Anastas Avramidhi-Lakçe or Anastas Avram-Lakçe (1821–1890) was an

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

businessman and benefactor. Avramidhi was born in

Korçë Korçë (; sq-definite, Korça) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, eighth most populous city of Albania and the seat of Korçë County and Korçë Municipality. The total population of the city is 51,152 and 75,994 of Korçë municipal ...

, in modern southeastern

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

, then part of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. When he was young he migrated to

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, where he became a successful businessman.

Life

Avramidhi was born in Korçë. He moved to Bucharest where he became a successful businessman and planned on awarding his fortune to the inhabitants of his hometown. Thus, he sponsored the foundation and function of several educational, and cultural institutions as well as religious ones. The local Orthodox cathedral of Saint George, was renovated due to his sponsorship. In January 1885 in

he became one of the founding members and the president of the Albanian association Drita (), later renamed to Dituria (). He also intended to support the foundation of an Albanian school in Korçë and supported the cause of individuals like Thimi Marko, who was trying to establish Albanian schools. In 1888 he published a book written in

and translated in French,

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

and

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

titled "To Albanians from an Albanian". The book dealt primarily with the importance of education in the Albanian language. In his last will he left his fortune to associations promoting Albanian education, but his testament was blocked by the

Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (, ; ; , "Roman Orthodox Patriarchate, Ecumenical Patriarchate of Istanbul") is one of the fifteen to seventeen autocephalous churches that together compose the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is heade ...

. Anastas Avramidhi named as the executor of his last will

Orhan Pojani Orhan bey Pojani (1846–1913) was a prominent figure involved in the Albanian National Awakening. Orhan and his family were Muslim Albanians, originally from Pojan (hence their surname). Founded in early 1880s, the magazine '' Drita'' by 1884 wa ...

, an activist of the

Albanian National Awakening The Albanian National Awakening ( or ), commonly known as the Albanian Renaissance or Albanian Revival, is a period throughout the 19th and 20th century of a cultural, political, and social movement in the Albanian history where the Albanian ...

. Although he initially intended to support the foundation of the first Albanian school in Korçë, after discussions with representatives of the Orthodox Church of the city he didn't sponsor this initiative. He finally made donations to his hometown, Korçë, subsisting the foundation and function of several Greek educational, cultural and religious institutions.Kondis Basil
''The Greeks of Northern Epirus and Greek-Albanian relations''
Hestia, 1995, p. 9. When died he donated his entire fortune to the local

Trust fund A trust is a legal relationship in which the owner of property, or any transferable right, gives it to another to manage and use solely for the benefit of a designated person. In the English common law, the party who entrusts the property is k ...

, called ''

Lasso A lasso or lazo ( or ), also called reata or la reata in Mexico, and in the United States riata or lariat (from Mexican Spanish lasso for roping cattle), is a loop of rope designed as a restraint to be thrown around a target and tightened when ...

'', created for the support of Greek cultural activities in Korçë.''Balkan studies''
Hetaireia Makedonikōn Spoudōn. Hidryma Meletōn Cheresonēsou tou Haimou, 1996, pp. 242-249.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Avramidhi-Lakce, Anastas 1821 births 1890 deaths People from Korçë Activists of the Albanian National Awakening Philanthropists from the Ottoman Empire People from Manastir vilayet Albanian people from the Ottoman Empire Albanian expatriates in Romania 19th-century philanthropists Businesspeople from the Ottoman Empire