Mujo Ulqinaku (born Mujo Cakuli; 1896 – 7 April 1939) was an Albanian sergeant of the Royal Albanian Navy, known for his resistance on 7 April 1939 to the Italian forces during the Italian invasion of Albania. He was given the People's Hero of Albania award posthumously.

Life

Mujo Ulqinaku was born in 1896 in Ulcinj, in the Principality of Montenegro, now modern

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, to a family of sailors and fishermen. In his teens he joined the commercial fleet in

Shkodër Shkodër ( , ; sq-definite, Shkodra) is the fifth-most-populous city of the Republic of Albania and the seat of Shkodër County and Shkodër Municipality. The city sprawls across the Plain of Mbishkodra between the southern part of Lake Shko ...

and Lezhë. Later he served in the Albanian navy, based in

Durrës Durrës ( , ; sq-definite, Durrësi) is the second most populous city of the Republic of Albania and seat of Durrës County and Durrës Municipality. It is located on a flat plain along the Albanian Adriatic Sea Coast between the mouths of ...

, with the rank of sergeant, commanding the patrol boat ''Tiranë''. He was one of the few officers of the Royal Albanian Army who tried to stop the Italian invasion of Albania. Armed only with a

machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles ...

, he was placed in the center of the defense line where he killed and wounded dozens of Italian soldiers. He was killed by an artillery shell from an Italian warship in the last hour of the battle.

Legacy

Ulqinaku is memorialized by a monument in front of Durrës Castle. A grammar school in Durrës and streets 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 ...

and

Prishtina Pristina, ; sr, / (, ) is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. The city's municipal boundaries in Pristina District form the largest urban center in Kosovo. After Tirana, Pristina has the second largest population of ethnic Albanians an ...

bear his name. A documentary on his life and actions, "" ( en, Mujo Ulqinaku fights on), was released in 1979 by Kinostudio Shqipëria e Re. Busti i Mujo Ulqinakut

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ulqinaku, Mujo 20th-century Albanian military personnel 1896 births 1939 deaths Heroes of Albania People from Ulcinj Albanians in Montenegro Military personnel killed in action