Mujo Ulqinaku (born Muhamet Cakuli; 1896 – 7 April 1939) 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 ...

sergeant of the Royal Albanian Navy, known for his resistance on 7 April 1939 to the

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

forces during the

Italian invasion of Albania The Italian invasion of Albania was a brief military campaign which was launched by Fascist Italy, Italy against Albanian Kingdom (1928–1939), Albania in 1939. The conflict was a result of the imperialistic policies of the Italian prime m ...

. He was given the People's Hero of Albania award posthumously.

Life

Mujo Ulqinaku was born in 1896 in

Ulcinj Ulcinj () is a town in the Coastal Montenegro, Coastal region of Montenegro and the capital of Ulcinj Municipality. It has an urban population of 11,488. As one of the oldest settlements in the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic coast, it was founded in 5th ...

, in the

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 ...

, now modern

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

, to a family of merchant sailors. In his teens he joined the commercial fleet in

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 ...

and

Lezhë Lezhë (, sq-definite, Lezha) is a List of cities and towns in Albania, city in the Republic of Albania and seat of Lezhë County and Lezhë Municipality. It is one of Albania's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously i ...

. Later he served in the Albanian navy, based in

Durrës Durrës ( , ; sq-definite, Durrësi) is the List of cities and towns in Albania#List, second most populous city of the Albania, Republic of Albania and county seat, seat of Durrës County and Durrës Municipality. It is one of Albania's oldest ...

, with the rank of sergeant, commanding the patrol boat ''Tiranë''. He was one of the few officers of the Royal Albanian Navy who tried to stop the

. Armed only with a machine gun, he was placed in the center of the defense line where he killed and wounded dozens of Italian soldiers. He was killed by an artillery shell from an Italian

torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of ...

in the last hour of the battle.

Legacy

Ulqinaku is memorialized by a monument in front of

Durrës Castle Durrës Castle () is the fortified old city of Durrës, Albania. It is enclosed by city walls built in the late 5th century, and repaired and reinforced in the Middle Ages and early modern periods. History The castle was built by the Byzantine ...

. A grammar school in Durrës and streets 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 ...

and

Pristina Pristina or Prishtina ( , ), . is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. It is the administrative center of the eponymous municipality and District of Pristina, district. In antiquity, the area of Pristina was part of the Dardanian Kingdo ...

bear his name. A documentary on his life and actions, "" (), was released in 1979 by Kinostudio Shqipëria e Re. Busti i Mujo Ulqinakut

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ulqinaku, Mujo 1896 births 1939 deaths 20th-century Albanian military personnel Heroes of Albania People from Ulcinj Albanians in Montenegro Military personnel killed in action