The Albanian Republic (Albanian: Republika Shqiptare) was the official name of Albania as enshrined in the Constitution of 1925. Albania came into an alliance with the Kingdom of Italy after signing the Treaties of Tirana, which gave Italy a monopoly on shipping and trade concessions.[1] Albania was declared a constitutional monarchy in 1928. Upon its inception, Italy demanded to be allies with the republic. This was done largely to increase Italy's influence in the Balkans, and to aid Italian and Albanian security in their territorial feuds with the Second Hellenic Republic and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes.
After defeating Fan Noli's government, Ahmet Zogu recalled parliament in order to find a solution for the uncrowned Principality of Albania, which had been de facto lacking a head of State ever since Prince Wilhelm had departed the country in 1914. The Parliament quickly adopted a new constitution that named Albania as a parliamentary republic, with a president serving as head of state and government. The president was vested with near-dictatorial powers. He could appoint and dismiss ministers, veto legislation, name all major administrative personnel, and choose a third of the Senate's members.
On January 31, 1925, Zogu was elected president for a term of seven years by the National Assembly, prior to his proclamation as King of Albanians. He ruled Albania using four military governors and appointed clan chieftains as reserve army officers who were kept on call to protect the regime against domestic or foreign threats. He also maintained good relations with Benito Mussolini's fascist regime in Italy and supported Italy's foreign policy.
In early 1925, a series of reforms focused on the economy were initiated, but results were mixed. Some of the reforms included organizing private initiatives in industry, construction, and transportation. That same year, the first Albanian coin, the Albanian Gold Franga, was minted. Foreign capital was introduced as a part of the official policy of the government, but the aim of Zogu's regime was actually to strengthen personal power, and to enrich his supporters. The foreign capital, loans and other forms, was used as a tool to provide income for the regime and was later used for overcoming economic crises.
The reforms came at the price of personal freedom. Zogu's regime was a police state in which opposition was not tolerated, and civil liberties were all but nonexistent. The press was also strictly censored during the regime.
Fourteen new societies were created at about this time, with an initial capital of 7.6 million gold francs, about 28% more than the capital of the societies in the period 1921-1924. In 1928, the number of enterprises reached 127, and domestic capital was six times greater than in 1927, while the economy began to stabilise.
In 1925, the Albanian National Bank was created and was awarded concessions to Italian investors. The Albanian state had a 49% share of the bank, while Italy had a 51% share. Under these conditions, Italy gained a stronger position in Albania. During the 1925-1928 period, the Albanian government also significantly increased its costs.
In 1925, the SVEA society (Society for the Economic Development of Albania) was established, helping to facilitate a loan to Albania worth 50 million gold francs. In 1927, the loan was estimated at 65 million gold francs. Annual interest for this 40-year loan was 7.5%. Repayment amounts consisted of 30%-40% of the entire country's income.[2]
In 1925, agreements between Albanian financial agencies (such as SVEA) and Italian financial groups, financed 96.4% of the road building projects in Albania. These loans were not exclusively for the country's immediate economic needs, but to create conditions for further penetration of foreign capital into the country. Government departmental responsibilities were also shuffled to increase road-building.
In 1928, fiefdoms occupied an area of 200,000 hectares (100,000 were private fiefdoms). Berat was the city with the largest number of fiefdoms, with about 36,000.
Infrastructure was poorly maintained during this period. Roads could only carry lighter vehicles, while poorly maintained bridges hampered car transport. Maritime transport was primarily conducted by foreign companies. Mail air transport was operated by Italians. Trade was the largest element of the economy, and during this time the circulation of goods grew. Raw materials and livestock were the main exports.[citation needed]
Many Italian, English, French, and American companies began to do business in the Albanian market, and they were helped by trade agreements or through direct investment.[citation needed]
Italy's position was further strengthened by the Maritime Trade Treaty, which gave the state the status of "most favored nation". This legalized the Italian monopoly on foreign trade.[citation needed]
In return for aiding Zogu's invasion, Belgrade expected repayment in the form of territory and influence in Tirana. Although Zogu promised Belgrade frontier concessions before the invasion, the Albanian leader continued to press Albania's own territorial claims. On July 30, 1925, the two nations signed an agreement returning the Monastery of Saint Naum on Lake Ohrid, and other disputed borderlands, to the Yugoslavia. Yugoslavia, however, never reaped the dividends it hoped for when it invested in Zogu. He shunned Belgrade and turned Albania toward Italy for protection.
