Sotir Peci (1873–1932) was an Albanian politician, educator and mathematician. In 1906 he published the first Albanian-language newspaper in the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. In 1908 he participated as a delegate in the Congress of Monastir. In 1920 he was appointed Minister of Education of Albania.

Early life

Sotir Peci was born in

Dardhë Dardhë (; sq-definite, Dardha, literally "pear") is a community in the former municipality of Drenovë in Korçë County, Albania. After local government reform in 2015, it became part of the municipality Korçë. It is a well known ski area of ...

, a village near

Korçë Korçë (; sq-definite, Korça) is the eighth most populous city of the Republic of Albania and the seat of Korçë County and Korçë Municipality. The total population is 75,994 (2011 census), in a total area of . It stands on a plateau som ...

, on July 13, 1873. The son of wealthy merchant Jovan Peci, his father died while he was a child. Peci studied at the local school in

. In 1890 at the age of 17 he enrolled at the

University of Athens The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; el, Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών, ''Ethnikó ke Kapodistriakó Panepistímio Athinón''), usually referred to simply as the Univers ...

where he studied

physical sciences Physical science is a branch of natural science that studies non-living systems, in contrast to life science. It in turn has many branches, each referred to as a "physical science", together called the "physical sciences". Definition Phy ...

and graduated with a degree in mathematics. While in Athens he published the Albanian dictionary written by

Kostandin Kristoforidhi Kostandin Nelko (22 May 1827 – 7 March 1895), known as Kostandin Kristoforidhi, was an Albanian translator and scholar. He is mostly known for having translated the New Testament into Albanian for the first time in the Gheg Albanian dialect i ...

Activities in the United States

In 1905 Peci migrated to the United States, settling in Boston. There he became a member of the Patriotic Brotherhood of Dardha ( sq, Vëllezëria Patriotike e Dardhës) and published the weekly newspaper ''The Nation'' ( sq, Kombi), the first Albanian-language newspaper in the USA. In 1906 he employed the literary, religious, and patriotic figure Fan Noli as deputy editor of the newspaper.

Activities in Albania

In 1908 Peci participated in the Congress of Monastir, an

academic conference An academic conference or scientific conference (also congress, symposium, workshop, or meeting) is an event for researchers (not necessarily academics) to present and discuss their scholarly work. Together with academic or scientific journal ...

held in Manastir (modern Bitola), in the Vilayet of Monastir from 14 to 22 November 1908, with the goal of standardizing the

Albanian alphabet The Albanian alphabet ( sq, alfabeti shqip) is a variant of the Latin alphabet used to write the Albanian language. It consists of 36 letters: ''Note:'' The vowels are shown in bold. The letters are named simply by their sounds, followed by ë ...

, as a delegate of the Albanian communities living in the United States of America for whom he was granted three votes. After returning to Albania in 1908 he taught at the Normal School of Elbasan. During the late Ottoman period, Peci supported Austro-Hungarian assistance toward Albanian geopolitical interests in the Balkans. Sotir Peci wrote a series of textbooks in physics, mathematics and grammar and was appointed director of education of

. He was a member of the

Committee for the National Defence of Kosovo The Committee for the National Defence of Kosovo ( sq, Komiteti "Mbrojtja Kombëtare e Kosovës" abbrev. KMKK) was an Albanian organization founded in Shkodër on 1 May 1918. It was mainly consisted of the political exiles from Kosovo and was le ...

, founded in Shkodër in late 1918. He also participated at the national

Congress of Lushnjë The Congress of Lushnjë (), historically documented by the name ''Mbledhja Kombiare Lushnje'', was a conference of Albanian political leaders held from January 28 to January 31, 1920 in Lushnjë, Albania. Its objective was to deal with the issue ...

where a new national cabinet was elected with

Sulejman Delvina Sulejman bey Delvina, also known as ''Sylejman Fehmi'' (5 October 1871 – 1 August 1932), was an Albanian politician and prime minister from March to November 1920. Biography Early life Sulejman Delvina was born on 5 October 1871 in ...

as its prime minister. Sotir Peci was elected Minister of Education. In 1921 he was elected deputy of Korçë. He also became a member of the Supreme Council of Regency. Sotir Peçi street in Korçë

In 1924 he appointed the bishop of Durrës Fan Noli as 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 ...

. After the failure of 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 tribe ...

and rise of Ahmet Zogu in power, Peci left to Italy and later settled in Greece. He was given a death sentence in absent, but then revoked by the partial amnesty that Zog applied. Anyway, he never reconciled with the Tirana politics. Sotir Peci died in

Florina Florina ( el, Φλώρινα, ''Flórina''; known also by some alternative names) is a town and municipality in the mountainous northwestern Macedonia, Greece. Its motto is, 'Where Greece begins'. The town of Florina is the capital of the F ...

in 1932. His body was reburied in Korçë with great honors while Zog was in power. He was honoured posthumously with the title Teacher of the People ( sq, Mësues i Popullit). A road and a school in Korçë were renamed after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peci, Sotir 1873 births 1932 deaths People from Korçë Albanian educators Government ministers of Albania Education ministers of Albania Albanian publishers (people) 19th-century Albanian politicians 20th-century Albanian politicians People from Manastir vilayet Activists of the Albanian National Awakening 19th-century Albanian educators 20th-century Albanian educators

Early life

Activities in the United States

Activities in Albania

See also

References