Leka, Prince of Albania (''Leka Anwar Zog Reza Baudouin Msiziwe Zogu'', born 26 March 1982) is a claimant to the throne of Albania and the head of the

House of Zogu The House of Zogu, or Zogolli during Ottoman times and until 1922, is an Albanian dynasty whose roots date back to the early 20th century. The family provided the first president and the short-lived modern Albanian Kingdom with its only monarch ...

. At the time of his birth on 26 March 1982, the

South African government The Republic of South Africa is a parliamentary republic with three-tier system of government and an independent judiciary, operating in a parliamentary system. Legislative authority is held by the Parliament of South Africa. Executive authori ...

, by order of

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

P. W. Botha Pieter Willem Botha, (; 12 January 1916 – 31 October 2006), commonly known as P. W. and af, Die Groot Krokodil (The Big Crocodile), was a South African politician. He served as the last prime minister of South Africa from 1978 to 1984 and ...

, declared his maternity ward extraterritorial land, so as to ensure that Leka was born on Albanian soil. Leka is the only child of

Leka, Crown Prince of Albania Leka, Crown Prince of Albania (also known as ''King Leka I''; 5 April 193930 November 2011), was the only son of King Zog I and Queen Geraldine of Albania. He was called Crown Prince Skander at birth. Leka was the pretender to the Kingdom of Alban ...

and his wife Susan, Crown Princess of Albania. He is the only grandchild of King Zog I of the Albanians, succeeding as head of the royal house upon the death of his father in 2011. He has worked as an official at the country's interior and foreign ministries. He also served as a political advisor to the Albanian President from 2012 to 2013. In May 2010, Leka became engaged to

Elia Zaharia Elia, Princess of Albania (''née'' Zaharia; born 8 February 1983) is an Albanian actress, former singer and wife of Leka, Prince of Albania. They married on 8 October 2016 in Tirana. Early life and education She was born on 8 February 1983 in T ...

, an Albanian actress and singer. They married on 8 October 2016 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 ...

Early life

Leka is the son of the

pretender A pretender is someone who claims to be the rightful ruler of a country although not recognized as such by the current government. The term is often used to suggest that a claim is not legitimate.Curley Jr., Walter J. P. ''Monarchs-in-Waiting'' ...

to the defunct throne of

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 ...

, Crown Prince Leka, and his Australian wife Crown Princess Susan. He was named in honour of Egyptian president

Anwar El Sadat Muhammad Anwar el-Sadat, (25 December 1918 – 6 October 1981) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the third president of Egypt, from 15 October 1970 until his assassination by fundamentalist army officers on 6 ...

, his grandfather

King Zog I 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 ...

, Emperor Mohammed Reza of

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, and

Baudouin I Baudouin (;, ; nl, Boudewijn Albert Karel Leopold Axel Maria Gustaaf, ; german: Balduin Albrecht Karl Leopold Axel Maria Gustav. 7 September 1930 – 31 July 1993), Dutch name Boudewijn, was King of the Belgians from 17 July 1951 until his dea ...

, King of the Belgians. Msiziwe is a Zulu term meaning 'the one who was assisted'. Leka is a member of the

Education and activities

Leka's was educated in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

at St Peter's College, Johannesburg, and in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, where he was named Best Foreign Student of the Academy, being congratulated by the Albanian Minister of Defence. He was also educated at the

Skanderbeg Military Academy The Skanderbeg Military University () was an educational entity of the Albanian People's Army and the Albanian Armed Forces. It was the oldest military education institution in the People's Socialist Republic of Albania. History Communist era ...

, at the Università per Stranieri in

Perugia Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and pa ...

, where he studied the

Italian language Italian (''italiano'' or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. Together with Sardinian, Italian is the least divergent language from Latin. Spoken by about ...

, and in

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 ...

, where he studied

international relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such a ...

. Leka resides in

. He speaks Albanian, English, some Zulu, and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

. He owns boxer dogs, and his interests include martial arts, volleyball, and swimming. He is fond of wildlife and has taken part in mountain climbing,

abseiling Abseiling ( ; ), also known as rappelling ( ; ), is the controlled descent of a steep slope, such as a rock face, by moving down a rope. When abseiling the person descending controls their own movement down the rope, in contrast to low ...

