Sotir Kolea (1872-1945) was an Albanian folklorist, diplomat and activist of the

Albanian National Awakening The Albanian National Awakening ( sq, Rilindja or ), commonly known as the Albanian Renaissance or Albanian Revival, is a period throughout the 19th and 20th century of a cultural, political and social movement in the Albanian history where the ...

. Along with Thoma Kacori he has been labeled as the ''Last of the

Rilindas The Albanian National Awakening ( sq, Rilindja or ), commonly known as the Albanian Renaissance or Albanian Revival, is a period throughout the 19th and 20th century of a cultural, political and social movement in the Albanian history where th ...

''.

Life

Sotir Kolea was born in the Goricë district of

Berat Berat (; sq-definite, Berati) is the ninth most populous city of Albania and the seat of Berat County and Berat Municipality. By air, it is north of Gjirokastër, west of Korçë, south of Tirana, and east of Fier. Berat is located in ...

, southern

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 ...

(then part of the

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 September 4, 1872. His father Kristo was a lawyer that worked as a legal counselor for the French company '' La Regie Des Tabacs'', which held the monopoly of tobacco in the

. At the age of nine he moved to Bitola, where his uncle Ilia, a tobacco merchant of the same company, lived. After graduating from the local Greek-language gymnasium, he was hired by ''La Regie Des Tabacs'' and worked in their

Ohrid Ohrid ( mk, Охрид ) is a city in North Macedonia and is the seat of the Ohrid Municipality. It is the largest city on Lake Ohrid and the List of cities in North Macedonia, eighth-largest city in the country, with the municipality recording ...

branch. In 1896 he worked as a teacher of Albanian language in the Albanian community of

Kavala Kavala ( el, Καβάλα, ''Kavála'' ) is a city in northern Greece, the principal seaport of eastern Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia and the capital of Kavala (regional unit), Kavala regional unit. It is situated on the Bay of Kavala, across ...

. Between 1899 and 1902 he was transferred to the

Drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

and Kavala branches of the company. Later Kolea migrated to Egypt, where he was elected secretary of the local ''Bashkimi'' organization. After 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 Ass ...

, he took part of a delegation sent to the London Conference, together with Rasih Dino, Filip Noga, and Mehmet Konica. In 1913 he co-organized with

Faik Konica Faik Bey Konica (later named ''Faïk Dominik Konitza'', 15 March 1875 – 15 December 1942) was an important figure in Albanian language and culture in the early decades of the twentieth century. Prewar Albanian minister to Washington, D.C., Wash ...

the

Albanian Congress of Trieste The Albanian Congress of Trieste ( sq, Kongresi Shqiptar i Triestës) was a congress of Albanians held in Trieste, Austria-Hungary in the period between 27 February – 6 March 1913, organized by Faik Konica and Sotir Kolea with strong support ...

. After settling in Switzerland he published in

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR ...

the newspaper ''L'Albanie'' from 1915 to 1919. In 1919-20 he was a member of the Albanian delegation to the Paris Peace Conference and the Franco-Albanian Administrative Council. In 1920 he migrated to

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

and later to France, where he lived in

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...

until 1927. From 1928 to 1937 he served as the director of the

National Library of Albania The National Library of Albania ( al, Biblioteka Kombëtare e Shqipërisë) is an Albanian national library headquartered in the capital, Tirana. It was founded in 1920 and inaugurated on December 10, 1922. History The Library Commission of Alb ...

, the volumes of which tripled during his term. According to some sources, Kolea was the one bringing the rare Codex of Constantine of Berat, part of the Christian literature known as "Kodikët e Shqipërisë" (''Albanian Codex''), discovered by Ilo Mitkë Qafëzezi. Since 1937 he had lived in Elbasan, where he died in 1945. His obituary was written by his close friend, the linguist

Mahir Domi Mahir Domi (1915–2000) was an Albanian linguist, professor, and academic. He was one of the organizers and main participants of the Albanian Orthography Congress, and member of the follow up commission responsible for deploying the orthograp ...

. In 1944 his work on Albanian proverbs ''Një tufë proverba'' was published in Tiranë. In 2002

Alfred Moisiu Alfred Spiro Moisiu (; born 1 December 1929) is a former Albanian military general, diplomat and politician. He was the President of Albania from 2002 to 2007. He is the oldest son of Albanian Army general, Spiro Moisiu. Early life, education ...

honoured him with the gold medal of the

Naim Frashëri Naim bey Frashëri, more commonly Naim Frashëri (; ; 25 May 184620 October 1900), was an Albanian historian, journalist, poet, rilindas and translator who was proclaimed as the national poet of Albania. He is regarded as the pioneer of modern ...

Order.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kolea, Sotir 1872 births 1945 deaths Albanian folklorists Activists of the Albanian National Awakening People from Berat Albanian diplomats 19th-century Albanian politicians 20th-century Albanian politicians Albanian expatriates in Egypt Eastern Orthodox Christians from Albania Members of the Albanian Orthodox Church