Qemal bej Karaosmani (17 July 1875 – 5 August 1949) was one of the signatories of the

Albanian Declaration of Independence The Albanian Declaration of Independence ( Albanian: ''Deklarata e Pavarësisë'') was the declaration of independence of Albania from the Ottoman Empire. Independent Albania was proclaimed in Vlorë on 28 November 1912. Six days later the Assem ...

,"History of Albanian People" Albanian Academy of Science. and an activist of Albanian education. He served as General Secretary and briefly as Minister of Agriculture in the

Provisional Government of Albania The Provisional Government of Albania ( sq, Qeveria e Përkohshme e Shqipërisë) was the first government of Albania, created by the Assembly of Vlorë on 4 December 1912. It was a paternal government, led by Ismail Qemali, until his resignatio ...

Life

Karaosmani was born in Elbasan, back then part of Manastir Vilayet of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, today's central

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 ...

. He got his first studies in the Turkish school of his home town. Later he finished the high school and the graduate studies in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

where he got a degree for

Political Sciences Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

and Civic Administration. During his studies in Istanbul, he got in contact with some Albanian patriots and activists, especially Murat Toptani, who would become a close friend. After the graduation, he was appointed to work in the Prefecture in

Yannina Ioannina ( el, Ιωάννινα ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus, an administrative region in north-western Greece. According to the 2011 census, the ci ...

where he did not stay long. He got transferred in

Berat Berat (; sq-definite, Berati) is the ninth most populous city of Albania and the seat of Berat County and Berat Municipality. By air, it is north of Gjirokastër, west of Korçë, south of Tirana, and east of Fier. Berat is located in th ...

where he was in charge of the Cadastral Office. There he was in close contact and cooperation with other activists of the Albanian education as Babë Dudë Karbunara,

Aziz Vrioni Aziz Pasha Vrioni (1859–1920) was an Ottoman- Albanian politician of the early 20th century. He was a member of the Ottoman Parliament representing Berat, and Albanian Minister of Finance and Minister of Agriculture and of Mines. He was born i ...

, and

Iliaz Vrioni Ilias Bey, bej Vrioni (1 January 1882 – 12 March 1932) was an Albanians, Albanian politician and landowner. He was one of the signatories of the Albanian Declaration of Independence and served as Prime Minister of Albania three times. Biograp ...

. Based on his contribution to the Albanian education, he was invited in 1908 as a delegate in the

Congress of Monastir The Congress of Manastir ( sq, Kongresi i Manastirit) was an academic conference held in the city of Manastir (now Bitola) from November 14 to 22, 1908, with the goal of standardizing the Albanian alphabet. November 22 is now a commemorative da ...

. Karaosmani was relative to

Aqif Pasha Elbasani Aqif Pasha Biçaku mostly known as Aqif Pashë Elbasani (1860 – 10 February 1926) was an Ottoman Albanian political figure in the Sanjak of Elbasan and after the Young Turk Revolution became an activist for the Albanian national cause. Life Aq ...

. Both cousins would contribute to the Congress of Elbasan of 1909 where the Albanian Normal School (Alb:''Shkolla Normale e Elbasanit'') was established. In November 1912, Karaosmani was elected by the Berat leadership as a delegate in the

Assembly of Vlora Assembly may refer to: Organisations and meetings * Deliberative assembly, a gathering of members who use parliamentary procedure for making decisions * General assembly, an official meeting of the members of an organization or of their representa ...

. He signed the act of the Independence Declaration as "Qemal Elbasani". He would be appointed later by

Ismail Qemali Ismail Qemal bey Vlora, mostly known as Ismail Qemali (; 16 January 184426 January 1919), was an Albanian diplomat, politician, rilindas, statesman and the Founding Father of modern Albania, and one of the most famous Southern Albanian person. Th ...

as first secretary, and by late November 1913 Minister of Agriculture of Albania. Karaosmani supported the

Congress of Lushnje A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ad ...

of 1920, and the government of

Sulejman Delvina Sulejman bey Delvina, also known as ''Sylejman Fehmi'' (5 October 1871 – 1 August 1932), was an Albanian politician and prime minister from March to November 1920. Biography Early life Sulejman Delvina was born on 5 October 1871 in th ...

which came out of it. He was elected 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 repre ...

twice: first representing Berat out of elections of December 27, 1923, and those of May 17, 1925 which marked the First Albanian Republic (1925-1928). After the

Italian invasion of Albania The Italian invasion of Albania (April 7–12, 1939) was a brief military campaign which was launched by the Kingdom of Italy against the Albanian Kingdom in 1939. The conflict was a result of the imperialistic policies of the Italian prime m ...

, Karaosmani moved to Kavaje with his family where he lived for the rest of his life. He died in 1948, never appreciated by the

communists Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a so ...

, and without any official ceremony. His family donated in 1962 the original pen with which he had signed the act of Independence Declaration to the Albanian National Archives. Due to their wealth, the family were considered ''bejlere'' (

bey Bey ( ota, بك, beğ, script=Arab, tr, bey, az, bəy, tk, beg, uz, бек, kz, би/бек, tt-Cyrl, бәк, translit=bäk, cjs, пий/пек, sq, beu/bej, sh, beg, fa, بیگ, beyg/, tg, бек, ar, بك, bak, gr, μπέης) is ...

s) and were persecuted. His home in the "Spaikorre" neighborhood of

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 Al ...

got confiscated.

Family

Qemal Karaosmani got married in 1900 to Aishe Resuli, a woman from one of the richest and most powerful families of Berat. The couple has six children: Masar, Hadije, Qamuran, Sheriar, Behije, and Ali.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Karaosmani, Qemal Bej Signatories of the Albanian Declaration of Independence 19th-century Albanian politicians 20th-century Albanian politicians Albanians from the Ottoman Empire 1875 births 1948 deaths People from Elbasan People from Manastir vilayet Government ministers of Albania Agriculture ministers of Albania All-Albanian Congress delegates