Thoma Deliana (1925–2014) was an Albanian politician of the

Communist Albania The People's Socialist Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika Popullore Socialiste e Shqipërisë, links=no) was the Marxist–Leninist one party state that existed in Albania from 1946 to 1992 (the official name of the country was the People's R ...

period, being the longest serving Minister of Education (1963-1976) in overall.

Life

Deliana was born in 1925 in on Orthodox family of the Kala 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 ...

in central Albania. He finished the elementary school in his town, and then enrolled in the Normal School of Elbasan where he was taught by Aleksander Xhuvani. As many other attenders of the school, he joined the ranks of the National Liberation Movement (LANC) 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 ...

. After distinguishing himself as a youth-member of the resistance, he was elected member of the Central Committee of the Albanian Antifascist Youth - the youth fraction of the LANC, in its first congress held in Helmës of

Skrapar Skrapar ( sq-definite, Skrapari) is a municipality in Berat County, southern Albania. It was created in 2015 by the merger of the former municipalities Bogovë, Çepan, Çorovodë, Gjerbës, Leshnjë, Potom, Qendër Skrapar, Vendreshë and Zhepë ...

region. In September 1944, he was elected Head of the Antifascist Youth of Elbasan District and member of the Antifascist Council of LANC. After World War II, with the rise of the Communists in power, he started working in the State Planning Commission, a crucial entity which would control all the economic life of the country, and later as a staff member of the Central Committee of the

Party of Labour of Albania The Party of Labour of Albania ( sq, Partia e Punës e Shqipërisë, PPSh), sometimes referred to as the Albanian Workers' Party (AWP), was the ruling and sole legal party of Albania during the communist period (1945–1991). It was founded o ...

. Deliana went to study 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 ...

where he graduated in philosophy. Upon his return in Albania, he was elected First Secretary of the Party for Elbasan, and member of the Central Committee of the Party of Labour. In October 1961 he was appointed Deputy Minister and two years later Minister of Education and Culture. During his term he successfully completed major tasks that were under his ministry's area of responsibility. One was the total reconstruction of the

textbook A textbook is a book containing a comprehensive compilation of content in a branch of study with the intention of explaining it. Textbooks are produced to meet the needs of educators, usually at educational institutions. Schoolbooks are textbook ...

s; all of them needed revision to reflect the new Party of Labour's ideological line after the Soviet-Albanian split. The other was the unification of the

Albanian language Albanian ( endonym: or ) is an Indo-European language and an independent branch of that family of languages. It is spoken by the Albanians in the Balkans and by the Albanian diaspora, which is generally concentrated in the Americas, Europ ...

standard, which was achieved by the Orthography Congress of 1972. Other major achievements were the establishment of the

Academy of Sciences of Albania The Academy of Sciences of Albania ( sq, Akademia e Shkencave e Shqipërisë), founded in 1972, is the most important scientific institution in Albania. In the 1980s, several research institutes began at the University of Tirana were transferred ...

, and two national

pedagogy Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...

congresses held 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 ...

. In 1975, at the eve of the

Sino-Albanian split The Sino-Albanian split was the gradual worsening of relations between the People's Socialist Republic of Albania and the People's Republic of China in the period 1972–1978. Both countries had supported each other in the Soviet–Albanian and S ...

, he was targeted and accused of

opportunism Opportunism is the practice of taking advantage of circumstances – with little regard for principles or with what the consequences are for others. Opportunist actions are expedient actions guided primarily by self-interested motives. The term ...

and anti-Party spirit. He was expelled from the party together with Fadil Paçrami. The wave of persecution would continue soon with the demise of

Koço Theodhosi Koço Theodhosi (21 May 1913 in Korçë – 31 May 1977) was an Albanian politician of the Albanian Party of Labour (PPSh). Biography Theodhosi finished the French Lyceum of Korça, and later studied chemistry at the University of Lyon, a ...

, Abdyl Këllezi,

Kiço Ngjela Kiço Ngjela (25 December 1917 – 16 June 2002) was an Albanian politician of the Albanian Party of Labour (PPSh). Ngjela was born in Sheper (Zagori region) of the Gjirokastër District in Albania. In 1945 he became a member of the Constituent ...

, etc., all high rank Communist officials and government ministers. To his list of accusations was added the favoring of former deputy ministers Hasan Duma and Mantho Bala, both accused of "

immorality Immorality is the violation of moral laws, norms or standards. It refers to an agent doing or thinking something they know or believe to be wrong. Immorality is normally applied to people or actions, or in a broader sense, it can be applied to ...

" and already demised. Deliana wrote an

autocritique Examination of conscience is a review of one's past thoughts, words, actions, and omissions for the purpose of ascertaining their conformity with, or deviation from, the moral law. Among Christians, this is generally a private review; secular inte ...

letter to Enver Hoxha, which saved his life. He was initially sent to Sinanaj village near Tepelenë where he worked as the local elementary school director. According to Margo Rejmer's book Mud is Sweeter than Honey, in an interview with one of Deliana's former students, the party decided being he should have a more lowly job as an "enemy of the people" which is how the party defined him. He was sent to live in a shack with his wife and become a cowherd. Life became harder and harder for Deliana and his wife. Later he was removed from that position and sent to work in the state-controlled agricultural cooperative where he worked in animal husbandry until 1987 when he retired. This last job for him was hard, physical labor which broke his body but not his spirit. He continued to loan books and teach his former student. Deliana spoke of the country as a cannibal, with the leader, Enver Hoxha, as the one who fed off the people, using their pain and terror. After his retirement, he moved back to Elbasan. Deliana died on 14 September 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deliana, Thoma 1925 births 2014 deaths People from Elbasan Moscow State University alumni Albanian resistance members Albanian anti-fascists Albanian communists Government ministers of Albania Culture ministers of Albania Education in Albania Labour Party of Albania politicians Members of the Parliament of Albania 20th-century Albanian politicians University of Elbasan alumni