Omer Nishani
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Omer Nishani (5 February 1887 – 26 May 1954) was an Albanian medical doctor and political figure involved first in the struggle against Ahmet Zogu (known after 1928 as King Zog) in the 1920s and 1930s, and then in the struggle against the fascist occupation of Albania during the 1942–44 period, becoming Chairman of the Presidium of the People's Assembly of the
People's Republic of Albania The People's Socialist Republic of Albania, () was the Marxist-Leninist state that existed in Albania from 10 January 1946 to the 29 April 1991. Originally founded as the People's Republic of Albania from 1946 to 1976, it was governed by the P ...
(thereby becoming the country's
head of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...
) in 1946 and serving in this position until 1953.


Biography

Omer 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 ...
in the
Janina Vilayet The Vilayet of Janina, Yanya or Ioannina () was a first-level administrative division (vilayet) of the Ottoman Empire, established in 1867. In the late 19th century, it reportedly had an area of .
of the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
. His brother, Beso, was a teacher whose students included a young
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 ...
(also a native of Gjirokastër). Nishani studied medicine 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 ...
, graduating but not practicing it as a profession. He worked as a physician in
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
and from 1915 to 1918, worked in Ballsh. He moved to
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 ...
in the Tirana Hospital and then 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 ...
until 1924. In the early 1920s he involved himself in politics. He participated in an assassination attempt on Ahmet Zogu in 1924 and served two weeks in prison. Later, he supported the June Revolution of Fan S. Noli whose forces in 1924 overthrew the conservative order backed by Ahmet Zogu and established a democratic government. Nishani participated in a trial held against Zogu ''
in absentia ''In Absentia'' is the seventh studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, first released on 24 September 2002. The album marked several changes for the band, with it being the first with new drummer Gavin Harrison and the f ...
''. After the downfall of the government in December that same year, Nishani fled abroad and co-founded the anti-Zogu and
Comintern The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern and also known as the Third International, was a political international which existed from 1919 to 1943 and advocated world communism. Emerging from the collapse of the Second Internatio ...
-backed KONARE (National Revolutionary Committee) in 1925, helping to run its newspaper ''Liria Kombëtare'' (''National Freedom'') together with the Albanian Communist Halim Xhelo from 1925 to 1932 in
Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
. He settled in Vienna and married an Austrian, Rozvita von Woler. While in exile, He was sentenced to death in Albania. After 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 ...
in 1939 Nishani returned to the country and initially joined the collaborationist government's Council of State which comprised various personalities opposed to King Zog. Nishani, who had known Enver Hoxha's father, Halil, was visited by Hoxha (who was then head of the Communist Party of Albania and leader of the partisan resistance) and remarked that, "We old fogies have had our day, long live the youth, because you are the hope of the country. I haven't done anything much, but I fought Zog as much as I could. And I had good comrades on the newspaper who helped me in that direction. I did not give up, but what was I to do, die in exile? I was longing to see the country and my people. I came back, but these fascists and occupiers and all the rogues who serve them like dogs, I hate them like death. But you are going to say, then why did you join the 'Council of State'? I had to, because I have nothing to live on and I have a wife to keep. So this is what I am reduced to." He quickly grew disenchanted with the post-Zog occupation and regarded involvement in the quisling government as a mistake; in this same conversation he said that "everybody knows that fascism cuts the heads of communists. I am not a communist, but I have lived and worked with them, I have respected them and they have respected me. I shall tell you one thing: for you the road is not strewn with flowers, but go on, fight, because only by fighting you will save Albania." After convincing Nishani to involve himself in what the Communists termed the Anti-Fascist National Liberation War, Hoxha noted that, "Omer Nishani kept his word and worked in Tirana as a zealous activist of the National Liberation Movement. And when the moments required him, the comrades and I talked it over and we thought that he would be valuable in the work of the General Council as a mature, patriotic and cultured man for the work of propaganda, the organization of the state, etc. We sent him word and the doctor left Tirana for the mountains where he stayed until the country was liberated." Nishani became a member of the National Liberation Movement upon its formation in September 1942. In September 1943 Nishani was made Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National Liberation General Council, and at the Congress of Përmet in May 1944 he was made Chairman of the Anti-Fascist National Liberation Council and in charge of foreign affairs. On January 11, 1946 Nishani became Chairman of the Constituent Assembly which on March 16 was transformed into the People's Assembly of the People's Republic of Albania. Nishani, who was not a member of the ruling Party of Labour of Albania, served as the first Chairman of the Presidium of the People's Assembly. In 1952, his brother, Besim Nishani, was arrested for “propaganda against the people’s government”. At the same time, his wife reportedly split with him. Some reports cited that this was her desire to separate. A 1953 article in the right-wing ''
Paris-Presse ''Paris-Presse'' was a French newspaper published in Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in ...
'' newspaper suggested that his wife (who the paper referred to as Israeli) was forced to leave the presidential palace and live under house arrest under suspicion of having connections with reactionary elements and that Nishani himself was virtually a prisoner. Officially, Nishani requested to resign on July 24, 1953 for health reasons.Owen Pearson. ''Albania as Dictatorship and Democracy: From Isolation to the Kosovo War, 1946-1998''. London: I.B. Tauris & Co Ltd. 2006. p. 461. He was succeeded by
Haxhi Lleshi Haxhi Lleshi (1 May 1913 – 1 January 1998) was an Albanian military leader and communist politician who served as the Chairman of the Presidium of the People's Assembly of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania from 1953 to 1982. Biogra ...
on August 1. According to a dossier of the Ministry of Interior of Albania, an autopsy on Nishani's body concluded that he committed suicide, something considered
taboo A taboo is a social group's ban, prohibition or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, offensive, sacred or allowed only for certain people.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...
at the time. However, later reports suggest that he was shot twice in the chest and questioned the conclusion of suicide. In 1988 a compilation of his articles and speeches made during the socialist period was published under the title ''Për Shqipërinë e popullit''. He was a distant relative of the seventh President of Albania Bujar Nishani.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nishani, Omer 1887 births 1954 deaths People from Gjirokastër People from Janina vilayet Government ministers of Albania Foreign ministers of Albania Albanian people of World War II People's Socialist Republic of Albania Suicides in Albania