Qemal Stafa (20 March 1920 – 5 May 1942) was a founding member of the

Albanian Communist Party The Party of Labour of Albania ( sq, Partia e Punës e Shqipërisë, PPSh), sometimes referred to as the Albanian Workers' Party (AWP), was the ruling and sole legal party of Albania during the communist period (1945–1991). It was founded o ...

, and the leader of its youth section.

Biography

Stafa was born in

Elbasan Elbasan ( ; sq-definite, Elbasani ) is the fourth most populous city of Albania and seat of Elbasan County and Elbasan Municipality. It lies to the north of the river Shkumbin between the Skanderbeg Mountains and the Myzeqe Plain in central ...

in 1920, in a family originating from the Zabzun village, at the time part of Dibra Region. His father Ahmet was in the military, and moved in 1923 to Shkodër as Director of the Recruiting Office for the Prefecture of Shkodër. Qemal Stafa studied in Shkodër at the Saverian College. With the educational reforms established by the Minister Mirash Ivanaj, private schools were closed and Stafa moved to the public high school of Shkodër. After the death of his father in 1936, his family moved to

Tirana 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 ...

, where he studied at the Tirana Lyceum (subsequently named

Qemal Stafa High School The Qemal Stafa High School is a high school, located in Tirana, Albania. Founded in 1925 by Prime Minister Ahmet Zogu, as the ''Lyceum of Tirana'', it has many notable alumni, of whom 75 died in World War II and 14 were awarded the title People ...

). He was one of the co-founders of the Communist Group of Shkodër, one out of three groups that would join in 1941 to form the Communist Party of Albania. In February 1939, a special court sat in Tirana against 73 people suspected for performing communist activities and propaganda. Among others there were,

Tuk Jakova Tuk Jakova (20 February 1914 – 26 August 1959) was an Albanian politician in the People's Republic of Albania. He served as Chairman of the Constituent Assembly, Minister of Finance, Minister of Interior, and twice as Vice-Prime Minist ...

Vasil Shanto Vasil Shanto (17 August 1913 – 1 February 1944), called Vasko was one of the founders of the Albanian Communist Party. He was the leader, along with Qemal Stafa, of the Shkodër communist group. One of the delegates of the party, he was freque ...

Vojo Kushi Vojo Kushi (, August 3, 1918 – October 10, 1942) was an Albanian and Yugoslav communist guerilla fighter (partisan) and one of the founders of the Communist group based in Shkodër, following the Italian occupation of Albania in April 1939. He w ...

, Branko Kadia,

Zef Mala Zef Mala (Shkodër, April 14, 1915 – Tirana, December 31, 1979) was an Albanian publicist and early communist. He was the leader of the Communist Group of Shkodër. Life Mala was born in the "Skënderbeg" neighborhood of Shkodër, the son of ...

Emin Duraku Emin Duraku (1918 – 23 December 1942) was an Albanian partisan active during World War II, and a national hero of Albania. Duraku was born in Gjakova in 1918. He was an early Albanian member of the Yugoslav communist movement. He returned t ...

and the young Stafa who was arrested on 24 January. He was sentenced to three years due to his age, while he accepted all accusations. With the turmoils of the

Italian invasion of Albania The Italian invasion of Albania (April 7–12, 1939) was a brief military campaign which was launched by the Kingdom of Italy against the Albanian Kingdom in 1939. The conflict was a result of the imperialistic policies of the Italian prime m ...

of 7 April 1939, he was released from jail. Stafa wrote on the local newspaper '' Fashizmi'' (Fascism) controlled by the

Albanian Fascist Party The Albanian Fascist Party ( sq, Partia Fashiste Shqiptare, or PFSh) was a fascist organisation active during World War II which held nominal power in Albania from 1939, when the country was invaded by Italy, until 1943, when Italy capitulated to ...

, and spend some time 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 ...

as a student together with his fiancé Drita Kosturi, on a scholarship from the Albanian government. Stafa was one of the founding members of the Albanian Communist Party in Tirana on 8 November 1941. He was killed in a house on the outskirts of

by the Italian fascist forces, who had occupied Albania. The 5 May, the anniversary of his death, was chosen after the end of the war as the Martyrs' Day of Albania to commemorate all those who gave their lives for Albania's liberation. Many streets, squares and schools in different cities bear his name as well as a military base, Albania's former

national stadium Many countries have a national sport stadium, which typically serves as the primary or exclusive home for one or more of a country's national representative sports teams. The term is most often used in reference to an association football stadiu ...

and the Main Stand in the current national stadium, Arena Kombëtare. Although he was glorified in the

People's Socialist Republic of Albania The People's Socialist Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika Popullore Socialiste e Shqipërisë, links=no) was the Marxist–Leninist one party state that existed in Albania from 1946 to 1992 (the official name of the country was the People's R ...

, his fiancée and his brothers and sisters families were imprisoned and persecuted by the same administration, a fact not known by most Albanians.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stafa, Qemal 1920 births 1942 deaths Albanian communists Heroes of Albania People from Elbasan Qemal Stafa High School alumni Albanian resistance members