Koçi Xoxe
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Koçi Xoxe (pronounced ; 1 May 1911 – 11 June 1949) was an Albanian politician who served as Deputy
Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
and
Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...
of the
People's Socialist Republic of Albania The People's Socialist Republic of Albania, () was the Marxist-Leninist state that existed in Albania from 10 January 1946 to the 29 April 1991. Originally founded as the People's Republic of Albania from 1946 to 1976, it was governed by the P ...
. He was supported by Yugoslav leader
Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito ( ; , ), was a Yugoslavia, Yugoslav communist revolutionary and politician who served in various positions of national leadership from 1943 unti ...
during efforts to bring Albania into the Yugoslav federation. After Albania's leader,
Enver Hoxha Enver Halil Hoxha ( , ; ; 16 October 190811 April 1985) was an Albanian communist revolutionary and politician who was the leader of People's Socialist Republic of Albania, Albania from 1944 until his death in 1985. He was the Secretary (titl ...
, established the country's independence with the support of the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
, Xoxe was arrested, tortured and executed.


Life

Xoxe was born in 1911 in Negovani (modern Flampouro), near
Florina Florina (, ''Flórina''; known also by some alternative names) is a town and municipality in the mountainous northwestern Macedonia, Greece. Its motto is, 'Where Greece begins'. The town of Florina is the capital of the Florina regional uni ...
in
Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
, back then part of the
Manastir Vilayet The Vilayet of Manastir () was a first-level administrative division (vilayet) of the Ottoman Empire, created in 1874, dissolved in 1877 and re-established in 1879. The vilayet was occupied during the First Balkan War in 1912 and divided between t ...
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 ...
. He was of
Tosk Albanian Tosk ( sq-definite, toskërishtja) is the southern group of dialects of the Albanian language, spoken by the ethnographic group known as Tosks. The line of demarcation between Tosk and Gheg (the northern variety) is the Shkumbin River. Tosk is ...
descent. The family originated from Kolonjë, and due to economic circumstances in the 19th century moved to the village of
Plikati Plikati (, , ) is a village in the municipal unit of Mastorochoria, Ioannina regional unit, Greece. It is one of the northernmost villages in Epirus. The village is situated at the foot of the Grammos mountains, at 1,240 m elevation, close to th ...
and later relocated to Negovani. His father was Dhimitër Xoxe (1883–1971) who died in
Tirana Tirana ( , ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in Albania, 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 ov ...
and Vasillo was his mother. Sotir Xoxe was his grandfather, a founder of the Albanian school in Negovani and a teacher who was involved in the Albanian National Awakening. In his youth Xoxe was educated by his grandfather in the village school, later he attended the gymnasium of Thessaloniki and achieved high grades, graduating in 1929. His grandfather and several family members moved to
Constanța Constanța (, , ) is a city in the Dobruja Historical regions of Romania, historical region of Romania. A port city, it is the capital of Constanța County and the country's Cities in Romania, fourth largest city and principal port on the Black ...
,
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 ...
in the 1930s where he owned and ran ''Dituria'', an Albanian printing press. Xoxe was a footballer for the Negovani village football team, an avid reader of Albanian and Greek books and a fluent speaker of Albanian,
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 ...
, Bulgarian and Romanian. Following his education, Xoxe arrived in Korçë where he encountered communist ideas and literature. In the 1930s, he became co–founder of the Korçë Communist Group and its first chairman. Around 1937 he emerged among others, such as
Enver Hoxha Enver Halil Hoxha ( , ; ; 16 October 190811 April 1985) was an Albanian communist revolutionary and politician who was the leader of People's Socialist Republic of Albania, Albania from 1944 until his death in 1985. He was the Secretary (titl ...
and Koço Tashko, as prominent communists of Albania. In the post-
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
era, Yugoslav leader
Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito ( ; , ), was a Yugoslavia, Yugoslav communist revolutionary and politician who served in various positions of national leadership from 1943 unti ...
sought to exert his country’s influence over Albania through military support to Hoxha in an attempt to absorb Albania. Xoxe, who headed the
Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the ...
and the secret police, the
Sigurimi The Directorate of State Security (, DSSh), commonly called the ''Sigurimi'', was the National security, state security, Intelligence (information gathering), intelligence and secret police service of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania. I ...
, was supported by Tito.
Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...
reportedly told Milovan Djilas, a leading figure in Yugoslavia, that Yugoslavia should “swallow up” Albania. Hoxha began to fear Xoxe as a rival to his own power. After Xoxe ordered the arrest of moderates with anti-Yugoslav sentiments, including Sejfulla Malëshova, Tito attacked Hoxha in a letter to the Albanian Politburo. Hoxha responded by traveling to
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
with Nako Spiru and returning with a formal trade agreement with the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
without consulting Tito. Tito began to develop a more assertive policy towards the Soviets, which angered Stalin. Over time, Stalin began to side with Albania as a supportive bulwark against Tito. The Soviet Union began to increase Moscow’s presence in the country, spending specialists in mining and oil refining. Xoxe accused Spiru of subversion and, eventually, Spiru was found dead of a gunshot wound in his apartment under suspicious circumstances. Tito planned to send two army divisions into Albania under the pretense of protecting it from a Greek invasion, a move that angered Moscow. He then pushed Xoxe to convene a meeting of the Central Committee where he expelled Hoxha’s supporters and pushed a motion to combine Albania’s economy and military with Yugoslavia’s. Hoxha fought back with Soviet support, cancelled his agreements with Yugoslavia, and expelled the country’s advisors. Xoxe attempted to save himself by declaring his support for the Soviet Union and arresting supporters of Tito in the government. The Central Committee, however, flipped on Xoxe, stripping him of his posts and expelling him from the party. In November 1948, he and many others were arrested. The Soviets wanted to paint Tito as the mastermind of anti-Marxist and anti-Albanian activities with the trials of Xoxe and the others. Xoxe was tortured in prison repeatedly until he confessed to conspiring with Tito against the Albanian government. In May 1949, he was placed on trial where he confessed to having been recruited by Zog I of Albania, as well as British intelligence and that Tito was an agent of the West. Xoxe was sentenced to death and was hanged on June 11, 1949. Berend, Iván T. ''Central and Eastern Europe, 1944-1993: Detour from the Periphery to the Periphery'', Cambridge University Press, 1996, page 65 - 66


Personal life

Xoxe was married to Sofika and had 6 children, Genc, Fatos, Shpresa, Liria, Çlirim and Besnik.


References


External links

* Miranda Vickers, James Pettifer
''Albania: from anarchy to a Balkan identity''
C. Hurst & Co. Publishers, 1997. * Owen Pearson
''Albania in the twentieth century: a history''
I. B. Tauris, 2004, volume 3. * Karen Dawisha, Bruce Parrott
''Politics, power, and the struggle for democracy in South-East Europe''
Cambridge University Press, 1997. {{DEFAULTSORT:Xoxe, Koci 1911 births 1949 deaths Albanian communists Executed politicians Albanian people executed by the communist regime People executed by Albania by hanging Government ministers of Albania Deputy prime ministers of Albania Interior ministers of Albania Directors of the Sigurimi People from Manastir vilayet Prosecutors general of Albania People from Perasma Executed communists