Hito Çako (2 March 19235 November 1975) 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 ...

politician and

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

of the

Albanian People's Army The Albanian People's Army (, UPSh) was the national army of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania from 1946 to 1990. Like the militaries of other Communist states, the UPSh was subjected to the nation's ruling party, in this case the Party ...

. He also was among the 154 persons to whom the title "Hero of the People" ( Hero i Popullit ) was awarded.

Life

Born in

Progonat Progonat is a village in the former Kurvelesh municipality, Gjirokastër County, Albania. It is the largest village of upper Kurvelesh and until 1992 was the administrative center of the commune. At the 2015 local government reform it became part ...

on 2 March 1923, he joined the National Liberation Movement (LANÇ) and the

Albanian Communist Party The Party of Labour of Albania (PLA), also 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 on 8 November 1941 as the Communist Party of ...

in 1942. He was interned in Italy in 1942–3 until the country's capitulation to the allied forces. Upon returning to Albania, he joined the 5th Attacking Brigade and was promoted to the rank of political commissar. In 1944 he was promoted to the rank of vice-commander of the 2nd Attacking Corps. Of his relatives Rakip (1923–1943) died in Shëntriadhë fighting the Italian army, while Remzi and Shefqet (1924–1944) died fighting the German army in

Cepo Çepo is a municipal administrative units, formerly known as communes in the Gjirokastër County, southern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Gjirokastër. The municipal unit administrative cen ...

and

Qesarat Qesarat is a village and a former municipality in the Gjirokastër County, southern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Memaliaj Memaliaj is a town and a municipality in Gjirokastër County, ...

respectively. After Teme Sejko's purge he acted as political vice-admiral of the fleet until Sejko's replacement by Abdi Mati. Çako was a long-standing member of the party's Central Committee and a deputy of

Vlorë County Vlorë County (; ) is one of the 12 counties of Albania with the city of Vlorë being the county capital. The county spans and has a total population of 146,681 people as of 2023. It borders the counties of Fier and Gjirokastër, as well as th ...

in the Albanian parliament until 1974, when in the first phases 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 Albanian–Soviet and ...

he was accused of being a member of a pro-

PRC China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the second-most populous country after India, representing 17.4% of the world population. China spans the e ...

coup d'état headed by party leader

Beqir Balluku Beqir Balluku (14 February 1917 – 5 November 1975) was an Albanian politician, military leader, and Minister of Defense of Albania. Balluku assisted Enver Hoxha in carrying out the 1956 purge within the Party of Labour. However, in 1974, Ballu ...

. He was executed by firing squad in 1975. On 18 July 2000, his body was exhumed at the request of his family and interred together with Balluku's body in a secret grave in Hore-Vranisht in

Vlorë District Vlorë District () was one of the 36 districts of Albania, which were dissolved in July 2000 and replaced by 12 newly created counties. It had a population of 147,267 in 2001, and an area of . It is in the south-west of the country, and its capit ...

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cako, Hito 1923 births 1975 deaths Party of Labour of Albania politicians People from Tepelenë Albanian communists Communism in Albania Albanian resistance members Albanian anti-fascists Executed politicians Albanian people executed by the communist regime People executed by Albania by firing squad Frunze Military Academy alumni N. G. Kuznetsov Naval Academy alumni Members of the Parliament of Albania Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union alumni