Shefqet Mehmetali Stringa (1896–31 October 1947) was a banking pioneer in

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

Biography

Shefqet Stringa was born in

Elbasan Elbasan ( , ; sq-definite, Elbasani, ) is the fourth most populous city of Albania and seat of Elbasan County and Elbasan Municipality. It lies to the north of the river Shkumbin between the Skanderbeg Mountains and the Myzeqe Plain in centr ...

, a city in central Albania, to a very well educated family. His father was a financier of the Turkish administration during the Ottoman regime. He attended his school in Elbasan. During the

academic term An academic term (or simply term) is a portion of an academic year during which an educational institution holds Class (education), classes. The school timetable, schedules adopted vary widely. Common terms such as semester, trimester, and quarte ...

of 1917–1918, the mayor of the city of Elbasan, Aqif Bicaku, and the Austrian Colonel Zitkovski, gave scholarships to a group of students, including Shefqet Stringa. He continued his studies in the Business Academy of Vienna, and received a doctorate on 7 July 1922. During his studies in Austria, Shefqet Stringa was active in the

student organization A student society, student association, university society, student club, university club, or student organization is a society or an organization, operated by students at a university, college, or other educational institution, whose membership ty ...

"Albania", established in 1918. He was one, in a group of scholars who wrote a letter to the Peace Conference in Paris, who gave his contribution. In 1920 Shefqet and other students contributed their savings to help other Albanians publish the first Albanian magazine, ''Djaleria'', in Vienna. After his graduation, he was employed by the Credit Bank in Vienna but resigned in 1923 and returned to his homeland. From April 1923 until December 1924, he worked as a translator for the

finance director A chief financial officer (CFO) is an officer of a company or organization who is assigned the primary responsibility for making decisions for the company for projects and its finances; i.a.: financial planning, management of financial risks, ...

, while

Ahmet Zogu Zog I (born Ahmed Muhtar Zogolli; 8 October 18959 April 1961) was the leader of Albania from 1922 to 1939. At age 27, he first served as Albania's youngest ever Prime Minister (1922–1924), then as president (1925–1928), and finally as King ...

was Prime Minister and Minister of the Foreign Exchange in Albania. From 1930 to 1933, Stringa established the first

private bank Private banks are banks owned by either the individual or a general partner(s) with limited partner(s). Private banks are not incorporated. In any such case, creditors can look to both the "entirety of the bank's assets" as well as the entire ...

ing agency in Elbasan. In 1933 he became the director of the National

Bank of Albania The Bank of Albania () is the central bank of Albania, issuing the Albanian lek. It is headquartered in Tirana, with five branches in Shkodër, Elbasan, Gjirokastër, Korçë and Lushnjë, and a Research and Training Center in Berat. The bank was ...

. One year later he was appointed a director of the Business Room for the city of Elbasan. In November 1939 Shefqet Stringa was appointed as a director of the Elbasan branch, financed by Banka di Napoli. He held the position until 1946. He was offered the Executive Director's job for the Bank of Albania, which he refused. Shefqet never agreed with a government whose power didn't come from the people. This led to his arrest as a

political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although ...

. As someone who was accused of a crime against the state, he was not given the right to present a defense before the court. Shefqet Stringa died on 31 October 1947 without any trial at court. He left his wife, Razije, and three sons, Dashamir, Mehmetali, and Adhurim.

References

Albanian businesspeople 1947 deaths People from Elbasan {{Authority control 1896 births