Mufid

Bey Bey ( ota, بك, beğ, script=Arab, tr, bey, az, bəy, tk, beg, uz, бек, kz, би/бек, tt-Cyrl, бәк, translit=bäk, cjs, пий/пек, sq, beu/bej, sh, beg, fa, بیگ, beyg/, tg, бек, ar, بك, bak, gr, μπέης) is ...

Libohova (1876 in

Libohovë Libohovë ( sq-definite, Libohova) is a town and a municipality in southern Albania. It is overlooked by Libohovë Castle and has a main street with views across the Drino valley. Libohovë is at the foot of the Bureto Mountain. The region forms ...

– 1927 in

Sarandë Sarandë (; sq-definite, Saranda; el, Άγιοι Σαράντα, Ágioi Saránta) is a city in the Republic of Albania and seat of Sarandë Municipality. Geographically, the city is located on an open sea gulf of the Ionian Sea within the Medit ...

) 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 ...

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

and one of the delegates at the

Assembly of Vlorë The Assembly of Vlorë ( sq, Kuvendi i Vlorës) was an Albanian assembly constituted during the All-Albanian Congress in Vlorë, on November 28, 1912. Background The All-Albanian Congress or ''Albanian National Congress'' or ''Albanian Ind ...

(28 November 1912) where 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 ...

took place. He served as the first Minister of Interior of Albania, during the

Provisional Government of Albania The Provisional Government of Albania ( sq, Qeveria e Përkohshme e Shqipërisë) was the first government of Albania, created by the Assembly of Vlorë on 4 December 1912. It was a paternal government, led by Ismail Qemali, until his resignatio ...

and since then has held different government positions on nine occasions between 1913–1927, holding the positions of Justice Minister, Minister of the Interior, Minister of Finances, and Minister of Culture.

Life

Mufid Libohova, son of Maliq Pashë Libohova, was scion of a wealthy landowning family with the same name. In 1898, he was appointed in the Ottoman Embassy in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, where he became ''

Chargé d'affaires A ''chargé d'affaires'' (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador ...

''. He served initially in the Ottoman administration and represented

Kaza A kaza (, , , plural: , , ; ota, قضا, script=Arab, (; meaning 'borough') * bg, околия (; meaning 'district'); also Кааза * el, υποδιοίκησις () or (, which means 'borough' or 'municipality'); also () * lad, kaza , ...

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 ...

Sanjak of Delvina The Sanjak of Delvina ( tr, Delvine Sancağı, al, Sanxhaku i Delvinës) was one of the sanjaks of the Ottoman Empire which county town was Delvinë but during the 18th century became Gjirokastër, Albania. It was created in the mid-16th century ...

as a deputy in the 1908 parliament of the Young Turks. As an Ottoman parliamentarian Libohova was outspoken on Albanian issues and an example of this was a verbal exchange triggered when he mentioned the word ''Arnavutlar'' (Albanians). The Ottoman speaker

Ahmed Riza Ahmad ( ar, أحمد, ʾAḥmad) is an Arabic male given name common in most parts of the Muslim world. Other spellings of the name include Ahmed and Ahmet. Etymology The word derives from the root (ḥ-m-d), from the Arabic (), from the ve ...

responded "There are no Albanians; there are only Ottomans" to which Libohova replied that "Yes sir, there are Albanians". During his time in Ottoman politics, Libohova was a close ally of fellow Albanian parliamentarian

Ismail Qemali Ismail Qemal bey Vlora, mostly known as Ismail Qemali (; 16 January 184426 January 1919), was an Albanian diplomat, politician, rilindas, statesman and the Founding Father of modern Albania, and one of the most famous Southern Albanian person. Th ...

. Like some educated Albanians with nationalist sentiments of the time, Libohova supported the unity of Albanians from different religions under the banner of

Skanderbeg , reign = 28 November 1443 – 17 January 1468 , predecessor = Gjon Kastrioti , successor = Gjon Kastrioti II , spouse = Donika Arianiti , issue = Gjon Kastrioti II , royal house = Kastrioti , father ...

and was in favour of government reforms that benefited Albanians. At the eve of the

First World War 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 ...

, he was member of the International Control Commission that governed

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 ...

from 22 January – 7 March 1914. Mufid Bey (also written Myfit Bey) was among the chief promoters of 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 ...

that led, on 25 December 1918, to the creation of a new provisional government headed by former Prime Minister

Turhan Pasha Turhan is a given name. Notable persons with that surname include: Given name *Turhan Baytop (1920–2002), Turkish botanist *Turhan Bey (1922–2012), Turkish-American actor *Turhan Hatice Sultan (c. 1628–1683), Valide sultan of the Ottoman Empi ...

