Mihal Zallari (25 September 1894 – 17 March 1976) 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 ...
historian, politician, journalist and poet. He served as
Chairman
The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...
of the
National Parliament of Albania from 1943 to 1944.
Life
Born in
Frashër
Frashër (; sq-definite, Frashëri; rup, Farshar) is a village and a former municipality in the Gjirokastër County, southern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Përmet. The population at the ...
on 25 September 1894, he hailed from the Zallari family, a branch of the Frashëri family. Zallari studied at the
German school
Education in Germany is primarily the responsibility of individual German States of Germany, states (), with the federal government playing a minor role. Optional Kindergarten, Kindergarden (nursery school) education is provided for all child ...
of
Istanbul
Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
and later political science at the
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich histor ...
. His brother Leonidha Frashëri-Zallari, a collaborator of
Mit'hat Frashëri, was a deputy of the Albanian parliament as a representative of
Gjirokastër
Gjirokastër (, sq-definite, Gjirokastra) is a city in the Republic of Albania and the seat of Gjirokastër County and Gjirokastër Municipality. It is located in a valley between the Gjerë mountains and the Drino, at 300 metres above sea le ...
in 1921–23 and 1943–44 and had also served as prefect of
Delvinë
Delvinë ( or , ); is a town and a municipality in Vlorë County, southern Albania, northeast of Saranda. It was formed in the 2015 local government reform by the merger of the former municipalities Delvinë and Vergo, which became municipal unit ...
.
In 1943 as a deputy of Gjirokastër he became a member of the executive committee of the assembly of the
State of Albania and a chairman of the assembly on November 9, four days after the previous chairman
Idhomene Kosturi was assassinated in Durrës.
In 1944 Zallari intervened in the case of the employees of the state radio of
Tiranë
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 ...
, who were to be arrested and executed by the German military authorities, which suspected them as Communists, and prevented their arrest.
During that period along with other members of the government he was granting Jewish refugees in Albania identification and citizenship as ethnic Albanians in order to prevent their arrest and deportation.
These activities had a significant effect in
his trial after the war, in which Zallari was sentenced to thirty years in prison. He was released in 1962 and died on 17 March 1976, aged 81.
Ideology
Throughout his life Zallari was a nationalist and a Germanophile.
Zallari viewed imperialism and internationalism as two synonymous views, which represented the extreme opposite of nationalism. He further divided internationalism/imperialism into two forms: secular and religious.
References
Further reading
Drowned by Banality Mihal Zallari, 1936
Selected poems
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zallari, Mihal
1890s births
1976 deaths
People from Gjirokastër County
20th-century Albanian politicians
Speakers of the Parliament of Albania
Members of the Parliament of Albania
20th-century Albanian historians
Albanian journalists
Albanian anti-communists
20th-century Albanian poets
Albanian nationalists
Albanian expatriates in Egypt
Deutsche Schule Istanbul alumni
Frashëri family
20th-century journalists