Veli Musa Dedi (5 April 1912-3 February 1995), was an Albanian general, technical director of the

Albanian Army The Albanian Land Force ( sq, Forca Tokësore të Republikës së Shqipërisë) is the land force branch of the Albanian Armed Forces. Mission The Albanian Land Force's main mission is the defense of the independence, sovereignty and territoria ...

and the commander of the Garrison of Tirana. He was a prominent Albanian general who served in the Spanish Civil War and served in France during World War II, taking part in the Battle of Marseille in 1944.

Life

Veli Dedi was an ethnic Albanian, born in the village Dediq which belongs to the district of Medveđa that is located in the region of Gollak.He attended primary school in Medveđa and

Gazdare Gazdare is a village in the municipality of Medveđa, Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and C ...

, secondary school in Leskoc and Faculty of Engineering in

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

. In 1932, at the age of 20, he came to Albania and graduated from the Royal Military School in Tirana.

Participation in the Spanish and French War

During the Spanish Civil War he carried out the duty of operational chief of pioneers of Brigade XV. Later on he fled to France where he joined the French resistance forces by fighting in the Battle of Marseille, and in August 1944, he was promoted

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

and Veli Dedi, thanks to his ability, surrendered to 37 thousand

fascists Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and th ...

, who were fighting to destroy the whole of Marseilles. He managed to persuade them to surrender thanks to the recognition of all international conventions in a professional and detailed manner and with the security guaranteed by the French units. Veli Dedi was also a member of the French Communist Party.

Death

On February 3, 1995. Mayor General Veli Dedi died in Tirana. The funeral of Major General Veli Ded, as an experienced combatant of Spain and as commander of the liberation operations of the Department of Marseille, as a loyal soldier of the Albanian nation, as a long-time deputy of the Bajram Curri district, was held with state honors. The telegrams from the President, the Ministry of Defense and Albania's veterans were read at the funeral service. Veli Dedi also received an award as

Hero of the People The Hero of the People ( sq, Hero i Popullit; Heroinë e Popullit) was the highest Hero (Title), title bestowed upon the citizens of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania. Creation Founded on July 9, 1945, the title was awarded by the Presi ...

References

{{Reflist, 2 Albanian people of the Spanish Civil War 1912 births 1995 deaths Albanian military personnel