. Mufid Bey took over the ministry of the interior and justice, and later became minister of foreign affairs. In April 1919 he left Albania to take part the Paris Peace Conference and to attend to Albanian interests there. In August 1919, on his return from Paris, he stopped over in Rome. During negotiations with the Italian government, he secured Italian recognition for Albanian independence and a promise that the Italian occupation of Vlora would be temporary. It is this turbulent period of Albanian history that Mufid Bey Libohova describes in his memoirs, ''Politika ime ndë Shqiperi, 1916-1920'' ("My Policies in Albania, 1916–1920"). Libohova would be an opponent of the

Congress of Lushnje A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ad ...

event of 1920, as part of the old-case government of Durrës together with

Mustafa Merlika-Kruja Mustafa Merlika-Kruja (March 15, 1887, Akçahisar, Ottoman Empire (modern-day Krujë, Albania) – December 27, 1958, Niagara Falls, New York) was one of the signatories of the Albanian Declaration of Independence. He served as Prime Minister ...

Fejzi Alizoti Fejzi Alizoti (22 September 1874, Gjirokastër – 14 April 1945, Tirana), also referred to as Feyzi Bey Alizoti, was an Ottoman and later Albanian politician who served as the Chairman of the Central Administration of Albania from January 1916 to ...

, and

Sami Vrioni Sami Bey Vrioni (1876–1947) was an Albanian politician, diplomat, and a delegate at the Assembly of Vlora which declared the Albanian Declaration of Independence. He was a respected and powerful landowner in the Fier region of Albania. Biograp ...

. According to

Sejfi Vllamasi Sejfi Vllamasi (1883–1975) was an Albanian congressman and well-known politician during the first half of the 20th century. He was born in the village of Novoselë, in Kolonjë, Albania (at the time part of the Ottoman Empire). Vllamasi studied ...

's (1883–1975) memories they would try to prohibit the delegates from reaching Lushnje, sometimes convincing them not to and sometimes forcefully preventing them. The opposition would culminate with the assassination of the Prefect of Durrës (and delegate to Lushnjë)

Abdyl Ypi Abdyl bey Ypi (1876–1920) was an Albanian politician and one of the main initiators of the Congress of Lushnjë. Life Abdyl Ypi was born in Kolonjë, then part of the Vilayet of Janina, in present-day Albania. He was a political figure of th ...

(1876-1920) by Sul Mërlika, himself cousin of Mustafa Mërlika-Kruja. In addition, he was an Albanian government member on nine occasions from 1912 until his death in 1927, holding the positions of Justice Minister, Minister of the Interior, Minister of Finance, and Minister of Foreign Affairs. A strong pro- Zog supporter, he returned to Albania from exile in

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 with ...

with his followers and financial support by the Greek government, and helped overthrow the government of

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 ...

a few months after 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 ...

. Libohova is considered the father of the

Albanian Lek The lek (; indefinite singular ''lek'', definite plural ''lekët'', indefinite plural ''lekë''; sign: Lekë in Albanian or Lek in English, sometimes L; code: ALL) is the currency of Albania. Historically, it was subdivided 100 ''qintars'' (; ...

, since he proposed the name and was the minister of Finance when the

Lek Lek or LEK may refer to: * Lek mating, mating in a lek, a type of animal territory in which males of a species gather * Albanian lek, the currency of Albania * Lek (magazine), a Norwegian softcore pornographic magazine * Lek (pharmaceutical comp ...

was put into force. Libohova has been also member of International Control Commission, which was a provisional institution since the resignation of Ismail Qemali until the coronation of

William, Prince of Albania 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. Hi ...

, and the first ambassador 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 ...

.
Mufid Libohova was born in July 1876, Libohova,

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) ...

and died on 10 February 1927 in

.Mufid Libohova, nga Ali pashë Tepelena te Enver Hoxha (in Albanian)
/ref> His first wife (married in 1898) was Sheref Hanëm Giritli Zade, a Turkish woman. His second wife Olga, of

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

origin, remained in Albania after his death. Libohova had two sons, Malik bey from the first marriage and Elmaz bey from the second one.Myfid bej Libohova, diplomati “turk” që krijoi Lek-un (in Albanian), October 13 2014
/ref>

References

Literature

* "History of Albanian People" Albanian Academy of Science. * O.S. Pearson
''Albania and King Zog''

I.B. Tauris I.B. Tauris is an educational publishing house and imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing. It was an independent publishing house with offices in London and New York City until its purchase in May 2018 by Bloomsbury Publishing. It specialises in non- ...

. 2005 (). {{DEFAULTSORT:Libohova, Mufid bej Foreign ministers of Albania Ambassadors of Albania to Italy 1876 births People from Libohovë People from Janina vilayet 1927 deaths Albanians from the Ottoman Empire Politicians of the Ottoman Empire 19th-century Albanian politicians 20th-century Albanian politicians Government ministers of Albania Finance ministers of Albania Justice ministers of Albania Albanian economists All-Albanian Congress delegates Government of Durrës Congress of Durrës delegates

Life

See also

References

Literature