Lieutenant Colonel Ali Shefqet Shkupi, also known as Ali Shefqet Bey, was the first Chief of Supreme Staff of the Albanian Army bearing the functions of the Supreme Commander in the Albanian Government of Ismail Qemal Vlora.

Family

Ali Shefqeti was the son of Hysen Shefqeti, and Albanian originating from İpek who had settled in Uskub. His mother was a local Albanian woman from a rich family. Ali was born in Uskub in September 1883. His brother was Naxhi Shkupi, another Albanian nationalist who invested most of his wealth into the Albanian new state.

Education

Ali took his elementary education in

Salonika Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

, later followed the

Monastir Military High School The Monastir Military High School (''Manastır Askerî İdadisi''), established in 1847, was one of the three-year educational military high schools of the Ottoman Empire. It was located in Monastir (present day Bitola, North Macedonia). The buil ...

, later the

Turkish Military Academy The Turkish Military Academy ( tr, Kara Harp Okulu) is a four-year co-educational military academy and part of the National Defence University. It is located in the center of Ankara, Turkey. Its mission is to develop cadets mentally and ph ...

(Kara Harp Okulu), ending with Academy of General Staff in Istanbul, which he finished in 1905. At the end of the Academy he was given the rank ''captain''. Later, he served various positions in the

Ottoman Third Army The Third Army was originally established in Skopje and later defended the northeastern provinces of the Ottoman Empire. Its initial headquarters was at Salonica, where it formed the core of the military forces that supported the Young Turk Rev ...

in Macedonia. He supported the Young Turks movement, being part of the military units which attacked

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 ...

in 1908. (See:

Young Turk Revolution The Young Turk Revolution (July 1908) was a constitutionalist revolution in the Ottoman Empire. The Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), an organization of the Young Turks movement, forced Sultan Abdul Hamid II to restore the Ottoman Consti ...

)

Albanian Army

Disappointed from the Young Turks, and taking advantage of his location in Macedonia where most of the Albanian nationalist movements were situated, he got in touch with Albanian patriotic circles. The end of Albanian Revolt of 1912 would find him in Istanbul with the rank '' major'' (

binbashi A ''binbashi'', alternatively ''bimbashi'', (from tr, Binbaşı, "chief of a thousand", "chiliarch") is a major in the Turkish army, of which term originated in the Ottoman army. The title was also used for a major in the Khedivial Egyptian a ...

). Ali Shkupi received information that he was on the list to get arrested, therefore escaped to

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

with the support of Albanian community. Later he moved in

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into prov ...

(back then part of

Austro-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

). In March 1913, he participated in 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 ...

. Ali Shkupi could not reach Vlora because of the blockage from the

Greek Navy The Hellenic Navy (HN; el, Πολεμικό Ναυτικό, Polemikó Naftikó, War Navy, abbreviated ΠΝ) is the naval force of Greece, part of the Hellenic Armed Forces. The modern Greek navy historically hails from the naval forces of vari ...

although his desire was to join the Albanian government. He managed to land near

Fier Fier (; sq-definite, Fieri) is the seventh most populous city of the Republic of Albania and seat of Fier County and Fier Municipality. It is situated on the bank of Gjanica River in the Myzeqe Plain between the Seman in the north, the Vjos ...

( Seman delta) area from an Austro-Hungarian ship. He was immediately assigned with the organization of the Ministry of War which he succeeded. Ali Shkupi put in place all the experience he had gathered from the extended military education and military service in the Ottoman Army. On May 5, 1913, Vlora Government would approve the "Statute for the temporary organization of the Ministry of War", and the General Staff Office which he was in command of. The newly created Ministry of War would also have Back Lines Office, Personnel Office, and Medical Office. The statute was detailed and included all necessary structures and mechanisms of a modern army.

Military service

On 31 May 1913, the General Staff of Shkupi informed the Albanian Ministry of War for the creation of "model" military units, which would server as basis for the army. The Albanian Army so far consisted mostly of irregulars. Shkupi proposed the mandatory military service. He also built a special commission engaged with

military terminology Military terminology refers to the terms and language of military organizations and personnel as belonging to a discrete category. As distinguishable by their usage in military doctrine, they serve to depoliticise, dehumanise, or otherwise ab ...

, together with former Ottoman military figures Mustafa Maksuti and Kamber Sejdini (the later an Albanian from

Elbasan Elbasan ( ; sq-definite, Elbasani ) is the fourth most populous city of Albania and seat of Elbasan County and Elbasan Municipality. It lies to the north of the river Shkumbin between the Skanderbeg Mountains and the Myzeqe Plain in central ...

, who had served as French language teacher in the Monastir Military High School).
After the resignation of Ismail Qemali's government on 22 January 1914, Shkupi still held high military positions under Prince Wied. With the break out of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he settled in Shkoder. With the Montenegrin occupation of Shkoder, he got arrested and released only in 1916 when Austro-Hungary invaded Montenegro. He was a supporter of Congress of Lushnje. The government that came out of the congress in January 1920 would assign him first "Commander of the General Command", and later "Chief of the General Staff" (after the recreation of the Ministry of War).

June Revolution and King Zog

Ali Shkupi was a supporter of

Hasan Prishtina Hasan bey Prishtina ( tr, Priştineli Hasan Bey, Hasan Bey Priştine and ''Vulçitrnli Hasan Bey''), originally known as Hasan Berisha (27 September 1873 – 13 August 1933), was an Ottoman, later Albanian politician, who served as the 8th Prim ...

and 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 Bishop Noli. With the return of Ahmet Zogu in power in December 1924, he would be arrested and interned twice. He was accused as a main organizer of the Fier Revolt of 1935, and got sentenced to death, but due to protests from inside and outside Albania, he was sentenced to jail and released in 1938.

World War II and after

Ali Shkupi was not active during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, although he was an opponent of the Italian invasion, as well as the German one. The Nazis would burn his house in

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 ...

. After the war, he resettled in Shkodër. He died on 3 December 1953 and was buried in Shkoder. He was reburied in Tirana in the '80s. In 1992, Ali Shefqet Shkupi was decorated for "Patriotic Activity of First Class" by the Albanian government.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shkupi, Ali Shefqet 19th-century Albanian military personnel 20th-century Albanian military personnel Albanians from the Ottoman Empire Albanian military personnel Military personnel of the Ottoman Empire Military personnel from Skopje People from Kosovo vilayet 1883 births 1953 deaths Monastir Military High School alumni Ottoman Military Academy alumni Ottoman Military College alumni Albanian activists Albanians in North Macedonia