Beqir Valteri (

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

: ''Beqir Valteri''; 6 January 1892 – 14 April 1945) was an

politician and nationalist who held Republican and Fascist ideas. In the 1920s he was a supporter of

Fan Noli Theofan Stilian Noli, known as Fan Noli (6 January 1882 – 13 March 1965), was an Albanian Americans, Albanian-American writer, scholar, diplomat, politician, historian, orator, bishop, and founder of the Albanian Orthodox Church and the Albania ...

. He was the first assassin of Ahmet Zogu. In the 1940s, he became a member of the Albanian Fascist Party; after the communists came to power, he was tried by the

Special Court An extraordinary court, or special court, is a type of court that is established outside of ordinary judiciary, composed of irregularly selected judges or applying irregular procedure for judgment. Since extraordinary courts can be abused to infr ...

that sentenced him to death.

Early life

Valteri was born into a family of German origin (it is widely believed that his ancestor were invited by Skanderbeg as specialists to help manufacture weapons). He received his education in Italy. He was a supporter of Albanian independence and the republican movement of Fan Noli. He was a deputy of the first Albanian parliament in 1920–1923.

Assassination attempt on Zogu

On February 23, 1924, Valteri tried to assassinate Prime Minister

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 ...

, leader of the conservative forces, later King of Albania. At the entrance to the parliament building, Valteri fired three bullets, all three bullets hit around Zogu, but not a single wound was fatal. Valteri barricaded himself in one of the rooms and engaged in a shootout with the gendarmes, singing patriotic songs, until the deputies convinced him to surrender. After a short time, he was released (Zogu met him in custody). The story of Valteri's attempt on Zogu's life is controversy with ambiguities. In several sources, the attacker is named as a young man of 16–18 years old, while Valteri was over 30 by that time. Many questions were raised by the quick release of Valteri who committed the terrorist attack (this course of action was not typical for Zog to do). It remains unclear whether there was a connection between the actions of Valteri and the anti-Zogist leader

Avni Rustemi Avni Rustemi (26 September 1895 – 22 April 1924) was an Albanian patriot, revolutionary, teacher, activist and member of the Albanian parliament. Rustemi was the leader of numerous patriotic societies and associations and also a member o ...

, who was killed in a conspiracy by conservative Zogu supporters two months later.

Collaboration with the axis

Valteri moved to Italy, where he became fascinated with the ideas of

fascism Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...

. Returned to Albania during the Italian occupation. He was a member of the

Albanian Fascist Party The Albanian Fascist Party (, or PFSh) was a fascist Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcibl ...

and served in the Fascist militia. In 1944, when the Italian occupation ended paving the for the German occupation, Valteri founded the nationalist Great Albanian Fatherland Party. He was a member of the collaborationist parliament. He opposed Albanian communists. Valteri was at odds with Social Democrat

Musine Kokalari Musine Kokalari (10 February 1917 – 13 August 1983) was an Albanians, Albanian prose writer and politician in Albania's pre-communist period. She was the founder of the Social Democratic Party of Albania (1943), Social-Democratic Party of Alban ...

. She noted in her memoirs that it was under the German occupation and the growing war in Albania, that she blamed Valteri and many others. Especially

Right-wing Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...

and

Anti-communists Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism, communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global ...

as responsible for the large chaos. Valteri lived in Tirana before his execution.

Trial and execution

After the communists came to power in November 1944, Beqir Valteri was arrested in March 1945, as part of a large group of anti-communist politicians, he appeared before the

. On April 13, 1945, Valteri was sentenced to death and executed by firing squad the next day in

Tirana Tirana ( , ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in Albania, largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills, with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest ov ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valteri, Beqir 1882 births 1945 deaths Albanian anti-communists Albanian fascists Albanian activists Albanian nationalists Albanian people of German descent