Abdurrahman Dibra (1885 – 1961) was an

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 ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. He was born in

Debar Debar ( ; , sq-definite, Dibra or Dibra e Madhe) is a city in the western part of North Macedonia, near the border with Albania, off the road from Struga to Gostivar. It is the seat of Debar Municipality. Debar has an ethnic Albanian majorit ...

in modern-day

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

. He served under various ministries of the Albanian government including Minister of Finance. In the early 1910s as an Ottoman governor of the area of Neveska (modern ''Nymphaio'') he instigated the assassination of the guerrilla leader

Spiro Bellkameni Spiro Bellkameni (1885-1912) was an Albanian kachak, revolutionary and activist of the Albanian National Awakening. He led one of the most important bands during the Albanian revolts of the 1900-1910s. Bellkameni's band operated around south-easte ...

Life

Abdurrahman Dibra was born in 1885 in the city of Dibra, today North Macedonia, where his father Elmaz Dibra, at that time served as treasurer of the Municipality. Of Elmaz Dibra's three sons, only the eldest, Abdurrahman, became famous for his political activity, while the other two, Xhevdeti and Rahimi, had a life quite different from that of their brother. After finishing primary school in his hometown, Abdurrahman continued his secondary education in the city of Monastir (today Bitola) and then went to the capital of the Ottoman Empire, to pursue higher studies. He enrolled in

Mekteb-i Mülkiye The Faculty of Political Science of the University of Ankara (, more simply known as "''SBF''") is the oldest institution of administrative sciences in Turkey. It is the successor of the "Mekteb-i Mülkiye" ('), also known simply as "Mülkiye," wh ...

(modern Faculty of Political Sciences of Ankara University), which he graduated with honors in 1907 as one of the best students of that branch. Seeing his high results, the

Sublime Porte The Sublime Porte, also known as the Ottoman Porte or High Porte ( or ''Babıali''; ), was a synecdoche or metaphor used to refer collectively to the central government of the Ottoman Empire in Istanbul. It is particularly referred to the buildi ...

appointed him to the local Ottoman administration and after a short time by decree of the Sultan, he was appointed to the post of deputy prefect of

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 ...

. During the years that Abdurrahman studied in Istanbul, he stayed in a room with a compatriot boy from Mati,

Ahmet Zogu Zog I (born Ahmed Muhtar Zogolli; 8 October 18959 April 1961) 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 ...

, who was ten years younger than him. Since then they developed a close friendship with each other, and in 1920 when Zogu was appointed Minister of the Interior, he called on Abdurrahman to leave Istanbul and return to Albania, which already had declared independence in 1912 from the Ottoman Empire. Abdurrahman responded positively to his invitation and in the spring of 1920, he went to Albania and immediately met with Zog.

Notes

Albanian politicians 1885 births 1961 deaths People from Manastir vilayet People from Debar Mekteb-i Mülkiye alumni {{Albania-politician-stub