Mihal Sherko (1887–1964) was an Albanian

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

, diplomat, educator and

media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass e ...

pioneer, widely acknowledged as the founder of the

Albanian Telegraphic Agency The Albanian Telegraphic Agency (ATSH; ) is the official multimedia news agency of the Albanian government. Its content is published in some of the main news agencies around the world of which it has contractual agreements with, such as: AFP, DP ...

Biography

Sherko was born on October 27, 1887, 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 som ...

, a city in south-eastern

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 ...

, 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) ...

. He graduated in 1915 from the Faculty of History and Philosophy at the

University of Odessa Odesa I. I. Mechnykov National University ( uk, Одеський національний університет Iмені І. І. Мечникова, translit=Odeskyi natsionalnyi universytet imeni I. I. Mechnykova), located in Odesa, Ukraine, i ...

, present day

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

. From 1915 to 1921, he was professor of Latin in the same city where he graduated. The following year, Sherko moved back to Korçë and taught at a local high school. In 1924, he was named head of the General Directorate of Education. On July 25, 1927, he was appointed director of the Press Office at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which later was to become the Albanian Telegraphic Agency. From April 8 to 12, 1939 Sherko was member in charge of Foreign Affairs in the Provisional Administrative Committee. Later he worked as a clerk in the Liquidation Office (former MFA). From 1941 to 1943 he served as Inspector of Medicine and in the ensuing months was elected Deputy of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

, then served briefly as Minister of Popular Culture. In 1944, he was the main organizer of the automobile tourist club KTAM. Sherko was arrested the next year and was trialed at the Special Court of 1945 which sentenced him to 20 years imprisonment. He died on December 1, 1964.

Personal life

Sherko was married to Russian citizen Elena D'Arkudinski, belonging to a family of Russian aristocracy with blood ties to the

Romanovs The House of Romanov (also transcribed Romanoff; rus, Романовы, Románovy, rɐˈmanəvɨ) was the reigning imperial house of Russia from 1613 to 1917. They achieved prominence after the Tsarina, Anastasia Romanova, was married to t ...

. In 1924, following the dissolution of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

, the couple fled to Albania. They had a son named Sergej.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sherko, Mihal Government ministers of Albania Culture ministers of Albania Albanian journalists Albanian diplomats People from Korçë 1887 births 1964 deaths