Ferhat Bey Draga (1880–1944) was a noted

Kosovo Albanian The Albanians of Kosovo ( sq, Shqiptarët e Kosovës, ), also commonly called Kosovo Albanians, Kosovar/Kosovan Albanians or Kosovars/Kosovans, constitute the largest ethnic group in Kosovo. Kosovo Albanians belong to the ethnic Albanian sub-gr ...

politician during 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 ...

and

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and Axis collaborator during World War II.

Biography

Ferhat Draga was born in

Kosovska Mitrovica Mitrovica ( sq-definite, Mitrovicë; sr-cyrl, Митровица) or Kosovska Mitrovica ( sr-cyrl, Косовска Митровица) is a city and municipality located in Kosovo. Settled on the banks of Ibar and Sitnica rivers, the city is ...

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) ...

. He was the brother of

Nexhip Draga Mehmet Nexhip bey Draga ( tr, Mehmed Necib Draga; 1867–1920) was an important figure of the Albanian National Awakening and an Albanian politician. Biography Nexhip Draga was born in 1867 in Mitroviça (now Mitrovica), then a town of the Otto ...

, another politician mostly known as co-founder of the

Džemijet ''Džemijet'' ( tr, Cemiyet, "Society", sq, Xhemijet; full Turkish name tr, İslam Muhafaza-i Hukuk Cemiyeti, "Islamic Association for the Defense of Justice"/"Society for the Preservation of Muslim Rights") was a political party of the Muslim po ...

party. Ferhat was educated 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, ...

, where he was active together with his brother Nexhip in the movement for the Albanian writings and schools. He supported the Latin script for writing the

Albanian language Albanian ( endonym: or ) is an Indo-European language and an independent branch of that family of languages. It is spoken by the Albanians in the Balkans and by the Albanian diaspora, which is generally concentrated in the Americas, Europ ...

. During the

Young Turk Revolution The Young Turk Revolution (July 1908) was a constitutionalist revolution in the Ottoman Empire. The Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), an organization of the Young Turks movement, forced Sultan Abdul Hamid II to restore the Ottoman Constit ...

, Galib Bey managed to get Albanian leaders

Ferhat Draga Ferhat Bey Draga (1880–1944) was a noted Kosovo Albanian politician during the Balkan Wars and World War I and Axis collaborator during World War II. Biography Ferhat Draga was born in Kosovska Mitrovica, Ottoman Empire. He was the brother of ...

and

Bajram Curri Bajram Curri (16 January 1862 – 29 March 1925) was an Albanian chieftain, politician and activist who struggled for the independence of Albania, later struggling for Kosovo's incorporation into it following the 1913 Treaty of London. He wa ...

to attend a meeting at Firzovik (modern

Ferizaj Ferizaj, . or Uroševac, . Also formerly known as Ferizovići ( tr, Firzovik). is the sixth largest city in Kosovo by population and seat of Ferizaj Municipality and Ferizaj District. Ferizaj has been populated since the prehistoric era by t ...

) and use their influence to sway the crowd through fears of "foreign intervention" to support constitutional restoration.
He participated in the Congress of Trieste from 27 February to 6 March 1913, where Albanian and Aromanian delegates from all Albanian territories approved a program regarding the Albanian future Sovereign, borders, and economical-political independence of the Albanian state.
During

, he cooperated with

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

forces, which controlled most of Kosovo. In 1915, he raised around 1,000 volunteers to assist the Austrians on the Eastern Front. In 1915, he became an important figure inside Džemijet, and after the death of his brother Nexhip in 1921 he became leader. The party won 14 seats in the elections of 1923. In January 1925, the Dzemijet party came to conflict with the

People's Radical Party The People's Radical Party ( sr, Народна радикална странка, Narodna radikalna stranka, abbr. НРС or NRS) was the dominant ruling party of Kingdom of Serbia and later Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes from the la ...

Nikola Pašić Nikola Pašić ( sr-Cyrl, Никола Пашић, ; 18 December 1845 – 10 December 1926) was a Serbian and Yugoslav politician and diplomat who was a leading political figure for almost 40 years. He was the leader of the People's Radical P ...

, and several Albanian leaders including Ferhat Draga were arrested and imprisoned. On the eve of the general elections of the same month he was sentenced to 20 years in prison. He was however released soon and invited 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 ...

to reach a deal with Pašić, unsuccessfully.
In 1927, in the eve of next general elections, he was arrested again and sentenced to another 20 years. Draga still avoided the imprisonment. In the 1930s, he was active with the Muslim Religious Community of the southern Serbia. There he did what he could to oppose the deportation of Albanian Muslims to

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 ...

. Draga served as well as Mayor of Kosovska Mitrovica.
Ferhat Draga had good relations with

King Zog King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

of Albania. In the mid 1930s, he would become the leader of a separatist cell located in Mitrovica and composed as well by

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 ...

, Shaban Mustafa, and Mustafa Aliu, all from Mitrovica. The cell was in contact with

Ismet Kryeziu Ismet Bey Kryeziu (1889–1952) was an Albanian political figure during the 1930s and 1940s. Life Kryeziu was born in Yakova, Sanjak of İpek, Ottoman Empire in 1889, or 1888. He descended from the well known Kryeziu family, landowners and po ...

and

Salih Vuçitërni Salih bej Vuçitërni (8 April 1880 - October 1949) was an Albanian political figure and royalist. Life Vuçitërni was born in Vıçıtırın, Vilayet of Kosovo, Ottoman Empire on 8 April 1880. He descended from a Bosnian landowning family. In ...

, both originating in Kosovo and trusted men of Zog inside Albanian politics. Kryeziu and Vuçitërni had enabled other cells from the Albanian side with the goal of reviving 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 led ...

, which had gone into lethargy since the death of

Hasan Prishtina Hasan bey Prishtina ( tr, Priştineli Hasan Bey, Hasan Bey Priştine and ''Vulçitrnli Hasan Bey''), originally known as Hasan Berisha (27 September 1873 – 13 August 1933), was an Ottoman, later Albanian politician, who served as the 8th Prime ...

and

. Since the Committee former leaders were not a threat for Zog, and the Albanian-Italians relations were stronger, King Zog thought of using the Committee as a leverage in the political endeavors with Yugoslavia. Despite its presence, the committee's work was limited to diplomacy, propaganda, and recruiting, rather than any military activity.
In 1941, Draga welcomed the Italian invasion and the accommodation of most of Kosovo into the Albanian state. Meanwhile, the Germans would consider him unreliable and too ''Italophile''. Involved in fights against the Yugoslav partisans during the Albanian insurgency by the end of

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 opposin ...

, he was wounded and died near Kralan village of

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 ...

Biography

See also

References

Further reading