Petro Poga (1860–1944) 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 who served as a delegate at 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 ...

event in

Vlorë Vlorë ( ; ; sq-definite, Vlora) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, third most populous city of Albania and seat of Vlorë County and Vlorë Municipality. Located in southwestern Albania, Vlorë sprawls on the Bay of Vlorë and is surr ...

, 1912, and an important Rilindas.

Biography

Early life

He could've been born in

Erind Erind is a village in the Gjirokastër County, southern Albania. It belongs to the former Lunxhëri (municipality), Lunxhëri municipality and is part of the wider Lunxhëri region. At the 2015 local government reform it became part of the municip ...

Gjirokastër Gjirokastër (, sq-definite, Gjirokastra) is a List of cities and towns in Albania, city in Southern Albania, southern Albania and the seat of Gjirokastër County and Gjirokastër Municipality. It is located in a valley between the Gjerë moun ...

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

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 ...

), son of Vito Poga, a local who had previously worked in his region and in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

as a tailor.
Poga might have gone to the Zosimea Greek language School of

Ioannina Ioannina ( ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina (regional unit), Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus (region), Epirus, an Modern regions of Greece, administrative region in northwester ...

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 ...

(then

) and then graduated in Jurisprudence from the

Istanbul University Istanbul University, also known as University of Istanbul (), is a Public university, public research university located in Istanbul, Turkey. Founded by Mehmed II on May 30, 1453, a day after Fall of Constantinople, the conquest of Constantinop ...

. In Istanbul he may have been an active part of the Central Committee for Defending Albanian Rights, and the

Society for the Publication of Albanian Writings Society for the Publication of Albanian Letters () (Arvanitika: Σ̈oκ̇ε̰ρι ε τε̰ Σ̈τυπȣρι Σ̈κρoν̇α Σ̈κ̇ιπ) was a patriotic organization of Albanians, Albanian intellectuals, promoting publications in Albanian langu ...

. These two associations, both founded by Sami Frashëri, included

Naim Frashëri Naim bey Frashëri, more commonly Naim Frashëri (; ; 25 May 184620 October 1900), was an Albanian historian, journalist, poet, translator, and one of the most prominent figures of the Albanian National Awakening. Regarded as a pioneer of moder ...

Abdyl Frashëri Abdyl Dume bey Frashëri (, or ''Abdullah Hüsni''; 1 June 1839 – 23 October 1892) was an Ottoman Albanian civil servant, politician during the First Constitutional Era of the Ottoman Empire, and one of the first Albanian political ideologues ...

, Jani Vreto, Koto Hoxhi,

Shahin Kolonja Shahin bey Kolonja (; 1865–1919) was an Albanian journalist, politician, and member of the Ottoman Parliament during its Second Constitutional Era. Early life Shahin Kolonja, was born Shahin Teki Ypi in 1865 or 1867 in Starje, Kolonjë, at ...

Hasan Tahsini Hoxhë Hasan Tahsini or simply Hoxha Tahsim (7 April 1811 – 3 July 1881) was an Albanian alim, astronomer, mathematician and philosopher. He was the first rector of Istanbul University and one of the founders of the Central Committee ...

, and

Ismail Qemali Ismail Qemali, or Ismail Kemal, (; 16 January 184426 January 1919), was an Albanian politician and statesman who is regarded as the founder of modern Independent Albania, Albania. He served as the first Prime Minister of Albania, prime minister o ...

and aimed to create an independent Albania.

Albanian national awakening

There is a chance that an Albanian magazine '' Drita'' appeared in 1884 under the editorship of Petro Poga with

being a behind the scenes editor as Muslim Albanians were not allowed by Ottoman authorities to write in Albanian at that time. Albanian writers such as Naim Frashëri and Sami Frashëri would write using pseudonyms in Poga's publication. Poga could have been made to resign his position at Drita due to pressure from the Constantinople Patriarchate and Shahin Kolonja would take over after him. The magazine was maybe later published by Pandeli Sotiri, under the name of ''Dituria'' ("Knowledge" in English). Maybe in his memories Petro Poga wrote:

''The magazine Drita awakened the sacred national ideal and influenced to establish in the Albanians' hearts the thought that religions can not change a nation, because they cannot change the language and customs that create a nation.''

In 1906-1908, Petro Poga was contemplated to be in Gjirokastër where he contributed with the propagation of the Albanian language and the Albanian identity. One of his most important roles might have been the foundation of the patriotic club "Drita" of Gjirokastër, which was further led by Albanian patriots Hasan Xhiku, Idriz Guri, Hysen Hoxha, and Elmaz Boçe. Petro Poga strongly advocated for the Albanian move towards independence in 1912. He was elected as one of the representatives of Gjirokastër to the National Assembly of Vlora which declared Albania's independence from the Ottoman Empire.

After independence

After Albania's independence in 1912 he was a

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

in the first Albanian government and acted twice as a Prime Minister of Albania (1 February 1925 - 23 September 1925 and 12 February 1927 - 20 October 1927). Poga became the President of the

Supreme Court of Albania The Supreme Court of the Republic of Albania () is the supreme court, highest court of Albania and is the final court of appeals in the country's Judicial system of Albania, judicial system. It is composed of seventeen judges: the Chief Justice ...

in 1913-1915. Along with

Dhimitër Tutulani Dhimitër Tutulani (19 March 1857 – 1937), also known as Taq Tutulani or Dhimitraq Tutulani, was an Albanian lawyer and politician from city of Berat. He was one of the signatories of the Albanian Declaration of Independence. Life Dhimitër Tut ...

and Feim Mezhgorani he drafted the Statute that separated the Albanian Justice system from the jurisdiction of the

. On December 25, 1918 he was the representative of

in the

Congress of Durrës The Congress of Durrës () was a conference of Albanian political leaders, held from December 25 to December 27, 1918, in Durrës, at the time capital of the Principality of Albania. Mehmet Konica was the Chairman of the Congress, which aimed ...

, where he was elected vicepresident and member of the

Turhan Përmeti Turhan Pasha Përmeti (19 December 1846 – 18 February 1927) was an Albanian politician and statesman who served as the second prime minister of Albania, serving from March 1914 to September 1914 and from December 1918 to January 1920. He was ...

cabinet. Along with

Luigj Gurakuqi Luigj Gurakuqi (19 February 1879 – 2 March 1925), also called Louis Gurakuchi, was an Albanians, Albanian writer and politician. He was an important figure of the Albanian National Awakening and was honored with the People's Hero of Albania ...

in his discussions in this Congress he asked to adopt a law to respect religious freedoms according to European standards of that time. He also gave his contribution to draft the Albanian legislation and the Constitution of the Albanian Kingdom in 1928. Poga spent his last years in his childhood village in Erind.

Biography

Early life

Albanian national awakening

After independence

References

Further reading