, and target shooting. On 5 April 2004, Leka accepted the Mother Teresa Medal on behalf of his late grandmother, Queen Géraldine, for her humanitarian efforts. Leka is known to have worked with youth organizations, like MJAFT!, and supported a wide range of humanitarian efforts in Albania, but he maintains that he only supports self-help projects to stimulate Albanian and Kosovar economic growth,

Gazeta Sot ''Gazeta SOT'' is a daily newspaper published in Albania. Reporters Without Borders describes Gazeta Sot as a daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typ ...

. Leka is known as a supporter of Kosovar independence from

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

and has close ties to the Kosovar leadership in

Pristina Pristina, ; sr, / (, ) is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. The city's municipal boundaries in Pristina District form the largest urban center in Kosovo. After Tirana, Pristina has the second largest population of ethnic Albanians an ...

. Leka founded the youth leadership of the Movement for National Development, which was a movement created by his father in 2005 to change the political face of Albania. On 24 June 2010, Prince Leka unveiled a blue plaque at Parmoor House in Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom, which was the home of King Zog during his wartime exile.

Public service

On 21 August 2007, Foreign Minister

Lulzim Basha Lulzim Basha (; born 12 June 1974) is an Albanian politician who served as the chairman of the Democratic Party of Albania, the main opposition party, from 2013 to March 21, 2022 when he stepped down from the leadership of the party. Basha was ...

announced that Leka had been appointed to his office. The prince intended to pursue a career in diplomacy. After three years he had been transferred to the office of the Minister of Interior. After the

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

Bujar Nishani Bujar Nishani (; 29 September 1966 – 28 May 2022) was an Albanian politician. He served as President of Albania from 24 July 2012 to 24 July 2017. Nishani was the youngest person to have been chosen as president of Albania, taking office at ...

as president in 2012, Leka was appointed as political adviser to the President. Leka was considered as a candidate in the

2022 Albanian presidential election Indirect presidential elections have taken place in Albania from 16 May 2022 to 4 June 2022. It was the ninth presidential election since 1991 and the collapse of the communist regime. The first round was held on 16 May 2022, and failed due to ...

, though the position ultimately went to

Bajram Begaj Bajram Begaj (born 20 March 1967) is an Albanian retired military officer and politician, who is currently serving as the 9th President of Albania since 24 July 2022. Begaj, who has had a long career in the Albanian army, served as the 26th Ch ...

Personal life

Leka met

in Paris, and in May 2010 they were engaged. Since then she has accompanied him on most of his visits and meetings with members of royal families. She is also head of the Queen Geraldine Foundation, which is a humanitarian, charitable and non-profit organisation, created by the Royal Court. The foundation aims to be close to the Albanian families who need help and to children who need care. It has reconstructed numerous schools and kindergartens in northern Albania, especially in the Mat District, from where the Zogu Family comes. On 27 March 2016 it was announced by

Skënder Zogu Skënder Zogu (born 3 June 1933) is an Albanian author and member of the House of Zogu. As the son of Prince Xhelal Zogu, he is first in the line of succession to the former Albanian throne after his first cousin once removed, Leka, Crown Princ ...

(born 1933), a member of the Zogu family, that the couple would be married on 8 October 2016 in the Royal Palace in Tirana.

Wedding

Leka was married on Saturday 8 October 2016 in Tirana. The ceremony was a semi-official ceremony, held in Tirana in the Royal Palace, with many guests including members of other noble and royal families. The event was a civil wedding officiated by the Mayor of Tirana,

Erion Veliaj Erion Veliaj (born December 17, 1979) is an Albanian politician, who is currently serving as the Mayor of Tirana. Stemming from a civil society activism organization as the leader of MJAFT!, Veliaj joined the ranks of the Socialist Party of Alb ...

. A blessing was given by the five religious leaders of Albania representing the faiths of Sunni Islam, Bektashi, and the Christian traditions of Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant. This tradition of the Albanian royal family is part of the tradition of religious tolerance in Albania. Wedding guests included friends and relatives from around the world including relatives of his mother from Australia. Guests also included members of other royal families from neighbouring countries and further afield. These included Queen Sofia of Spain and

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...

and

Princess Michael of Kent Princess Michael of Kent (born Baroness Marie-Christine Anna Agnes Hedwig Ida von Reibnitz, 15 January 1945) is a member of the British royal family of German, Austrian, Czech and Hungarian descent. She is married to Prince Michael of Kent, ...

