Vasil Laçi,

People's Hero of Albania People's, branded as ''People's Viennaline'' until May 2018, and legally ''Altenrhein Luftfahrt GmbH'', is an Austrian airline headquartered in Vienna. It operates scheduled and charter passenger flights mainly from its base at St. Gallen-Alten ...

, also referred to as Vasil Llaçi Comando Superiore Carabinieri Reali dell Albania - document of 25 May 1941 (15 September 1922 – 27 May 1941), was an Albanian patriot and anti-monarchistShqip on Vasil Laçi
/ref> who attempted to kill

Victor Emmanuel III The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

King of Italy King of Italy ( it, links=no, Re d'Italia; la, links=no, Rex Italiae) was the title given to the ruler of the Kingdom of Italy after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The first to take the title was Odoacer, a barbarian military leader ...

and Shefqet Bej Vërlaci,

Prime Minister of Albania The Prime Minister of Albania ( sq, Kryeministri i Shqipërisë), officially styled Prime Minister of the Republic of Albania ( sq, Kryeministri i Republikës së Shqipërisë), is the head of government of the Republic of Albania and the mo ...

after the occupation of Albania by fascist Italy.

Early life

Vasil Laçi was born in the village of Piqeras in southern Albania near the city of

Sarandë Sarandë (; sq-definite, Saranda; el, Άγιοι Σαράντα, Ágioi Saránta) is a city in the Republic of Albania and seat of Sarandë Municipality. Geographically, the city is located on an open sea gulf of the Ionian Sea within the Medi ...

on 15 September 1922, son of Mihal and Vitori. His father died at the age of 30, while Vasil was still a child. He spent his childhood in Piqeras, where he studied in the local elementary school. In 1933-1935 he worked 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 ...

as a

stevedore A stevedore (), also called a longshoreman, a docker or a dockworker, is a waterfront manual laborer who is involved in loading and unloading ships, trucks, trains or airplanes. After the shipping container revolution of the 1960s, the number ...

. In 1936 he moved to

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 ...

, capital of Albania, after being invited to work there.Owen Pearson, ''Albania in Occupation and War: From Fascism to Communism 1940-1945'', 2006, p.153, The Italian invasion found him in Tirana. There he developed relations with patriotic groups, and helped several of their members escape from the Italian troops and police. He worked initially as a dishwasher, and later as a servant. His cousin Kolë Llaçi was member of the Communist Group of

Korçë Korçë (; sq-definite, Korça) is the eighth most populous city of the Republic of Albania and the seat of Korçë County and Korçë Municipality. The total population is 75,994 (2011 census), in a total area of . It stands on a plateau som ...

(where he had migrated) and died in September 1941 in the prison of

Voskopojë Moscopole or Voskopoja ( sq, Voskopojë; rup, Moscopole, with several other variants; el, Μοσχόπολις, Moschopolis) is a village in Korçë County in southeastern Albania. During the 18th century, it was the cultural and commercial ...

after being arrested by the Italians. The Fascist military reports states that "Llaçi had communist ideas and he had been in contact with communist literature".

Assassination attempt against Victor Emmanuel III

Victor Emmanuel III decided to visit Albania on April 12, 1941 and he arrived one month later, after being reassured by the Italian fascist police of Tirana that all security measures had been taken. Laçi found out about Victor Emmanuel's visit to Albania 15 days before his arrival on May 2, 1941. He got a job at the Hotel International where Victor Emmanuel would stay, and borrowed a Beretta M1915 pistol from Pëllumb Koka, another Albanian patriot. On May 17, 1941 the 19-year-old Laçi, wearing an Albanian national costume, attacked the car in which Victor Emmanuel and Shefqet Bej Vërlaci,

were travelling accompanied by the ministers of the government. He fired four shots towards them while shouting "Long live Albania! Down with fascism", but failed to hit anyone. After the assassination attempt, the Italian sources in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

accused

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

of being behind Laçi and called him a "Greek-Macedonian named Mihailoff Vasillaci" (''di origine grecomacedone'').

Aftermath and legacy

Laçi was arrested immediately and executed by hanging ten days later. The Italian fascist government attributed his attack to economic issues he had with Shefqet Bej Vërlaci, to prevent possible uprisings of the Albanian people. Laçi was one of the first people to posthumously receive the

award from the Albanian government. His assassination attempt was documented in a book, which was adapted for the 1980 movie ''Bullets for the Imperator'' ( sq, Plumba Perandorit). A monument to Laçi stands in Tirana.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Laci, Vasil 1922 births 1941 deaths 1941 crimes People executed by Italy by hanging Executed Albanian people Albanian anti-fascists Albanian monarchists Failed regicides Heroes of Albania People executed for attempted murder People from Himara