Ekrem

Bey Bey ( ota, بك, beğ, script=Arab, tr, bey, az, bəy, tk, beg, uz, бек, kz, би/бек, tt-Cyrl, бәк, translit=bäk, cjs, пий/пек, sq, beu/bej, sh, beg, fa, بیگ, beyg/, tg, бек, ar, بك, bak, gr, μπέης) is ...

Libohova (24 February 1882 – 7 June 1948) was an Albanian politician and

Axis An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to: Mathematics * Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis * Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinat ...

collaborator. He served as the

Prime Minister of Albania The Prime Minister of Albania ( sq, Kryeministri i Shqipërisë), officially styled Prime Minister of the Republic of Albania ( sq, Kryeministri i Republikës së Shqipërisë), is the head of government of the Republic of Albania and the mo ...

on two occasions during the

Italian occupation of Albania Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Political career

He was born in

Gjirokastër Gjirokastër (, sq-definite, Gjirokastra) is a city in the Republic of Albania and the seat of Gjirokastër County and Gjirokastër Municipality. It is located in a valley between the Gjerë mountains and the Drino, at 300 metres above sea ...

and educated in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

and

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

. His brother was

Mufid Libohova Mufid Bey Libohova (1876 in Libohovë – 1927 in Sarandë) was an Albanian economist, diplomat and politician and one of the delegates at the Assembly of Vlorë (28 November 1912) where the Albanian Declaration of Independence took place. ...

, who was Minister of the Interior in the

Provisional Government of Albania The Provisional Government of Albania ( sq, Qeveria e Përkohshme e Shqipërisë) was the first government of Albania, created by the Assembly of Vlorë on 4 December 1912. It was a paternal government, led by Ismail Qemali, until his resignati ...

. 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 Zog I ( sq, Naltmadhnija e tij Zogu I, Mbreti i Shqiptarëve, ; 8 October 18959 April 1961), born Ahmed Muhtar bey Zogolli, taking the name Ahmet Zogu in 1922, was the leader of Albania from 1922 to 1939. At age 27, he first served as Albania's ...

. 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 ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. 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 ...

'' at the

Vienna State Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is an opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by August ...

, 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 Kostaq Kotta, also known as Koço Kotta (5 May 1886 – 1 September 1947), was an Albanian politician and twice prime minister during the reign of King Zog, who took a pro-Italian right-wing stance. Biography He was educated in Greece and Ita ...

, Libohova was Albania's foreign minister. After the

Italian invasion of Albania The Italian invasion of Albania (April 7–12, 1939) 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 ...

, 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, premier 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. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

. As Germany invaded Albania to replace the Italians, Libohova and Italian General

Alberto Pariani Alberto is the Romance version of the Latinized form (''Albertus'') of Germanic '' Albert''. It is used in Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. The diminutive forms are ''Albertito'' in Spain or ''Albertico'' in some parts of Latin America, Albe ...

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