Kol Tromara (1882–1945) was an

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

nationalist and political figure of the first half of the 20th century. Tromara was born in

Albanian Orthodox The Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania ( sq, Kisha Ortodokse Autoqefale e Shqipërisë), commonly known as the Albanian Orthodox Church or the Orthodox Church of Albania, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church. It declared its autoce ...

Qytezë Qytezë (or Qyteza in its definite form in Albanian) is a community in the Korçë County, southern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became part of the municipality Devoll. The settlement is known for being the birthplace of Anastas ...

, a town in today's

Devoll municipality Devoll (; sq-definite, Devolli) is a Municipalities of Albania, municipality in Korçë County, southeastern Albania. The municipality consists of the administrative units of Hoçisht, Miras, Progër and Qendër Bilisht with Bilisht constituting ...

, back then part 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) ...

, son of Thanas and Kostandina Tromara. Tromara family traces their origin in

Souli Souli ( el, Σούλι) is a municipality in Epirus, northwestern Greece. The seat of the municipality is the town of Paramythia. Name and History The origin of the name Souli is uncertain. In the earliest historical text about Souli, written ...

, having settled in the area after the atrocities of

Ali Pasha Ali Pasha was the name of numerous Ottoman pashas named Ali. It is most commonly used to refer to Ali Pasha of Ioannina. People * Çandarlı Ali Pasha (died 1406), Ottoman grand vizier (1387–1406) * Hadım Ali Pasha (died 1511), Ottoman grand v ...

. Tromara pursued his elementary studies in nearby

Korçë Korçë (; sq-definite, Korça) is the eighth most populous city of the Republic of Albania and the seat of Korçë County and Korçë Municipality. The total population is 75,994 (2011 census), in a total area of . It stands on a plateau some ...

, and higher ones in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. He started working after then as a pharmacist in Korçë, but due to economical difficulties and political oppression from the Ottomans decided to emigrate in US, quite common at the time for the Orthodox community members. Tromara settled in Boston, Massachusetts in 1906 and was immediately involved in the patriotic circles of the Albanian community there. In 1907, he became secretary of the Besa-Besën society in Boston. In 1915, he became General Secretary of

Vatra, the Pan-Albanian Federation of America Vatra ('' en, The Hearth'') is an association of Albanian Americans, created in 1912, that has historically protected the rights of the Albanians in the United States, as well as has endeavored in lobbying with the United States Congress about the ...

. A year later, he was elected acting chairman of Vatra; in 1917 he co-founded the "Vatra Musical Band", and organized the Congress of Diaspora for raising funds in support of the Vatra's delegation (part of which Tramara was) in the

Paris Peace Conference of 1919 Paris () is the capital and 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), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. Meanwhile, his mother had been executed in his native village by the Greek andarts of Zografos.
In 1920, he returned to Albania where he founded the "Federata e Madhe Atdheu" (Homeland Wide Federation) in

Vlorë Vlorë ( , ; sq-definite, Vlora) is the third most populous city of the Republic of Albania and seat of Vlorë County and Vlorë Municipality. Located in southwestern Albania, Vlorë sprawls on the Bay of Vlorë and is surrounded by the foothi ...

together with

Avni Rustemi Avni Rustemi (22 September 1895 – 22 April 1924) was an Albanian patriot, militant, teacher, activist and member of the Albanian parliament. Rustemi was the leader of both democratic organisations "Atdheu" and "Bashkimi", and also a membe ...

Luigj Gurakuqi Luigj Gurakuqi (also called Louis Gurakuchi; 19 February 1879 – 2 March 1925) was an Albanian writer and politician. He was an important figure of the Albanian National Awakening and was honoured with the People's Hero of Albania medal. Bi ...

, Ahmet Dakli, and

Bedri Pejani Bedri Pejani (or Bedri bej Ipeku; 10 October 1885 – 6 July 1946) was 20th century Albanian politician. During World War II, he was one of the founders of the Second League of Prizren. Biography Pejani was born in the city of İpek (now Pe ...

. In 1923, as Prefect of

Gjirokastër Gjirokastër (, sq-definite, Gjirokastra) is a city in the Republic of Albania and the seat of Gjirokastër County and Gjirokastër Municipality. It is located in a valley between the Gjerë mountains and the Drino, at 300 metres above sea le ...

Prefecture, Tromara reported constantly on the attempts of the Greek government to exchange the Cham Albanian population and send them 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 ...

. Through the sub-prefecture of Chameria which was under his jurisdiction, he tried convincing the Cham population to stay and not leave. Together with Koço Muka he denounced on 27 August 1923 the scenario of the assassination of

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 ...

, Italian emissary dealing with Albania-Greece border delimitation, murdered by unknown assailants. He also made an attempt for the electrification of the region, by getting in contact with American companies.
On 27 December 1923 he became 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 ...

, representing Korçë. As an active supporter of

Fan Noli Theofan Stilian Noli, known as Fan Noli (6 January 1882 – 13 March 1965), was an Albanian writer, scholar, diplomat, politician, historian, orator, Archbishop, Metropolitan and founder of the Albanian Orthodox Church and the Albanian Orthodox ...

and 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 ...

, he left Albania in December 1924 when

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 ...

suppressed Noli's movement with the financial and military aid of

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 unt ...

and Greece. As many Albanian political ''emigre'' members of that time, Tromara settled 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 ...

where he joined the "Bashkimi Kombëtar" (National Union) society. Meanwhile, a political court in Albanian sentenced him to 15 years of imprisonment. After the failed assassination attempt on King Zog in 1933, he settled in

Paris Paris () is the capital and 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), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, still being one of the most active Albanian political emigrants.
With 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 1939, Tromara returned and became member of the

Council of State A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head o ...

(Albanian: Këshilli i Shtetit). He was a founding member of the

Balli Kombëtar The Balli Kombëtar (literally ''National Front''), known as Balli, was an Albanian nationalist, collaborationist and anti-communist resistance movement during the Second World War. It was led by Ali Këlcyra and by Midhat Frashëri. The movem ...

political fraction. During 1942-1943 he served as Prefect of Korçë. In 1943, following his resignation from Balli Kombëtar, he joined the

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

Rexhep Mitrovica Rexhep Mitrovica (15 January 1888 – 21 May 1967) was a Prime Minister of Albania's government under Nazi Germany. A staunch nationalist, he was elected head of the Second League of Prizren. Biography Early life Rexhep was born to a wealthy ...

as Minister of Culture.
With 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 ...

and the rise of the Communists in power, he was arrested and prosecuted in the Special Court of 1945. The court sentenced him to death on 13 April 1945. Tromara was executed by the Communists in 1945 at the age of 63. Tromara is the author of an Albanian patriotic song, ''Sa te rrojë gjithësia'' (As long as the universe lives), quite known between Albanians though the name of the author was hidden during communism.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tromara, Kol 1882 births 1945 deaths 19th-century Albanian people 20th-century Albanian politicians Government ministers of Albania Culture ministers of Albania Balli Kombëtar Albanian collaborators with Fascist Italy Albanian collaborators with Nazi Germany Albanian fascists Executed Albanian collaborators with Nazi Germany Albanian people executed by the communist regime Executed Albanian people People from Manastir vilayet Activists of the Albanian National Awakening People from Devoll (municipality) Eastern Orthodox Christians from Albania Members of the Albanian Orthodox Church Albanian expatriates in the United States