Koço Theodhosi (21 May 1913 in

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 ...

– 31 May 1977) 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 ...

politician of the

Albanian Party of Labour The Party of Labour of Albania ( sq, Partia e Punës e Shqipërisë, PPSh), sometimes referred to as the Albanian Workers' Party (AWP), was the ruling and sole legal party of Albania during the communist period (1945–1991). It was founded on ...

(PPSh).

Biography

Theodhosi finished the French Lyceum of Korça, and later studied chemistry at the

University of Lyon The University of Lyon (french: Université de Lyon), located in Lyon and Saint-Étienne, France, is a center for higher education and research comprising 11 members and 24 associated institutions. The three main universities in this center are: ...

, and at the

University of Liège The University of Liège (french: Université de Liège), or ULiège, is a major public university of the French Community of Belgium based in Liège, Wallonia, Belgium. Its official language is French. As of 2020, ULiège is ranked in the 301 ...

. During his studies he got into contact with French-speaking

anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were ...

student group of the

French Communist Party The French Communist Party (french: Parti communiste français, ''PCF'' ; ) is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its MEPs sit in the European Unit ...

(PCF). Upon his return to Albania, he became involved in the anti-fascist movement. In 1936 he joined the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

as part of the

international brigades The International Brigades ( es, Brigadas Internacionales) were military units set up by the Communist International to assist the Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The organization existed f ...

. In April 1939, he was among the organizers of a student protest in

Grenoble lat, Gratianopolis , commune status = Prefecture and commune , image = Panorama grenoble.png , image size = , caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...

against 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 ...

. It was an appeal to the

French Prime Minister The prime minister of France (french: link=no, Premier ministre français), officially the prime minister of the French Republic, is the head of government of the French Republic and the leader of the Council of Ministers. The prime minister i ...

Edouard Daladier and the

British Prime Minister The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern p ...

Neville Chamberlain Arthur Neville Chamberlain (; 18 March 18699 November 1940) was a British politician of the Conservative Party who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940. He is best known for his foreign policy of appeasemen ...

to gain support over the Italians. On 8 November 1941, Theodhosi was one of the 200 founding members of the Communist Party of Albania (Alb: ''Partia Komuniste e Shqipërisë'') which would later become the Party of Labour. During the

Second World War 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 participated as a partisan (1942–44) affiliated with the National Liberation Movement (LANC). In May 1944, he organized a Party Congress in Korçë. He was among the 118 people comprising the Anti-Fascist Council of National Liberation Movement chosen in May 1944 by the

Congress of Përmet The Congress of Përmet, was a meeting of the Albanian communist leaders on May 24, 1944, in Përmet, Albania, which elected a Provisional Government. The congress was modeled after the Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Yugoslav ...

. The Council acted as the transitional parliament, and served the Communists in their plans to come to power. In 1944 Theodhosi was appointed by

Enver Hoxha Enver Halil Hoxha ( , ; 16 October 190811 April 1985) was an Albanian communist politician who was the authoritarian ruler of Albania from 1944 until his death in 1985. He was First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania from 1941 unt ...

as Commissioner of

Kuçovë Kuçovë ( sq-definite, Kuçova) is a municipality in south-central Albania. It was formed at the 2015 local government reform by the merger of the former municipalities Kozare, Kuçovë, Lumas and Perondi, which all became municipal units. The se ...

and he served in this position until 1947. After that, he was Deputy Minister of Public Works, before being Deputy Chairman of the State Planning Commission in 1949, under

Nako Spiru Athanas Spiru, known as Nako Spiru, (4 January 1918 – 20 November 1947) was an Albanian politician and high-ranking official of the Communist Party of Albania (PKSh). He served as Minister of Economy and Industry from 1946 until his untimely de ...

. In this capacity, he also participated in delegations to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

together with Hoxha. In 1950, Theodhosi was elected member of the People's Assembly (Alb: ''Kuvendi Popullor''), where he remained until 30 May 1975. Furthermore, he was for many years a member of the Central Committee (CC) of the Party. In 1954, he was appointed Minister of Industry in the government of Prime Minister

Mehmet Shehu Mehmet Ismail Shehu (January 10, 1913 – December 18, 1981) was an Albanian communist politician who served as the 23rd Prime Minister of Albania from 1954 to 1981. As an acknowledged military tactician, without whose leadership the communist p ...

