Mirash Ivanaj (12 March 1891–22 September 1953) was an

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 ...

politician, minister and school director, famous for his role in reforming education system in Albania.

Life

Mirash Ivanaj was born on 12 March 1891, in

Podgorica Podgorica ( cnr-Cyrl, Подгорица; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Montenegro, largest city of Montenegro. The city is just north of Lake Skadar and close to coastal destinations on the Adriatic Sea. Histor ...

Principality of Montenegro The Principality of Montenegro () was a principality in Southeastern Europe that existed from 13 March 1852 to 28 August 1910. It was then proclaimed a Kingdom of Montenegro, kingdom by Nikola I of Montenegro, Nikola I, who then became King of M ...

, in an

family which had migrated there from Begaj- Triesh region. Ivanaj finished high school in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

in 1910 and later went 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 ...

where he studied in the University of Rome where he laureated in two branches, in Philosophy-Literature and Law. In 1923 he came back to Albania where together with his cousin

Nikollë Ivanaj Nikolla bey Ivanaj or Nikollë Ivanaj (1879 – 1951) was an Albanian journalist, publisher and writer from Montenegro. He was considered one of the "distinguished personalities of the most conscious Albanian nationalism" and was included in Alba ...

, published the newspaper "Bashkimi".Mirash Ivanaj; lost in dictatorship by Phd. Iljaz Gogaj, "Standart " Newspaper, September 13, 2008 (in Albanian)
/ref> When the June Revolution of 1924 led by

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 ...

gave the power to the opposition forces in Albanian Parliament, Ivanaj left the country. He came back in the end of 1924 when

Ahmet Zog Zog I (born Ahmed Muhtar Zogolli; 8 October 18959 April 1961) was the leader of Albanian Kingdom (1928–1939), Albania from 1922 to 1939. At age 27, he first served as Albania's youngest ever Prime Minister of Albania, Prime Minister (1922–1 ...

returned to power. He was appointed director of

Shkodër Shkodër ( , ; sq-definite, Shkodra; historically known as Scodra or Scutari) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, fifth-most-populous city of Albania and the seat of Shkodër County and Shkodër Municipality. Shkodër has been List of o ...

High School and due to his growing reputation he became Minister of Education in 1933. At that period the education system was rather chaotic. Ivanaj tried to homogenize it. He began nationalizing foreign schools and Albanian government was put under pressure for his policy, especially from Italian fascist government. In September 1934 he introduced the new law on Education making elementary education as obligatory for five years. He created also various secondary education Institutes. The "Education Law", nicknamed ''"Ivanaj's Law"'' was the most important and complete law of Albania in that period. Its purpose was to create an integrated national educational system in Albania. In summer 1935 he resigned from his post when he realized that he could not achieve what he wanted with limitation of the budget for the education. He was appointed head of Council of State, a post he kept until the occupation of Albania from Italy in April 1939. Together with his friends

Safet Butka Safet Butka (10 August 190119 September 1943) was an Albanian professor, politician and nationalist. Son of famous patriot Sali Butka, he organized the student demonstrations in April 1939 during the Italian invasion and was interned in Ventote ...

and

Qemal Butka Qemal Butka (1907 – November 28, 1997) was an Albanian architect, painter, politician, and postage stamps engraver. He was mayor of Tirana from 1935-1936 but departed from Albania in 1939 to live in Turkey and later the United States. He is al ...

he mobilized the Albanian students in protests prior to Italian invasion. When the country was occupied, together with Qemal Butka and his brother Martin Ivanaj, he left for Turkey. During his migration in various countries he lost his brother. In October 1945 he returned to Albania. At first he was welcomed by

Enver Hoxha Enver Halil Hoxha ( , ; ; 16 October 190811 April 1985) was an Albanian communist revolutionary and politician who was the leader of People's Socialist Republic of Albania, Albania from 1944 until his death in 1985. He was the Secretary (titl ...

and he was appointed teacher at Tirana High School, an institute created by Ivanaj itself when he was a Minister. In May 1947 he was arrested and was sentenced to seven years in prison on accusations of being an ''"Imperialist agent"''. He died on 22 September 1953 in Tirana Hospital during a simple operation, a few days from his release date. In 1995 a foundation named after him and his brother, the "Martin and Mirash Ivanaj Foundation", was created with the intention to promote education among Albanian youth.Martin and Mirash Ivanaj Foundation
/ref>

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ivanaj, Mirash 1891 births 1953 deaths Albanian activists Politicians from Podgorica Montenegrin expatriates in Albania Government ministers of Albania Education ministers of Albania Albanian expatriates in Egypt Albanians in Montenegro Sapienza University of Rome alumni