Italian advocates of territorial expansion in Albania gained strength in October 1922 when Benito Mussolini took power in Rome. His fascist supporters undertook an unabashed program aimed at establishing a new Roman empire in the Mediterranean region that would rival Britain and France. Mussolini saw Albania as a foothold in the Balkans, and after the war the Great Powers effectively recognized an Italian protectorate over Albania.
In May 1925, Italy began a penetration into Albania's national life that would culminate fourteen years later in its occupation and annexation of Albania. The first major step in this process was an agreement between Rome and Tirana that allowed Italy to exploit Albania's mineral resources. Soon, Albania's parliament agreed to allow the Italians to found the Albanian National Bank, which acted as the Albanian treasury even though its main office was in Rome, and Italian banks effectively controlled it. The Albanians also awarded Italian shipping companies a monopoly on freight and passenger transport to and from Albania.
In late 1925, the Italian-backed Society for the Economic Development of Albania began to lend the Albanian government funds at high-interest rates for transportation, agriculture, and public-works projects, including Zogu's palace. In the end, the loans turned out to be subsidies.
In mid-1926, Italy set out to extend its political influence in Albania, asking Tirana to recognize Rome's special interest in Albania and accept Italian instructors in the army and police. Zogu resisted until an uprising in the northern mountains pressured the Albanian leader to conclude the First Treaty of Tirana with the Italians on November 27, 1926. In the treaty, both states agreed not to conclude any agreements with any other states prejudicial to their mutual interests. The agreement, in effect, guaranteed Zogu's political position in Albania, as well as the country's territorial integrity.
In November 1927, Albania and Italy entered into a defensive alliance, the Second Treaty of Tirana, which brought an Italian general and about forty officers to train the Albanian army. Italian military experts soon began instructing paramilitary youth groups. Tirana also allowed the Italian navy access to the port of Vlorë, and the Albanians received large deliveries of armaments from Italy.
Transition to monarchy
In 1928, President Zogu secured the parliament's consent to its own dissolution.[how?] A new constituent assembly amended the constitution making Albania a kingdom and transforming Zogu into Zog I, "King of the Albanians". International recognition arrived forthwith. The new constitution abolished the Albanian Senate and created a unicameral Assembly. Although nominally a constitutional monarch, in practice King Zog retained the dictatorial powers he had held as President Zogu. Civil liberties remained more or less nonexistent, and political opponents were frequently imprisoned and killed. Thus, for all intents and purposes, Albania remained a military dictatorship or, more properly, an absolute monarchy.[3]
During classical antiquity, Albania was home to several Illyrian tribes such as the Albanoi, Ardiaei, Bylliones, Dassaretii, Enchele, Labeatae, Taulantii, Parthini, Penestae, Amantes, and many others, but also Bryges and Epirote tribes, as well as several Greek colonies established on the Illyrian coast in cooperation with the local Illyrians, notably Epidamnos-Dyrrhachium and Apollonia.
Zog I was the leader of Albania from 1922 to 1939. At age 27, he first served as Albania's youngest ever Prime Minister (1922–1924), then as president (1925–1928), and finally as king (1928–1939).
The Vlora War was a military conflict in the Vlorë region of Albania between the Kingdom of Italy and Albanian nationalists. The war ended with Albanian nationalists forcing Italy to abandon its plans to make Albania a mandate and ceding Vlorë to Albania. Italy retained diplomatic protection over Albania to ensure its independence, while annexing the island of Saseno. The armistice agreement was ratified a year later by the Conference of Ambassadors of the League of Nations. The Vlora War is considered an important moment in the history of Albanian independence.
Omer Nishani was an Albanian medical doctor and political figure involved first in the struggle against Ahmet Zogu in the 1920s and 1930s, and then in the struggle against the fascist occupation of Albania during the 1942–44 period, becoming Chairman of the Presidium of the People's Assembly of the People's Republic of Albania in 1946 and serving in this position until 1953.
