Ekrem Bey Libohova (24 February 1882 – 7 June 1948) was an Albanian politician and Axis collaborator. He served as the Prime Minister of Albania on two occasions during the Italian occupation of Albania.

Political career

He was born in

Gjirokastër Gjirokastër (, sq-definite, Gjirokastra) is a List of cities and towns in Albania, city in Southern Albania, southern Albania and the seat of Gjirokastër County and Gjirokastër Municipality. It is located in a valley between the Gjerë moun ...

and educated in

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 ...

and

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

. His brother was Mufid Libohova, who was Minister of the Interior in the Provisional Government of Albania. Early in his political career, Libohova served as the Albanian Minister to Rome. In 1924, while serving in this role, Libohova helped negotiate the creation of the Bank of Albania. He was joined by his brother, Mufid. In 1929, he became a minister of court to Zog I. Libohova was described as an "Italophile" by other members of Albania's political class during his time as minister to the court. On 26 January 1931, he joined King Zog on a trip to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. On 20 February, after attending a showing of ''

Pagliacci ''Pagliacci'' (; literal translation, 'Clowns') is an Italian opera in a prologue and two acts, with music and libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo. The opera tells the tale of Canio, actor and leader of a commedia dell'arte theatrical company, who mu ...

'' at the Vienna State Opera, Libohova was injured in an assassination attempt against the King. Zog, Libohova, and their chauffeur returned fire on the attempted assassins, Aziz Çami and Ndok Gjeloshi. Libohova was shot in the leg and a bullet went through his hat; the King was unharmed. During the 1936-1939 government of Kostaq Kotta, Libohova was Albania's foreign minister. After the Italian invasion of Albania, he left the country for

but returned to serve in the government of the Italian protectorate. From January 19 to February 13, 1943, and from May 12 to September 8, 1943, Libohova served as

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

. As Germany invaded Albania to replace the Italians, Libohova and Italian General Alberto Pariani escaped for Italy. Libohova died in Rome on 7 June 1948.

References

1882 births 1948 deaths People from Gjirokastër People from Janina vilayet Albanian Fascist Party politicians Government ministers of Albania Prime ministers of Albania State auditors of Albania Members of the Chamber of Fasces and Corporations Albanian collaborators with Fascist Italy Albanian fascists Ambassadors of Albania to Italy Ambassadors of Albania to France {{Albania-politician-stub