Turhan Pasha Përmeti

Turhan Pascha Përmeti, 3rd from right

Turhan Pascha Përmeti (* around 1839 ; † February 18, 1927 in Paris ) was an Albanian and Ottoman politician . He was head of government of Albania in 1914 and 1919 .

life and career

Before the independence of the Principality of Albania , Përmeti was governor of Crete for the Ottoman Empire in 1895 and 1896 (he spoke fluent Greek ), and in between was foreign minister. He was previously the Ottoman Ambassador to Rome from 1877 to 1880 and to Madrid from 1886 to 1894 . From 1904 to 1908 he was the "Minister for Vakëf " for many years . In the second constitutional period from 1908 Turhan Pasha became chairman of the State Council and in the same year ambassador to Saint Petersburg , which he remained until 1914.

For the first time, Përmeti was head of government of Albania from March 14 to September 1914. Although he was already over 70 years old and not particularly familiar with the current conditions in the country, the German Prince Wilhelm zu Wied, appointed Prince of Albania, made him his cabinet chairman. The Sunni was considered independent and not involved in the quarrels among Albanian politicians. The prince and princely government had little influence on the country. Their activities were soon limited to Durrës , as Muslim rebels controlled most of the country. With the outbreak of World War I , Albania was occupied by foreign troops. Përmeti spent the war years in Italy and Switzerland.

At the end of December 1918, representatives from all parts of the country met in Durrës. It was necessary to develop plans to preserve Albania's young independence, as troops from neighboring countries occupied Albania. Against the will of the Italians, a broad-based government was appointed in which all political and religious groups were represented. Përmeti was appointed its chairman. The most urgent goal was to represent Albanian interests in cooperation with the Italians at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 . Përmeti also headed the Albanian delegation in Paris, which was neither admitted to the negotiations nor could it win the support of the victorious powers. The five-member delegation decided to recognize an Italian protectorate over Albania in order to prevent the country from being divided. Përmeti resigned from the head of the delegation due to this decision. Italy subsequently agreed with Greece to cede southern areas of Albania. Because of this worrying development, representatives from all over Albania met again in January 1920 against the will of the government for the Lushnja Congress . The government of Përmeti was no longer trusted. In addition to many forward-looking decisions, the Congress also deposed the government in Durrës and elected a new one.

Turhan Përmeti died in Paris on February 18, 1927.

literature

• Peter Bartl: Albania. From the Middle Ages to the present . Pustet, Regensburg 1995, ISBN 3-7917-1451-1 ( Eastern and Southeastern Europe - history of countries and peoples ).
• Hasan Kaleshi: Përmeti, Turhan Pascha , in: Biographical Lexicon for the History of Southeast Europe . Vol. 3. Munich 1979, pp. 425-427

Web links

• www.worldstatesmen.org

Individual evidence

1. ^ Robert Elsie : A Biographical Dictionary of Albanian History . IB Tauris, London 2012, ISBN 978-1-78076-431-3 .
2. ^ Owen Pearson: Albania and King Zog . In: Albania in the Twentieth Century, a History . tape 1 . IB Tauris, London 2005, ISBN 1-84511-013-7 .

predecessor	Office	successor
Fejzi Alizoti	Prime Minister of Albania in 1914	Essad Pasha Toptani
Regency Council	Prime Minister of Albania 1918–1920	Sulejman Delvina