Skënder Zogu (born 3 June 1933) is an Albanian author and member of the

House of Zogu The House of Zogu, or Zogolli during Ottoman Albania, Ottoman times and until 1922, is an Albanian people, Albanian dynastic family whose roots date back to the early 20th century. The family provided the first president and the short-lived modern ...

. He is the son of Prince Xhelal Zogu, half-brother of

King Zog King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a constitutional monarch if his power is restrained by fi ...

Biography

Skënder (Alexander) Zogu was born to Prince Xhelal Zogu (half-brother of

Zog I of Albania 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 ...

) and Faika Minxhalliu on 3 June 1933 in Davos, Switzerland. He studied at the Huddersfield College of Technology, which later became the

University of Huddersfield The University of Huddersfield is a public research university located in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. It has been a University since 1992, but has its origins in a series of institutions dating back to the 19th century. It has made te ...

. During his time at university, he was the vice president and then president of the Student Union. After graduating with a degree in Textile and Color Chemistry, Zogu worker for a period of time for Francolor. He went on to work as a textile sales manager at KVK Danemark. On 9 April 1961, Zogu was present when Zog I of Albania died while in exile at Hôpital Foch in

Suresnes Suresnes () is a commune in the western inner suburbs of Paris, France. Located in Hauts-de-Seine, from the centre of Paris, it had a population of 49,482 as of 2020. Suresnes borders the Bois de Boulogne in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, ...

Hauts-de-Seine Hauts-de-Seine (; ) is a department in the Île-de-France region of France. It covers Paris's western inner suburbs. It is bordered by Paris, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne to the east, Val-d'Oise to the north, Yvelines to the west and ...

, France. Zogu organized the funeral, which was held two days later. Zogu recounts his uncle dying in a memoir released in 2017. The book, which has a translated title of ''A life in the service of the Albanian nation - memories of exile'', was given a positive review by writer Roland Qafoku. Qafoku wrote, "The book has an unprecedented gallery of characters. With the good, the bad, the positive and the negative, Skender Zogu in fact, in this book, has brought out their best sides... The story of the royal family and the Zog kingdom itself would be incomplete without this book!" ''Sprint News'' stated the book was "A brilliant example of approaching the truth... Skender Zogu writes with simplicity and truth about the experiences of the time." The book received positive reviews from other sources as well. The book was released in English in 2020. On 10 November 1962, Zogu married to French national Jacqueline Cosme. Together they had a daughter, Virginie Alexandra Geraldine Zogu, born 25 January 1963 in

Compiègne Compiègne (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Oise Departments of France, department of northern France. It is located on the river Oise (river), Oise, and its inhabitants are called ''Compiégnois'' (). Administration Compiègne is t ...

, France. Virginie married Mr. Raphaël de Urresti, who was born 1959. From 1980 until 1995 Zogu was the head of the Albanian Royal Court in exile Press Office. In 1993, he returned to Albania after living in exile for 54 years. On 16 November 2012, Zogu joined Ambassador Ylljet Aliçka to repatriate the remains of Zog I from France to Albania, where he was placed in the royal family mausoleum. Zogu is known for protecting the legacy of the royal family members. In 2017, Zogu criticized Albanian politician Alfred Peza who had written disparaging comments about the royal family. Zogu stated Peza "was a man without culture and without character" who had no chance of meeting the royal family or entering the palace. In 2018, he defended the former king against statements Zog I did not know how to write in Albanian. Zogu retired in 1999. As of 2019, he lives in

Chantilly Chantilly may refer to: Places France *Chantilly, Oise, a city ** US Chantilly, a football club *Château de Chantilly United States * Chantilly, Missouri, an unincorporated community * Chantilly (Charlotte neighborhood), North Carolina ...

, France. He is active in the

Legality Movement Party The Legality Movement Party (, abbr. PLL) is a monarchist political party in Albania led by Shpetim Axhami. It supports the restoration of the Albanian monarchy under the House of Zogu, with the house's current head Prince Leka crowned as kin ...

, a conservative monarchist party in Albania.

Bibliography

*Zogu, Skender. ''Një jetë në shërbim të kombit shqiptar-kujtime mërgimi'' (translated: ''A life in the service of the Albanian nation - memories of exile'').

Filmography

Dynastic honours

: Order of Skanderbeg (awarded by King Leka I) *

: Order of Fidelity (awarded by

Leka, Crown Prince of Albania Leka, Crown Prince of Albania (Leka Skënder Zogu; 5 April 193930 November 2011) was the only son of King Zog I and Queen Geraldine of Albania. He was called Crown Prince Skander at birth. After his father's death in 1961, Leka was the pretende ...

)

Ancestry

References