Mehmed Konica (1881 – 1948), was an Albanian politician. He served three times as the Foreign Minister of Albania. He was the brother of Albanian writer

Faik Konica Faik Bey Konica (later named ''Faïk Dominik Konitza'', 15 March 1875 – 15 December 1942) was an important figure in Albanian language and culture in the early decades of the twentieth century. Prewar Albanian minister to Washington, D.C., Wash ...

. Konica was born in

Konitsa Konitsa ( el, Κόνιτσα; see also names in other languages) is a town of Ioannina in Epirus, Greece. It is located north of the capital Ioannina and near the Albanian border. Northeast of Konitsa lies a group of villages known as the Zagor ...

, today's Greece, back then part of the Janina 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) ...

. He was present in the

Conference of Ambassadors The Conference of Ambassadors of the Principal Allied and Associated Powers was an inter-allied organization of the Entente in the period following the end of World War I. Formed in Paris in January 1920 it became a successor of the Supreme W ...

in London in 1913. He was appointed Foreign Minister on 22 June 1914 for a short period. In 1918, he headed the

Congress of Durrës The Congress of Durrës () was a conference of Albanian political leaders, held from December 25 to December 27, 1918, in Durrës, at the time capital of the Principality of Albania. Mehmet Konica was the Chairman of the Congress, which aimed a ...

and served again as Foreign Minister. After participating in the

Congress of Lushnjë The Congress of Lushnjë (), historically documented by the name ''Mbledhja Kombiare Lushnje'', was a conference of Albanian political leaders held from January 28 to January 31, 1920 in Lushnjë, Albania. Its objective was to deal with the issue ...

, he was appointed Foreign Minister once more and accompanied

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 ...

on his journey to the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...

. On 28 March 1922 he was appointed plenipotentiary Ambassador of Albania in the UK until 21 May 1925.Albania and King Zog: independence, republic and monarchy 1908-1939 By Owen Pearson Page 247

Although originally an opponent of Ahmet Zogu, Konica conducted negotiations in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

on his behalf in 1926. He served thereafter as an informal political advisor and intermediary and represented

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 ...

at the Balkan Conferences of 1931. 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 opposin ...

, Mehmed bey Konica was initially interned in Rome by the Italians and, later, under the

German 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 an ...

, was appointed Albanian Foreign Minister but refused to take up the position. He died in exile in

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Konica, Mehmet 1881 births 1948 deaths People from Konitsa People from Janina vilayet Greek people of Albanian descent Government ministers of Albania Foreign ministers of Albania Ambassadors of Albania to the United Kingdom 19th-century Albanian politicians 20th-century Albanian politicians Government of Durrës

See also

References