Rexhep Mitrovica (15 January 1888 – 21 May 1967) was a Prime Minister 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 ...

's government under

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. A staunch nationalist, he was elected head of the

Second League of Prizren The Second League of Prizren was an organisation founded by Albanian officials in Kosovo in September 1943 to campaign for the ethnic unification of Albanians in Albania. From 1918, Kosovo was integrated into the newly formed Kingdom of Yugosla ...

Biography

Early life

Rexhep was born to a wealthy land-owning family from Mitroviça (currently Mitrovica,

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

), in the Ottoman Empire. He studied in Usküb and

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, ...

. He was one of the leaders of the Kosovo uprising of 1912, together with

Isa Boletini Isa Boletini (; 15 January 186423 or 24 January 1916) was an Albanian revolutionary commander and politician and rilindas from Kosovo. As a young man, he joined the Albanian nationalist League of Prizren and participated in a battle against Ot ...

and

Hasan Prishtina Hasan bey Prishtina ( tr, Priştineli Hasan Bey, Hasan Bey Priştine and ''Vulçitrnli Hasan Bey''), originally known as Hasan Berisha (27 September 1873 – 13 August 1933), was an Ottoman, later Albanian politician, who served as the 8th Prim ...

. Also in 1912, he took part in the declaration of Albanian independence as the representative of Peja. From 1921 to 1923, he served as Albanian minister of education. By 1921,

was within the

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

against the will of the Albanian population majority. Albanian resistance had been largely crushed in

Drenica Drenica ( al, Drenicë, Drenica, ), also known as the Drenica Valley, is a hilly region in central Kosovo, covering roughly around of Kosovo's total area (6%). It consists of two municipalities, Drenas and Skenderaj, and several villages in Kli ...

in November 1920. The Serbian government's ''Decree on the Colonization of the New Southern Lands'' was now facilitating the takeover by Serb colonists of large Ottoman estates and of land seized from Albanian rebels. It is within this context that Rexhep Mitrovica, along with

Bedri Pejani Bedri Pejani (or Bedri bej Ipeku; 10 October 1885 – 6 July 1946) was 20th century Albanian politician. During World War II, he was one of the founders of the Second League of Prizren. Biography Pejani was born in the city of İpek (now Pe ...

, tried to seek help from the

western powers The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to the various nations and states in the regions of Europe, North America, and Oceania.

. After the fall of 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 ...

in December 1924, he took part in a failed plot to overthrow

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 ...

, spent a couple of years in exile in Austria and France, but was amnestied with seventy other figures on 21 September 1927. He returned to

after the Italian invasion and joined the

Balli Kombëtar The Balli Kombëtar (literally ''National Front''), known as Balli, was an Albanian nationalist, collaborationist and anti-communist resistance movement during the Second World War. It was led by Ali Këlcyra and by Midhat Frashëri. The movem ...

resistance movement in 1942. He spent much of the Italian period in prison in Porto Romano near

Durrës Durrës ( , ; sq-definite, Durrësi) is the second most populous city of the Republic of Albania and seat of Durrës County and Durrës Municipality. It is located on a flat plain along the Albanian Adriatic Sea Coast between the mouths of ...

Prime minister

After the

capitulation of Italy The Armistice of Cassibile was an armistice signed on 3 September 1943 and made public on 8 September between the Kingdom of Italy and the Allies during World War II. It was signed by Major General Walter Bedell Smith for the Allies and Brigad ...

, Rexhep Mitrovica was head of the

, which supported

Greater Albania Greater Albania is an irredentist and nationalist concept that seeks to unify the lands that many Albanians consider to form their national homeland. It is based on claims on the present-day or historical presence of Albanian populations in th ...

, i.e., unification of all territories with substantial Albanian population. After

German occupation of Albania The German occupation of Albania occurred between 1943 and 1944 during World War II. Before the armistice between Italy and the Allied armed forces on 8 September 1943, Albania had been in a de jure personal union with and was de facto under t ...

, on 6 November 1943,

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

announced that the regents and the assembly had formed a government headed by Rexhep Mitrovica, an active member of the Balli Kombëtar from Kosovo. Mitrovica's cabinet, most of whom had credentials as nationalists as well as some German or Austrian connection, included

Xhafer Deva Xhafer Deva (21 February 1904 – 25 May 1978) was a Kosovo Albanian politician during World War II. A notable local politician in Kosovo and in Axis-occupied Albania, he took charge of German-occupied Mitrovica and worked with the Germans ...

