Pandeli Cale (1879–1923) was one of the signatories of the

Albanian Declaration of Independence The Albanian Declaration of Independence (Albanian language, Albanian: ''Deklarata e Pavarësisë'') was the declaration of independence of Albania from the Ottoman Empire. Independent Albania was proclaimed in Vlorë on 28 November 1912. Six da ...

. He subsequently served as Minister of Agriculture in the

Provisional Government of Albania The Provisional Government of Albania (), also called the Qemali Government, 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 resignation o ...

Biography

Cale was born in

Korçë Korçë (; sq-definite, Korça) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, eighth most populous city of Albania and the seat of Korçë County and Korçë Municipality. The total population of the city is 51,152 and 75,994 of Korçë municipal ...

on 28 March 1879. He finished the French Classic Lyceum in

Alexandria, Egypt Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

. During 1900–1904, he worked in the

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

Albanian colony, returning in Albania in 1904. Sent by the Albanian diaspora in Romania to be their representative in southern Albania, Cale aimed to influence Orthodox Christians to join an uprising if Muslims and their

beys Bey, also spelled as Baig, Bayg, Beigh, Beig, Bek, Baeg, Begh, or Beg, is a Turkic title for a chieftain, and a royal, aristocratic title traditionally applied to people with special lineages to the leaders or rulers of variously sized areas in ...

would rise against the empire. Cale was also insistent on forming guerrilla bands and suggested that care should be taken when choosing their leaders from among Albanian patriots. He was one of the co-founders of the Secret Albanian Committee in

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

, together with Themistokli Gërmenji, and

Midhat Frashëri Midhat (also spelled Medhat, Mitat, or Mithat) () is a name of Arabic origin, usually masculine, except in Pakistan. It means "praise" or "eulogy". Given names * Midhat Pasha (1822–1884), Ottoman grand vizier * Medhat Abdel-Hady (born 1974) ...

. He was president of the society "Freedom's Band" () in 1908. In February 1909, he was elected secretary of the society "Lidhja orthodhokse" (). He was quite active during the Albanian uprisings of 1910 – 1912. He was a participant in the 5 November 1912 meeting, and voluntarily accompanied

Ismail Qemali Ismail Qemali, or Ismail Kemal, (; 16 January 184426 January 1919), was an Albanian politician and statesman who is regarded as the founder of modern Independent Albania, Albania. He served as the first Prime Minister of Albania, prime minister o ...

in his way to Albania. On 28 November 1912, as a delegate of Korça region, he signed the

Albanian declaration of independence The Albanian Declaration of Independence (Albanian language, Albanian: ''Deklarata e Pavarësisë'') was the declaration of independence of Albania from the Ottoman Empire. Independent Albania was proclaimed in Vlorë on 28 November 1912. Six da ...

as "Pandeli Cale". He was elected Minister of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce in

's cabinet. He led the negotiations with

Count Leopold Berchtold Leopold Anton Johann Sigismund Josef Korsinus Ferdinand Graf Berchtold von und zu Ungarschitz, Frättling und Püllütz (, ) (18 April 1863 – 21 November 1942) was an Austro-Hungarian politician, diplomat and statesman who served as Imperial ...

, foreign minister of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

, and the British and Italian ambassadors, which led to those countries' support for Albanian autonomy. The first years of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

found Cale in Switzerland, Ukraine, Bulgaria, and France. In 1919, he returned to Albania. He is mentioned as part of the Albanian delegation to the League of Nations Committee of the Peace Conference in 1919, together with

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 ...

, Hil Mosi, Gjergj Adhamidhi (Frashëri), lobbying for Albania's membership application, which was contested by Greece and Yugoslavia. Pandeli was the designer and signer of the Kapshtica Protocol. The same year he got elected Mayer of Korçë, and later in February 1921 member of the first Albanian parliament. Cale died due to serious health implications in a hospital in Thessaloniki, Greece.

Notes

References

Sources

"History of Albanian People" Albanian Academy of Science. 1879 births 1923 deaths Signatories of the Albanian Declaration of Independence Politicians from Korçë 20th-century Albanian politicians 19th-century Albanian politicians People from Manastir vilayet Albanian expatriates in Romania Government ministers of Albania Agriculture ministers of Albania Public works ministers of Albania All-Albanian Congress delegates {{Albania-bio-stub