. Prince Michael of Kent is a cousin of Queen Elizabeth II and his wife Princess Michael of Kent is related to Prince Leka through her mother, Countess Marianne

Szapáry The House of Szapáry (Hungarian: ''Szapáry de Muraszombath, Széchysziget et Szapár'') is the name of an old and important Hungarian noble family, which derived its name from the village of Szapár. The family belonged to the Hungarian nobilit ...

, who was a 5th cousin of Queen Géraldine and had been a bridesmaid at her wedding to King Zog in 1938. Other royal guests included Empress Farah Pahlavi of Iran, Crown Prince Alexander and Crown Princess Katherine of Yugoslavia, Crown Princess Margareta of Romania, Custodian of the Crown and Prince Radu of Romania, Nicholas, Prince of Montenegro, Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg together with Princess Sibilla,

Georg Friedrich, Prince of Prussia Georg Friedrich Ferdinand, Prince of Prussia (born 10 June 1976) is a German businessman who is the current head of the Prussian branch of the House of Hohenzollern, the former ruling dynasty of the German Empire and of the Kingdom of Prussia. ...

Princess Léa of Belgium Princess Léa of Belgium (born Léa Inga Dora Wolman; 2 December 1951, in Brussels, Belgium) is the widow of Prince Alexandre of Belgium. She is an aunt by marriage of King Philippe of Belgium. Early life and family Princess Léa was born on ...

and other members from the royal families of

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarch ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

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 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

and members of other noble families. Heads of state of Albania also attended the ceremony.

Children

Elia gave birth to a daughter on 22 October 2020 at Queen Geraldine Maternity Hospital in Tirana, on the 18th anniversary of Leka’s grandmother Queen Geraldine’s death. Their daughter was named Geraldine in her honour.

Honours and awards

Honours

National dynastic honours

: Sovereign Knight with Collar of the Royal Order of Albania *

: Sovereign Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Fidelity *

: Sovereign Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Skanderbeg * Albanian Royal Family: Sovereign of the Military Order and Medal of Bravery

Foreign honours

* Italian Royal Family: Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus * Two Sicilian Royal Family: Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Francis I *

House of Romanov The House of Romanov (also transcribed Romanoff; rus, Романовы, Románovy, rɐˈmanəvɨ) was the reigning dynasty, imperial house of Russia from 1613 to 1917. They achieved prominence after the Tsarina, Anastacia of Russia, Anastasi ...

: Knight Grand Cross of the Imperial Order of Saint Andrew * New_Ghassanid_Banner

Royal House of Ghassan: Knight Grand Collar of the Equestrian Order of Michael Archangel

Awards

* – Honored Citizen of the City of

Burrel Burrel (alternate forms ''Burrel'', ''Mat'') is a town in northern Albania, 91 km from Tirana. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision and the seat of the municipality Mat. It was the seat of the former District of Mat. ...

(2012) * – Honored Citizen of the Commune of Bërdicë (2012) * – Key to City of

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

(2011) * – Honorary Mayor of the City of Baton Rouge

References

Bibliography

* Patrice Najbor, Histoire de l'Albanie et de sa maison royale (5 volumes), JePublie, Paris, 2008, (). * Patrice Najbor, la dynastye des Zogu, Textes & Prétextes, Paris, 2002 * ''Geraldine of the Albanians''; Robyns, Gwen – * Rees, Neil: ''A Royal Exile – King Zog & Queen Geraldine of Albania including their wartime exile in the Thames Valley and Chilterns'', 2010 ()

External links

Official website of the Albanian Royal CourtSite Officiel de la Maison Royale d'Albanie
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leka, Prince Of Albania 1982 births Living people People from Johannesburg Albanian princes Albanian people of American descent Albanian people of Hungarian descent House of Zogu Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Recipients of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus Australian people of English descent Albanian nobility Pretenders to the Albanian throne Albanian royalty