Mihal Turtulli Bey (1856–3 January 1935), also known as Michail Tourtoulis or Dr. Turtulli, was an Albanian oculist, politician, member of the High Council of State (Jan - Dec 1920), and representative 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 ...

at 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 ...

Biography

M. Turtulli was born 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 ...

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) ...

. His family originated in Vithkuq and had settled in Korçë circa 1823. He was practically raised in El-Fayyūm,

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

being part of the Albanian colony there. He graduated from the Lycée Al-Horreya of Alexandria. During the period 1876–1885, he studied medicine in Greece and later in France, where he became an

oculist Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a medic ...

. He returned to Egypt in 1885 and worked as a

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

's hospitals until 1912. Following the

Albanian Declaration of Independence The Albanian Declaration of Independence ( Albanian: ''Deklarata e Pavarësisë'') was the declaration of independence of Albania from the Ottoman Empire. Independent Albania was proclaimed in Vlorë on 28 November 1912. Six days later the Assem ...

from the Ottoman Empire in November 1912, he returned to Albania.
Turtulli was a supporter of

Prince Wied Prince Wilhelm of Wied (German: ''Wilhelm Friedrich Heinrich Prinz zu Wied'', 26 March 1876 – 18 April 1945), reigned briefly as sovereign of the Principality of Albania as Vilhelm I from 7 March to 3 September 1914, when he left for exile. H ...

for the Albanian throne. He was part of the delegation that went to Neuwied,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

to offer the crown to Wied.
He was elected Minister of Health and Education in the provisional government of Turhan Pasha Përmeti on May 20, 1914. He spent most of the period until 1918 in

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. During this time, he was active in the Albanian patriotic press where he advocated total unity between social and regional communities of Albania. While in Switzerland, together with Pandeli Cale and

Sotir Kolea Sotir Kolea (1872-1945) was an Albanian folklorist, diplomat and activist of the Albanian National Awakening. Along with Thoma Kacori he has been labeled as the ''Last of the Rilindas''. Life Sotir Kolea was born in the Goricë district of Ber ...

, he published the periodical ''L'Albanie'', which went out during 1915–1919.
On June 3, 1917, with his initiative,

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 ...

held a fundraising congress in order to support the diplomatic activities of Albania in the processes following

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Turtulli was the first to donate, with an amount of $1,000. In his telegram, he urged all members of Albanian-American diaspora to donate $10. This was the first fundraising event of Vatra, for this purpose.
In 1918, he was elected Representative of Vatra to establish contacts with the Albanian community of

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

and Italian authorities, in the eve of

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 ...

. Due to his non pro-Italian stance, he was substituted by

Mehmed Konica 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. Konica was born in Konitsa, today's Greece, back then part of the Janina Vi ...

. Turtulli participated in the Congress of Durres (Dec 25–27, 1918), and was elected

Minister without portfolio A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister who does not head a particular ministry. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet w ...

in the government that came out of it. In 1919, he represented Albania in the Paris Peace Conference. He strongly advocated the unity of Albanian nation against the stance of

Alexandros Karapanos Alexandros Karapanos ( el, Αλέξανδρος Καραπάνος, 1873–1946) was a Greek politician and diplomat. He was born in Arta (Epirus) and died in Athens. Karapanos was the son of politician and archeologist Konstantinos Karapan ...

who represented the Greeks of Northern Epirus (South Albania) claiming that the region should be ceased to Greece and that was the will of the Orthodox population, by stating: "I am from Korça. I have worked as a doctor in that town. I say there are no Greeks in Korça, not even in Korça area. Greece stirs things up. They think that the Christians, like me, are Greek. This is not correct. It is pretended that all the Orthodox people are Greek. Why? Russians, Bulgarians, Serbs, even being Orthodox they are not Greek". Turtulli was a delegate at the Congress of Lushnja of 1920, and was elected member of the High Council of State as representative of the

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 ...

population, along with

Luigj Bumçi Luigj Bumçi (7 November 1872 – 1 March 1945) was an Albanian Catholic religious and political figure. Life Dom Luigj Bumçi was born in Shkodër, back then in the Scutari Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire, on 7 November 1872 in an Albanian C ...

for the

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Aqif Pasha Elbasani Aqif Pasha Biçaku mostly known as Aqif Pashë Elbasani (1860 – 10 February 1926) was an Ottoman Albanian political figure in the Sanjak of Elbasan and after the Young Turk Revolution became an activist for the Albanian national cause. Life Aq ...

for the Bektashi, and Abdi Bey Toptani for the

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

. In April 1921, he stopped participating in the Council's activities, and retired completely in 1922, following the allegations that Bumçi and Aqif Pasha Elbasani were involved in a '' coup d'etat'' against

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 ...

's government. He left Albania in December 1924 after the suppression of 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 tribes ...

. Though he went back to Egypt, unlike most of the anti-Zogist personalities who fled the country, he affiliated himself with KONARE (The National Revolutionary Committee) founded by

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 ...

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. Meanwhile, Zogu's government had him on the black list, and he was sentenced in absentia to 101 years, but he was included in an amnesty of 1927.
Turtulli returned shortly to Albania, and thenwent back to Egypt where he spent the final years of his life.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turtulli, Mihal People from Korçë 20th-century Albanian politicians 19th-century Albanian politicians Albanian people from the Ottoman Empire Politicians from the Ottoman Empire Physicians from the Ottoman Empire People from Manastir vilayet Expatriates in Egypt Expatriates in France 1847 births 1935 deaths Eastern Orthodox Christians from Albania Members of the Albanian Orthodox Church Albanian diplomats Albanian ophthalmologists Government of Durrës

Biography

See also

References