Syreja Vlora (1860–1940), usually referred to as Syrja Bey Vlora (), was an Ottoman Albanian politician, an active figure 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 ...

in 1912 and one of the delegates of the

Assembly of Vlorë The Assembly of Vlorë () was an Albanian assembly constituted during the All-Albanian Congress in Vlorë, on November 28, 1912. Background The All-Albanian Congress or ''Albanian National Congress'' or ''Albanian Independence Congress'' w ...

Biography

Syrja Bey was born 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 ...

, then in 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 ...

, today in

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 ...

in 1860. He was a member of the distinguished wealthy landowning Vlora family, historically successful through the ranks of Ottoman administration and military for almost 4 centuries. He was the brother of the

Grand Vizier Grand vizier (; ; ) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. It was first held by officials in the later Abbasid Caliphate. It was then held in the Ottoman Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Soko ...

Avlonyalı Ferid Paşa (1851-1914) and both were sons of Mustafa Pashë Vlora. Vlora was also related to

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 ...

, both being political rivals at the same time. He was married to the cousin of Essad Toptani. During the late Ottoman period, Vlora served as economic advisor to sultan

Abdul Hamid II Abdulhamid II or Abdul Hamid II (; ; 21 September 184210 February 1918) was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1876 to 1909, and the last sultan to exert effective control over the fracturing state. He oversaw a Decline and modernizati ...

. Before the creation of the Albanian state, he also held the positions of General Director of the Customs of the Ottoman Empire, and was a representative in the Ottoman Parliament from 1908. Vlora thought that, if Albanians were not ready for independence, a future autonomous Albania becoming a protectorate under

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

in the event of the collapse of the Ottoman Empire would be favorable. In 1911 Vlora wrote a chapter on Albanian history focusing on the Ottoman era and subjects like

Skanderbeg Gjergj Kastrioti (17 January 1468), commonly known as Skanderbeg, was an Albanians, Albanian Albanian nobility, feudal lord and military commander who led Skanderbeg's rebellion, a rebellion against the Ottoman Empire in what is today Albania, ...

and

Ali Pasha of Yanina Ali Pasha (1740 – 24 January 1822), commonly known as Ali Pasha of Yanina or Ali Pasha of Tepelena, was an Albanian ruler who served as Ottoman pasha of the Pashalik of Yanina, a large part of western Rumelia. Under his rule, it acquired a ...

in a book titled ''Musaver Arnavud'' (The Illustrated Albanian) in

Ottoman Turkish Ottoman Turkish (, ; ) was the standardized register of the Turkish language in the Ottoman Empire (14th to 20th centuries CE). It borrowed extensively, in all aspects, from Arabic and Persian. It was written in the Ottoman Turkish alphabet. ...

by Dervish Hima. In 1912 during the Albanian revolt and aftermath of the Ottoman parliamentary elections, Syrja Vlora parliamentarian for

Berat Berat (; sq-definite, Berati) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, ninth most populous city of Albania and the seat of Berat County and Berat Municipality. By air, it is north of Gjirokastër, west of Korçë, south of Tirana, and ea ...

and Essad Toptani for

Durrës Durrës ( , ; sq-definite, Durrësi) is the List of cities and towns in Albania#List, second most populous city of the Albania, Republic of Albania and county seat, seat of Durrës County and Durrës Municipality. It is one of Albania's oldest ...

represented the Albanian side in a parliamentary discussion with the

Young Turks The Young Turks (, also ''Genç Türkler'') formed as a constitutionalist broad opposition-movement in the late Ottoman Empire against the absolutist régime of Sultan Abdul Hamid II (). The most powerful organization of the movement, ...

. Both called for the cessation of government force and implementation of good governance to alleviate the situation in Albanian lands. After the Declaration of Independence of Albania during November 1912 in his home town, where he was a delegate for the

Përmet Përmet () is a List of cities and towns in Albania, town and Municipalities of Albania, municipality in Gjirokastër County, southern Albania. The municipality of Përmet consists of the administrative units of Çarçovë, Frashër, Petran, Qend� ...

region, he held minor political positions, known mainly as the Albanian Ambassador in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

in 1914. He was the father of the Albanian politician and scholar Ekrem Bey Vlora. Together they had negotiated for Albanian independence in Austria during the pre-independence European tour of Ismail Qemali. He died in 1940, 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 ...

References

Albanian diplomats 1860 births 1940 deaths People from Vlorë Politicians from the Ottoman Empire 19th-century Albanian politicians 20th-century Albanian politicians All-Albanian Congress delegates Vlora family Albanian people from the Ottoman Empire {{Albania-bio-stub