last years of his life as a translator of books. Even though he was one of the earliest Albanian communists, he was arrested and ...

's connections. Pejani was a member of Comintern and kept continuous correspondence with it under the nickname ''Emoraj''. The

Italian Invasion of Albania The Italian invasion of Albania (April 7–12, 1939) was a brief military campaign which was launched by the Kingdom of Italy against the Albanian Kingdom in 1939. The conflict was a result of the imperialistic policies of the Italian prime m ...

in April 1939 would find Pejani as part of the Albanian exile community in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. Though an old opponent of Zogu, Pejani together with other Albanian activists and French politicians (such as

Justin Godart Justin Godart (26 November 1871 – 12 December 1956) was a French lawyer and politician who served as the Minister for Health from 3 June 1932 to 18 December 1932.Neville Chamberlain, British Prime Minister of the time through the French authorities as leader of the Popular Party (french: Parti Populaire) and the Albanian community of France on April 5. Pejani came back to Albania where he was arrested for anti-fascist and

bolshevist The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

activity and imprisoned in Porto-Romano near

Durrës Durrës ( , ; sq-definite, Durrësi) is the second most populous city of the Republic of Albania and seat of Durrës County and Durrës Municipality. It is located on a flat plain along the Albanian Adriatic Sea Coast between the mouths of ...

. He was released after Italy's capitulation. During the

Nazi Occupation German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 ...

, Mustafa Kruja and

Shefqet Vërlaci Shefqet bey Vërlaci (; 15 December 1877, Elbasan, Manastir Vilayet, Ottoman Empire – 21 July 1946, Zürich, Switzerland), also known as Shevket Verlaci, was an Albanian politician and wealthy landowner. Biography In 1922, Vërlaci was the b ...

would encourage him of taking a more active role. Assisted by the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

emissary of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

, Franz von Schweiger, and along with

Xhafer Deva Xhafer Deva (21 February 1904 – 25 May 1978) was a Kosovo Albanian politician during World War II. A notable local politician in Kosovo and in Axis-occupied Albania, he took charge of German-occupied Mitrovica and worked with the Germans ...

, Pejani created in 1943 the

in order to protect

Greater Albania Greater Albania is an irredentist and nationalist concept that seeks to unify the lands that many Albanians consider to form their national homeland. It is based on claims on the present-day or historical presence of Albanian populations in th ...

, which, created in May 1941, was now in danger, because of political vacuum. Pejani's idea was that "the Albanians should be armed, so the end of the war, which was near, didn't find them unprepared and with hands up". In a document sent to the

Führer ( ; , spelled or ''Fuhrer'' when the umlaut is not available) is a German word meaning "leader" or " guide". As a political title, it is strongly associated with the Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler. Nazi Germany cultivated the ("leader princip ...

from the position of the President of the Second League of Prizren, he took over to mobilize 120,000 - 150,000 Albanians under Nazi command. The German side would call the numbers "demographically impossible" and Pejani as "abnormal". In 1946, Pejani was captured by the Albanian partisans and handed over to the Yugoslav side after having confessed in 13 pages his actions and beliefs and handed over to

Petro Marko Petro Marko (November 25, 1913 – December 27, 1991) was an Albanian writer. His best-known novel is titled '' Hasta La Vista'' and recounts his experiences as a volunteer of the Republican forces during the Spanish Civil War. Petro Marko is ...

. Due to health issues he was hospitalized in Prizren, where allegedly he was poisoned, and died on July 6, 1946.

Notes and references

Notes: References:

Biography

Notes and references

Further reading