Sejfi Vllamasi (1883–1975) was an

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 ...

n congressman and well-known politician during the first half of the 20th century. He was born in the village of

Novoselë Novoselë is a village and a former municipality in the Vlorë County, southwestern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Vlorë Vlorë ( , ; sq-definite, Vlora) is the third most populous c ...

, in Kolonjë, Albania (at the time 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) ...

). Vllamasi studied in

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

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

, to become a

veterinary Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in animals. Along with this, it deals with animal rearing, husbandry, breeding, research on nutri ...

. His political activities started in 1905, as activist of the Secret Committee for the Liberation of Albania in Monastir. Vllamasi was one of the initiators of the Committee of Kosovo of 1918, founded in Shkoder. He was the initial leader of the Populist Party together with

Pandeli Evangjeli Pandeli Evangjeli (6 January 1859 – 14 September 1949) was an Albanian politician who served two terms as the 7th Prime Minister of Albania. He was the first Orthodox Christian to head the Albanian government. Early life and career Born in ...

and Eshref Frasheri. In April 1923 he was appointed Minister of Public Works. He took part in 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 ...

of 1924 to overthrow the rightist government. After the revolution was crushed, he migrated to

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...

. Vllamasi has been accused of participating in the anti-royalist movement during his exile in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. He was a founding member of the "Bashkimi Kombetar" (National Union) organization, one of the organizations that collected many anti- Zog politicians in exile. Vllamasi was one of the organizers of the assassination attempt on Zogu in Vienna (1931). He was arrested by the Austrian police, released shortly after and deported from Austria. After that he moved to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

along with most of the other diaspora activists. During Nazi Germany's occupation, Vllamasi returned to Albania and became a member of the puppet government. He had an extremely difficult life during the communist rule of the Albanian Party of Labour, being imprisoned (1947–1956) and forced to work even in his old age. Vllamasi's memoirs, titled ''Ballafaqime politike në Shqipëri (1899–1942) (Political Confrontations in Albania (1899–1942))'', reveal him to be an open critic of other personalities like Luigj Gurakuqi and some of the Kosovar irredentists, and even the line of action followed by Noli and the opposition of the early 1920s . His memoirs are a vast source of information on the politics of early 20th-century Albania and on many Albanian personalities of that time.

References

Further

* Vllamasi, Sejfi. ''Ballafaqime politike në Shqipëri (1897–1942) : kujtime dhe vlerësime historike'', editor Verli, Marenglen. Publisher: Shtëpia Botuese "Neraida", Tirana, 1995. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Vllamasi, Sejfi 1883 births 1975 deaths Albanian politicians People from Kolonjë 19th-century Albanian politicians 20th-century Albanian politicians Government ministers of Albania Public Works ministers of Albania People from Janina vilayet Albanian people in the Ottoman Empire