Salih bej Vuçitërni (8 April 1880 - October 1949) 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 ...

political figure and royalist.

Life

Vuçitërni was born in Vıçıtırın, Vilayet of Kosovo,

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) ...

on 8 April 1880. He descended from a Bosnian landowning family. Initially he served as town's ''

hodja Khawaja (Persian language, Persian: خواجه ''khvâjəh'') is an honorific title used across the Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia and Central Asia, particularly towards Sufi teachers. It is also used by Kashmiri Muslims and the Mizrah ...

''. In 1920 he moved to

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 ...

and served as vice-prefect of

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 ...

. From 1921 to 1925 he served as Assemblyman of the Albanian Parliament representing the region of

Dibra Dibra is an Albanian surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Abdurrahman Dibra (1885–1961), Albanian politician * Arenc Dibra (born 1990), Albanian footballer * Dino Dibra (1975–2000), Australian suspected murderer * Fuad Dibra (1886 ...

. From 1925 to 1928 he was a member of the Senate. In February 1927, following the review that showed disorder and confusion at the Albanian '' vakf'' where he was an administrator, and the failure of the reform on the ''

medreses Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...

'', Vuçitërni called for a reform on the charity institutions. The call led to controversies. From May 1928 to 1930 he served as Minister of Public Works ( sq, Ministër i Punëve Botore) in the government of

Kostaq Kota Kostaq Kotta, also known as Koço Kotta (5 May 1886 – 1 September 1947), was an Albanians, Albanian politician and twice Prime Minister of Albania, prime minister during the reign of King Zog, who took a pro-Italian right-wing stance. Biograph ...

. During the term he was investigated for

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...

. From 1928 to 1932 he was elected again in the Albanian Parliament. He was one of the two trusted men of

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 ...

for reviving the Committee of Kosovo together with

Ismet Bey Kryeziu Ismet Bey Kryeziu (1889–1952) was an Albanian political figure during the 1930s and 1940s. Life Kryeziu was born in Yakova, Sanjak of İpek, Ottoman Empire in 1889, or 1888. He descended from the well known Kryeziu family, landowners and ...

Gjakova Gjakova, ) and Đakovica ( sr-Cyrl, Ђаковица, ) is the seventh largest city of Kosovo and seat of Gjakova Municipality and Gjakova District. The city has 40,827 inhabitants, while the municipality has 94,556 inhabitants. Geographicall ...

. Once Zogu's strong opponents as

Bajram Curri Bajram Curri (16 January 1862 – 29 March 1925) was an Albanian chieftain, politician and activist who struggled for the independence of Albania, later struggling for Kosovo's incorporation into it following the 1913 Treaty of London. He wa ...

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 Prime ...

were gone and Albania was leaning towards Italy, King Zog decided to revive and finance the organization keeping connections with few pro-Zog irredentists within

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 ...

. Nevertheless, the activity of the Committee of Kosovo at that time would be mainly propagandistic.
Vuçitërni was elected as head of a governmental committee responsible for an Agrarian Reform in Albania, a committee which practically did not accomplish anything important beside assisting Kosovar families which were abandoning Kosovo to settle in agrarian areas of central Albania. In 1939 he was elected by the Italians as Director of ''SITA'', and Italian company responsible for electrical energy and logistics, replacing Qemal Vrioni. In 1942 Vuçitërni would serve as manager of the properties of the Muslim Community in Albania. He would be arrested by 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 ...

in late 1944 and sentenced as war criminal and collaborationist.

Work

Vuçitërni wrote a

panegyric A panegyric ( or ) is a formal public speech or written verse, delivered in high praise of a person or thing. The original panegyrics were speeches delivered at public events in ancient Athens. Etymology The word originated as a compound of grc, ...

booklet called ''Pikla t'arta heroizmi nga jeta e mbretit dhe nanës mbretneshë'' (Golden drops of heroism from the life of the king and queen mother),

, 1937.
The most important work left from him were the translation of

Evliya Çelebi Derviş Mehmed Zillî (25 March 1611 – 1682), known as Evliya Çelebi ( ota, اوليا چلبى), was an Ottoman explorer who travelled through the territory of the Ottoman Empire and neighboring lands over a period of forty years, recording ...

'' Seyahatname'' from

Ottoman Turkish Ottoman Turkish ( ota, لِسانِ عُثمانى, Lisân-ı Osmânî, ; tr, Osmanlı Türkçesi) was the standardized register of the Turkish language used by the citizens of the Ottoman Empire (14th to 20th centuries CE). It borrowed extens ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vuciterni, Salih Bey 1880 births 1949 deaths Politicians from Vushtrri Kosovo Albanians Albanians from the Ottoman Empire Albanian imams 19th-century Albanian politicians 20th-century Albanian politicians Albanian Sunni Muslims Members of the Parliament of Albania Albanian monarchists Government ministers of Albania Public Works ministers of Albania

Life

Work

See also

References