Gaqo Adhamidhi or Adamidi (1859–1939), also referred to as Adhamidh Frashëri, 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 ...

physician and political figure during the early 20th century.

Life

Adhamidhi 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 ...

, back then

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 ...

, today's

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 ...

. Like most of the members of the Orthodox community there he emigrated at a young age. He settled in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, where he studied medicine and became a physician. Adamidi was a close friend of the physician and politician

Mihal Turtulli Mihal Turtulli Bey (1856–3 January 1935), also known as Michail Tourtoulis or Dr. Turtulli, was an Albanian oculist, politician, member of the High Council of State (Jan - Dec 1920), and representative of Albania at the Paris Peace Confere ...

, another prominent member from the ranks of the Albanian community of Egypt. Adhamidhi served during 1892–1914 as personal doctor of

Abbas II of Egypt Abbas Helmy II (also known as ''ʿAbbās Ḥilmī Pāshā'', ; 14 July 1874 – 19 December 1944) was the last Khedive of Egypt and the Sudan, ruling from 8January 1892 to 19 December 1914. In 1914, after the Ottoman Empire joined the Cent ...

, the last

khedive Khedive ( ; ; ) was an honorific title of Classical Persian origin used for the sultans and grand viziers of the Ottoman Empire, but most famously for the Khedive of Egypt, viceroy of Egypt from 1805 to 1914.Adam Mestyan"Khedive" ''Encyclopaedi ...

of Egypt and

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

from the dynasty of Muhammad Ali. During his time in Egypt, Adhamidi attempted and failed to establish cooperation between the Albanian community residing there with the one based in Romania. In 1914, following the events of the

Albanian Declaration of Independence The Albanian Declaration of Independence (Albanian language, 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 da ...

and the newly created Albanian state, Adhamidhi returned to Albania where he served as

Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

in the cabinet of 1914 (resigned on 20 May 1914) headed by Turhan Pasha Përmeti, the first government of the

Principality of Albania The Principality of Albania () was a monarchy from 1914 to 1925. It was headed by Wilhelm, Prince of Albania, and located in modern Albania in the Balkans, Balkan region of Europe. The Ottoman Empire owned the land until the First Balkan Wa ...

. With the outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he settled in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, associating with the

University of Lausanne The University of Lausanne (UNIL; ) in Lausanne, Switzerland, was founded in 1537 as a school of Protestant theology, before being made a university in 1890. The university is the second-oldest in Switzerland, and one of the oldest universities ...

. He stayed many years in Switzerland, becoming chairman of the "Albanian National Council" there, a political society of the

Albanian diaspora The Albanian diaspora () are the ethnic Albanians and their descendants living outside of Albania, Kosovo, southeastern Montenegro, western North Macedonia, southeastern Serbia, northwestern Greece and Southern Italy. The largest communities ...

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

. He also represented Albania in the

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

As a personage

It is accepted that the Albanian poet and playwright Andon Çako, better known as

Andon Zako Çajupi Andon Zako Çajupi (27 March 186611 July 1930) was an Albanian lawyer, playwright, poet and rilindas. Biography He was born in the village of Sheper, Upper Zagoria, Albania, then Ottoman Empire, on 27 March 1866. Çajupi's father, Harito Z ...

, one of the prominent activists 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 ...

, based his comic personage "Dr. Adhamuti" of his comedy ''Klubi i Selanikut'' (Thessaloniki's Club) based on George Adhamidhi. The reason was personal vendetta from a Zako's

matchmaking Matchmaking is the process of pairing two or more people together, usually for the purpose of marriage, in which case the intermediary or matchmaker is also known as a marriage broker. Matchmaking may be done as a profession for a fee or it may ...

gone bad, for which he might have accused Adhamidhi. Inside Zako's satirical story, Dr. Adhamudhi is described as a

grotesque Since at least the 18th century (in French and German, as well as English), grotesque has come to be used as a general adjective for the strange, mysterious, magnificent, fantastic, hideous, ugly, incongruous, unpleasant, or disgusting, and thus ...

, penny-pinching, ignorant, pro-Ottoman, pseudo-physician.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adhamidhi, Gaqo 1859 births 1939 deaths Albanian physicians 20th-century Albanian politicians People from the Khedivate of Egypt People from Korçë People from Manastir vilayet Albanian expatriates in Switzerland Finance ministers of Albania Eastern Orthodox Christians from Albania Frashëri family Albanian people from the Ottoman Empire 20th-century Albanian physicians Emigrants from the Ottoman Empire to Egypt