, who had studied at the

Robert College of Istanbul The American Robert College of Istanbul ( tr, İstanbul Özel Amerikan Robert Lisesi or ), often shortened to Robert, or RC, is a highly selective, independent, co-educational high school in Turkey.The Turkish education system divides schools i ...

and in Vienna, as minister of the interior and Rrok Kolaj, a Catholic from Shkodër who had studied at the

University of Graz The University of Graz (german: link=no, Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, ), located in Graz, Austria, is the largest and oldest university in Styria, as well as the second-largest and second-oldest university in Austria. History The unive ...

, as minister of Justice. Austrian educated Vehbi Frasheri was appointed as foreign minister. The Orthodox Elbasaner, Sokrat Dodbiba, the nephew of

Lef Nosi Lef Nosi (born Elefter Nosi; 9 April 187720 February 1946) was an Albanian publisher, archivist, philologist, folklorist, ethnographer, numismatist, archaeologist and politician. On 28 November 1912, he was as one of the signatories of the Decla ...

, became minister of finance. In his first address to the National Assembly, Mitrovica noted that four and a half years of Italian domination had left anarchy and chaos in Albania. The pre-1939 state apparatus had been completely dismantled. The Italians had destroyed the army, the gendarmerie, the police, and the Foreign Ministry; they had changed the flag, altered personal greetings, renamed cities, and even reassigned family names. To reestablish the state, Mitrovica set down an ambitious plan that included reestablishing local government on the pre-1939 basis, gaining foreign recognition, reorganizing the economy, introducing effective agrarian reform, and creating a military force. The general goal of the government, and this was repeated at every available opportunity, was to protect Albania's territorial integrity within its ethnic borders. With the land reforms for the peasants and a very effective German propaganda emphasizing the return of Kosovo, the Germans managed to extract considerable support from the regime. With control over Kosovo and the creation of an Independent State of Albania, Mitrovica exacted revenge on the Serb colonists, killing and expelling thousands of Serbs. On 18 July 1944 Rexhep Mitrovica resigned due to illness. Hermann Neubacher,

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...

's political expert for Balkan problems, came 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 ...

and persuaded

Fiqri Dine Colonel Fiqri Dine (5 May 1897 or 3 August 1897 – 26 November 1960) was Prime Minister of Albania, Prime Minister of Albania under Nazi Germany government under Nazi Germany. He was the chieftain of the Dine clan from Debar.Albania's national l ...

to form the next government

Exile and death

During the communist takeover in November 1944, though he was ill with

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

, he managed to escape to

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

with Xhafer Deva and Rexhep Krasniqi, and in December of that year carried on over the mountains to Austria to reach Vienna. With Deva’s assistance, the ailing Mitrovica spent time in a sanatorium in

Feldkirch Feldkirch may refer to: Places * Feldkirch, Vorarlberg, a medieval city and capital of an administrative district in Austria ** Feldkirch (district), an administrative division of Vorarlberg, Austria * Feldkirch (Hartheim), a village in the munici ...

in western Austria. In 1947, he accompanied Deva and Krasniqi to

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

where, with the help of a Turkish diplomat of Albanian origin, he was able to immigrate to

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. He died at the German hospital in Istanbul as head of the Albanian community in exile. His grandson, Redjep Mitrovitsa is an actor of

Comédie-Française The Comédie-Française () or Théâtre-Français () is one of the few state theatres in France. Founded in 1680, it is the oldest active theatre company in the world. Established as a French state-controlled entity in 1995, it is the only state ...

Quotes

Mitrovica identified the

Albanian communists 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 ...

as un-Albanian since he argues that:
''"Albanians, as Aryans of Illyrian heritage, could not ignore tradition and would be saved from the hydra of communism."''

Sources

*Owen Pearson, ''Albania and King Zog: Independence, republic and monarchy 1908-1939,'' London, Tauris, 2004, . *Owen Pearson, ''Albania in occupation and war: From fascism to communism, 1940-1945,'' London, Tauris, 2005, .