Petrit Dume (20 May 1920 – 5 December 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 general and politician of the Albanian Party of Labour (PPSh).

Life

Dume was born in 1920 in Starje, a village in

Kolonjë District Kolonjë is a municipality in Korçë County, southeastern Albania. It was created in 2015 by the merger of the former municipalities Barmash, Çlirim, Ersekë, Leskovik, Mollas, Novoselë, Qendër Ersekë and Qendër Leskovik. The seat of t ...

. During the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

(1942–44) he participated as a partisan of the communist and anti-fascist National Liberation Movement. He was the last commander of the partisan battalion "Hakmarrja" (Revenge). After the founding of the People's Republic of Albania on 11 January 1946, he joined the Albanian People's Army and increased his influence over time as commander of a brigade and then as division commander. Between 1948 and 1974, he served as representative of Ersekë in the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

. At the same time he was a member of the Central Committee of the Party. Dume, who graduated from the General Staff Academy named after "Marshal

Kliment Voroshilov Kliment Yefremovich Voroshilov (, uk, Климент Охрімович Ворошилов, ''Klyment Okhrimovyč Vorošylov''), popularly known as Klim Voroshilov (russian: link=no, Клим Вороши́лов, ''Klim Vorošilov''; 4 Februa ...

" in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

, was finally appointed Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces in 1953. Between 1957 and 1974, he was Major General and Deputy Minister of Defence. In this role, he participated in December 1973 as head of a military delegation on a visit to the People's Liberation Army. At the 4th Congress of the PPSh in February 1961, he became candidate-member of the

Politburo of the Party of Labour of Albania The Politburo was the leading organ of the Party of Labour of Albania. It comprised key government ministers and Central Committee secretaries and served as the main administrative and policy-making body, convening on a weekly basis. The followin ...

, and member of the Central Committee of Party. He carried on these duties until July 1974. Petrit Dume was among the 154 persons to whom the title "Hero of the People" (Alb: ''Hero i Popullit'') was awarded.

Trial and execution

In July 1974, he was pinpointed as associate of Defense Minister Beqir Balluku for inciting revisionist ideas and put on trial in a

military court A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

for an alleged attempt of coup d'etat, consequently accused of treason. He was condemned to death soon after and executed, together with Balluku and the head of the General Political Bureau of the Armed Forces, Hito Çako. He was immediately succeeded as Chief of General Staff by Sami Metollari, but in 1975 Veli Llakaj took over. On 18 July 2000, after the collapse of communism in Albania, at the request of his family, his body was exhumed from a secret grave in Horë-Vranisht in

Vlorë District Vlorë District ( sq, Rrethi i Vlorës) was one of the 36 districts of Albania, which were dissolved in July 2000 and replaced by 12 newly created counties. It had a population of 147,267 in 2001, and an area of . It is in the south-west of the c ...

, together with those of the other generals that shared his fate.

Legacy

The football club Partizani Tirana carries the nickname "Futboll Club Gjeneral Petrit Dume" in his honor.Homepage of Partizani Tiranë

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dume, Petrit Labour Party of Albania politicians Members of the Parliament of Albania Candidate members of the Politburo of the Labour Party of Albania 1975 deaths 20th-century Albanian politicians People from Kolonjë Albanian communists Communism in Albania 1920 births Albanian resistance members Albanian anti-fascists Executed politicians Executed Albanian people People executed by Albania by firing squad 20th-century Albanian military personnel Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union alumni