The present Constitution of the Republic of Albania was adopted by the Parliament of Albania on 21 October 1998 and certified by presidential decree on 28 November 1998, following a failed referendum which was boycotted by the opposition. It is split up over many different acts. The document succeeded the 1976 Constitution, originally adopted at the creation of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania on 28 December 1976 and heavily amended on 29 April 1991.
The Albanian Kingdom was the official name of Albania between 1928 and 1939. Albania was declared a monarchy by the Constituent Assembly, and President Ahmet Bej Zogu was declared King Zog I. The kingdom was supported by the fascist regime in Italy, and the two countries maintained close relations until Italy's sudden invasion of the country in 1939. Zog fled into exile and never saw his country again. The Communist Party of Labor of Albania gained control of the country toward the end of World War II, established a communist government, and formally deposed Zog.
The Principality of Albania was a short-lived monarchy in Albania, headed by Wilhelm, Prince of Albania, that lasted from the Treaty of London of 1913 which ended the First Balkan War, through the invasions of Albania during World War I and the subsequent disputes over Albanian independence during the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, until 1925, when the monarchy was abolished and the Albanian Republic declared.
The Italian protectorate of Albania, also known as the Kingdom of Albania or Greater Albania, existed as a puppet state and protectorate of Fascist Italy. It was practically a union between Italy and Albania, officially led by Italian King Victor Emmanuel III and its government: Albania was led by Italian governors, after being militarily occupied by Italy, from 1939 until 1943. During this time, Albania ceased to exist as an independent country and became an autonomous part of the Italian Empire. Officials intended to make Albania part of a Greater Italy by assimilating Albanians as Italians and colonizing Albania with Italian settlers from the Italian Peninsula to transform it gradually into an Italian land.
The Italian invasion of Albania was a brief military campaign which was launched by the Kingdom of Italy against the Albanian Kingdom in 1939. The conflict was a result of the imperialistic policies of the Italian prime minister and dictator Benito Mussolini. Albania was rapidly overrun, its ruler King Zog I went into exile in neighboring Greece, and the country was made a part of the Italian Empire as a protectorate in personal union with the Italian Crown.
The Italian colonists in Albania were Italians who, between the two World Wars, moved to Albania to colonize the Balkan country for the Kingdom of Italy.
Tefik Selim Mborja was an Albanian politician and lawyer. He served as the general secretary of the Albanian Fascist Party during the Second World War.
The Zogu I Boulevard or Boulevard Zog I was the first and the only boulevard at that time and is a major boulevard in Tirana, Albania, named after Zog I of Albania, the King of Albania who ruled the country between 1925 and 1939.
The Presidential Palace, formerly the Royal Palace and popularly known as the Palace of Brigades, is the official residence of the president of Albania. The palace was commissioned by King Zog I of the Albanians to serve as his main official residence.
The Ministry of Finances and Economy is a department of the Albanian Government, responsible for matters relating to economic policy, the central government budget, taxes, banking, security and insurance, international economic work, central, regional and local government.
Qazim Mulleti (1893–1956) was an Albanian politician, nationalist and mayor of Tirana from 1939 through 1940 and its prefect from 1942 to 1944.
Ceno Kryeziu (1895–1927), also known as Ceno beg (Bey) Jakova, was an Albanian political figure of the 1910s, 1920s. He was a member of the notable Kryeziu family from Gjakova, known to be trusted by Yugoslav authorities inside Albanian political circles.
Albania has an embassy in Rome and two general consulates in Bari and Milan. Italy has an embassy in Tirana and a general consulate in Vlorë.
The Treaties of Tirana were signed in Tirana between Albania and Italy in the 1920s, bringing Albania into the Italian sphere of influence and gradually turning the Albania state into a de facto protectorate of Italy.
After the First World War, Albania was in a meagre state, suffering from lack of proper investment into public infrastructure and next to no industrial enterprises that were profitable to the Albanian state. With Albania not having a sufficient industrial base, it had a big trade deficit which was sought to be solved with protectionism, with foreign workers being banned in March of 1925, exports of meat and poultry being banned in the same month and export of corn, barley, and wheat being banned in May of 1929, to name some examples.
References
History of [the?] Albanian People, Albanian Academy of Science. ISBN99927-1-623-1.
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