Teodor Laço (6 September 1936,

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 ...

– 15 October 2016,

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 ...

) was an Albanian writer and diplomat.

Biography

He studied agronomy at the

University of Tirana The University of Tirana ( sq, Universiteti i Tiranës, abbreviated UT) is a public university located at the central borough of Tirana 10 in Tirana, Albania. It was established as the ''State University of Tirana'' in 1957 through merging of f ...

, and made his debut as a writer in 1965 with the novel ''Era e tokës'', although he is best known for his 1971 novel ''Toka e Ashpër'', describing the

collectivization Collective farming and communal farming are various types of, "agricultural production in which multiple farmers run their holdings as a joint enterprise". There are two broad types of communal farms: agricultural cooperatives, in which member- ...

of a small village. After 1976, he also wrote screenplays in collaboration with

Kinostudio Shqipëria e Re The National Center of Cinematography ( sq, Qendra Kombëtare e Kinematografisë) is the largest film distributor and film production company in the cinema of Albania connected with over 700 films (feature films and documentaries) between 1947 and ...

. In 1977, he won an award at the Second Albanian Film Festival for his script for ' (''Confrontation'', or ''The Face-Up''). He later became the manager of the editorial board for the studio's feature films. In 1990, he became head of the Kinostudio, then renamed as "Albfilm". In 1991, he was one of the founders and a leader of

Social Democratic Party of Albania The Social Democratic Party of Albania ( sq, Partia Socialdemokrate e Shqipërisë, PSD or PSDSH) is a minor party, minor social democracy, social-democratic list of political parties in Albania, political party in Albania. Its founder is Skënd ...

. The following year, he was elected to the

Albanian Parliament The Parliament of Albania ( sq, Kuvendi i Shqipërisë) or Kuvendi is the unicameral representative body of the citizens of the Republic of Albania; it is Albania's legislature. The Parliament is composed of no less than 140 members elected to a ...

and served for twelve years. From 1994 to 1997, he was the

Minister of Culture A culture minister or a heritage minister is a common cabinet position in governments. The culture minister is typically responsible for cultural policy, which often includes arts policy (direct and indirect support to artists and arts organizatio ...

. In 1998, he helped create the Liberal Union Party of Albania and was elected its leader in 2001. He also served as the Albanian ambassador to the

Russian Federation Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

from 2006 to 2010.

Works

His works include: *''Era e tokës'' (The Wind of the Earth), 1965 *''Shtëpia në rrugicë'' (The House on the Alley), 1968 *''Një nuse për Stasin'' (A Story Bride), 1970 *''Tokë e ashpër'' (Hard Ground), 1987 *''Korbat mbi mermer'' (The Rooks on the Marble), 1981 *''Të gjithë lumenjtë rrjedhin'' (All Rivers flow), 1987 *''Pushimet e kolonelit'' (The Colonel's Vacations), 1990 *''Shi në plazh'' (Rain on the Beach) *''Vrasja e buzëqeshjes'' (The Murder of the Smile) *''Një dritare në Kremlin'' (A Window in the Kremlin) *''Mjegull'' (Fog), 2009 *''Gropas 67'', 2014

References

1936 births 2016 deaths Ambassadors of Albania to Russia 20th-century Albanian politicians 21st-century Albanian politicians Agricultural University of Tirana alumni People from Korçë Albanian male writers Albanian male short story writers Albanian short story writers Albanian novelists 20th-century Albanian writers 21st-century Albanian writers Government ministers of Albania Culture ministers of Albania 20th-century short story writers 21st-century short story writers 20th-century male writers 21st-century male writers {{Albania-writer-stub