, before becoming Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers in 1955. At the 3rd Congress of the Party of Labourt of Albania in June 1956, he was elected candidate-member of its

Politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the executive committee for communist parties. It is present in most former and existing communist states. Names The term "politburo" in English comes from the Russian ''Politbyuro'' (), itself a contraction ...

. On 1 March 1959, he was appointed as Chairman of the State Planning Commission in the government of Prime Minister Shehu, and held this function until 18 March 1966. At the same time, from 16 July 1962 to 18 March 1966, he served as Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers. In addition, on 1 January 1965 he was appointed as the successor of

Adil Çarçani Adil Çarçani (5 May 1922 – 13 October 1997) was an Albanian politician who served as the 24th Prime Minister of Albania during the Communist era led by Enver Hoxha. He served as the titular head of the Albanian government in the years immedia ...

as Minister of Industry and held that office until 30 October 1974. During the 6th Congress of the Party in November 1971, he became member of the Politburo of the PPSh, a very high-ranking position which he lost almost four years later by his dismissal in September 1975. From 30 October 1974 to 1 September 1975, he served again as Minister of Industry and Mines in the government of

. After his dismissal in September 1975, he was succeeded by

Pali Miska Pali Miska (19 May 1931 – September 2009) was an Albanian politician of the Communist Era. He served as Chairman of the Assembly of the Republic of Albania from 22 November 1982 to 19 February 1987. Miska was first as a party functionary in ...

both as a member of the Politburo of the PPSh and as Minister of Industry and Mines. Theodhosi was arrested and personally instigated by the Minister of Interior

Kadri Hazbiu Kadri Hazbiu (15 July 1922 – 10 September 1983) was an Albanian politician of the Albanian Party of Labour (PPSh). Biography Early life Kadri Hazbiu was born in Mavrovë, Vlorë District, on 15 July 1922. He was the son of Hasbi Cano Dautaj, ...

, who was also chief supervisor of the

Sigurimi The Directorate of State Security (), commonly called the ''Sigurimi'', was the state security, intelligence and secret police service of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania. Its proclaimed goal was maintaining state security of Albania, ...

(secret service). The reasons for his dismissal were stated to be his errors in the construction of the hydroelectric power station of Fierza and the metallurgical complex near Elbasan. An important additional reason for his overthrow was the accusation of military and economic conspiracy. Also accused were other high-ranking military figures: Minister of Defence General

Beqir Balluku Beqir Balluku (14 February 1917 – 5 November 1975) was an Albanian politician, military leader, and Minister of Defense of Albania. Balluku assisted Enver Hoxha in carrying out the 1956 purge within the Labour Party. However, in 1974, Balluku h ...

; the Chief of the

General Staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military un ...

of the Armed Forces (Alb: ''Forcat e Armatosura të Shqipërisë'') General Petrit Dume; the head of the General Political Bureau of the Armed Forces, General Hito Çako; Deputy Prime Minister

Abdyl Këllezi Abdyl Këllezi (20 August 1919 – 17 May 1977) was an Albanian politician of the Communist era. He served as Chairman of the Assembly of the Republic of Albania from 10 September 1966 to 13 January 1969. Life and activity Këllezi was bor ...

; Lipe Nashi; and others. They all fell victim to the accusation of being too close to the Soviet Union, the Prime Minister of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Zhou Enlai Zhou Enlai (; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman and military officer who served as the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, premier of the People's Republic of China from 1 October 1949 until his death on 8 J ...

, and

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

. In 1977, Theodhosi was condemned to death and executed. His son Arben Theodhosi, who was a painter with several exhibitions in Albania and abroad, had to interrupt his studies when he was detained for forced labor in one of the copper mines.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Theodhosi, Koco 1913 births 1977 deaths People from Korçë Labour Party of Albania politicians Members of the Politburo of the Labour Party of Albania Candidate members of the Politburo of the Labour Party of Albania Members of the Parliament of Albania Government ministers of Albania Deputy Prime Ministers of Albania Industry and mines ministers of Albania Communism in Albania University of Lyon alumni University of Liège alumni Albanian National Lyceum alumni Albanian anti-fascists Albanian people of the Spanish Civil War Albanian resistance members Executed politicians Executed Albanian people People executed by Albania by firing squad

Biography

See also

References