Ahmet Zogolli was born in Castle Burgajet,
Albania, third son to Xhemal Pasha Zogolli
and Sadijé Toptani. Zog was educated at
Galatasaray College in Constantinople [1].
His family was a beylik family, with feudal
authority over the region of Mat. The family
claimed descent from the Skanderbegs. Their
lands were in the same districts as
Skanderbeg's family's had been and certainly
the Zogu family had deep roots in
indigeneous clannish nobility, but no
historically attested genealogy has been
shown of his alleged lineage from Middle
Ages (as opposed to his wife's pedigree from
Albania).
Upon his father's death in 1911, Ahmet
Zogolli at age sixteen became governor of
Mat. He was appointed over his elder brother
Xhelal Bey, who had been deemed mentally
unfit.
As a young man during the First World War,
Zog supported the cause of Austria-Hungary.
He was detained at Vienna in 1917 and 1918
and in Rome in 1918 and 1919 before
returning to Albania in 1919. During his
time in Vienna, he grew to enjoy a Western
European lifestyle, and was rumoured to be
very popular among the Viennese women.
Upon his return, Zog became involved in the
political life of the fledgling Albanian
government that had been created in 1920. He
became leader of a major reformist party,
and his political supporters included many
southern feudal landowners (called beys,
Turkish for "village chieftain", the social
group to which he belonged) and noble
families in the north, along with merchants,
industrialists, and intellectuals. During
the early 1920s, Zog served as Governor of
Shkoder (1920-1), Minister of the Interior
(March-November 1920, 1921-1924), and chief
of the Albanian military (1921-1922). His
primary rivals were Luigj Gurakuqi and Fan
S. Noli.
It was a dangerous time to be an Albanian
politician. In 1923, Zog was shot and
wounded in parliament. A crisis arose in
1924 after the assassination of one of Zog's
industrialist opponent, Avni Rustemi (the
man who in 1920 assassinated Esad Pasha
Toptani ); in the aftermath, a leftist
revolt was raised by Noli, which forced Zog,
along with 600 of his allies, into exile in
June 1924. He returned to Albania with the
assistance of Yugoslav forces and
Yugoslavia-based White Russian troops, and
became Prime Minister.
President of Albania
Zog was officially elected to the post of
President of Albania by the Constituent
Assembly on January 21, 1925, taking office
on February 1. Zog's government followed the
European model, though large parts of
Albania still maintained a social structure
unchanged from the days of Ottoman rule, and
most villages were serf plantations run by
the beys. A Muslim himself, Zog's reforms
included the prohibition of veils and
prohibitions against cruelty to animals.
Zog's principal ally during this period was
Italy, which loaned his government funds in
exchange for a greater role in Albania's
fiscal policy. During Zog's presidency,
serfdom was gradually eliminated. For the
first time since the death of Skanderbeg,
Albania began to emerge as a nation, rather
than a feudal patchwork of local beyliks.
His administration was marred by disputes
with Kosovar leaders, primarily Hasan
Prishtina and Bajram Curri.
During his presidency, many referred to him
as "king", as they had no idea what the word
"president" meant
Albanian King
In September 1, 1928 Zogu was crowned King
of the Albanians "by the will of the people"
(Mbret i Shqiptareve in Albanian).
Afterwards he was also declared Field
Marshal of the Royal Albanian Army on
September 1, 1928. He proclaimed a
constitutional monarchy similar to the
contemporary regime in Italy. He created a
strong police force and instituted the
Zogist salute (flat hand over the heart with
palm facing downwards). He claimed to be a
successor of Skanderbeg, a lineage which was
correct to an extent. Zog hoarded gold coins
and precious stones, which were used to back
Albania's first paper currency.
Zog's mother, Sadijé, was declared Queen
Mother of the Albanians, and Zog also gave
his brother and sisters royal status as
Prince and Princesses Zogu. One of his
sisters, Senijé, Princess Zogu (1908-1969),
married His Imperial Highness Prince
Shehzade Mehmed Abid Efendi of Turkey, a son
of Sultan Abdul Hamid II. His only nephew,
Tati, was proclaimed His Highness Prince of
Kosovo; at this stage King Zog had no issue
and the Prince of Kosovo was being groomed
to succeed Zog.
Zog attempted to further reinforce his
regime's legitimacy by ruling as a
constitutional monarch. His kingdom's
constitution forbade any prince of the royal
house from serving as Prime Minister or a
member of the Cabinet and contained
provisions for the potential extinction of
the royal family. Ironically, in light of
later events, the constitution also forbade
the union of the Albanian throne with that
of any other country. Under the Zogist
constitution, the King of the Albanians,
like the King of the Belgians, exercised
royal powers only after taking an oath
before Parliament; Zog himself swore an oath
on the Bible and the Qur'an in an attempt to
unify the country.
Zog's regime brought stability to Albania
and the king organized an educational
system. He also attempted to modernize the
Albanian military, though the costs involved
in this project were high.
Life as king
Although born as an aristocrat and
hereditary bey, HM King Zog was somewhat
ignored by other monarchs in Europe because
he had no links to European royal
bloodlines, although he did have strong
connections with Muslim Royal families in
the Middle-East and Egypt. As King he was,
however, honoured by the governments of
Italy, Luxembourg, Egypt, Yugoslavia,
France, Rumania, Greece, Belgium, Bulgaria,
Hungary, Poland, Czechoslovakia and Austria
[[2]]. In the absence of nightclubs or
theatre in Tirana, the king spent much of
his time playing poker, usually with his
sisters. He was also a great lover of
perfumed cigarettes, and smoked about 150 a
day. His household expenses made up nearly
two percent of the national budget.
Zog had been engaged to the daughter of
Shefqet Bey Verlaci before he became king.
Soon after his coronation, however, he broke
off the engagement. According to traditional
customs of blood vengeance prevalent in
Albania at the time, Verlaci had the right
to kill Zog. The king made more than a few
enemies - rumour had it that he was the
subject of over 600 blood vendettas in
addition to Verlaci's - and he frequently
surrounded himself with a personal guard and
avoided public appearances. He also feared
that he might be poisoned, so the Queen
Mother assumed supervision of the royal
kitchen.
During his reign he is said to have survived
over 55 assassination attempts. One of these
occurred in 1931 while Zog was visiting a
Vienna opera house for a performance of
Pagliacci. The attackers struck whilst Zog
was getting into his car, and he survived by
drawing his own pistol (which he always
carried) and firing back at his would-be
assassins. This is the only occasion in
modern history when a Head of State has
returned fire with potential assassins.
In April 1938, Zog married Countess
Geraldine Apponyi de Nagy-Apponyi, a Roman
Catholic aristocrat who was half Hungarian
and half American. Their only child, HRH
Crown Prince Leka Zogu, was born in Albania
on April 5, 1939. |
Zog I, Skanderbeg III of Albania (born Ahmet Zogolli, later
changed to Ahmet Zogu) (October 8, 1895 April 9, 1961) was
King of Albania from 1928 to 1939. He was previously Prime
Minister of Albania between 1922 and 1924 and President of
Albania between 1925 and 1928.
