Sofokli Lazri (1923–2002) 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 ...

diplomat and publicist. In the 1980s he was the principal advisor of Albania's premier,

Ramiz Alia Ramiz Alia (; 18 October 1925 – 7 October 2011) was an Albanian politician serving as the second and last leader of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania from 1985 to 1991, serving as First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania. He ...

, with regard to Albania's international relations. Lazri was the founder, in 1981, of the Institute of Studies of International Relations (). He is also known as a publicist (mainly non-fiction). His name has attracted controversy in Albania as some media have deemed him to be a secret agent of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

KGB The Committee for State Security (, ), abbreviated as KGB (, ; ) was the main security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 to 1991. It was the direct successor of preceding Soviet secret police agencies including the Cheka, Joint State Polit ...

Life

Born in

Vuno Vuno is a village in the municipality of Himarë, Vlorë County, Albania. It is situated along the road that connects the center of Himarë with the village of Dhërmi on the Albanian Riviera. The population of Vuno is exclusively composed of O ...

, in the Himara region, in 1923, Sofokli Lazri studied at

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

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 ...

high schools, and was involved in the National Liberation Movement, in the 5th Attacking Brigade, in which he participated in the liberation of

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 ...

and

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

from Nazi Germany. He graduated in journalism at the

Lomonosov Moscow State University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, and six branches. Al ...

. Upon his return from his studies he worked as a journalist, eventually becoming the chief editor of the Bashkimi newspaper, as well as secretary of the council of editors of

Zëri i Popullit ''Zëri i Popullit'' () is an Albanian online newspaper. It was the official press organ of the Party of Labour and, later, of the Socialist Party of Albania, but it later ceased print publication and became an independent online publication.

. He was also a professor of the

University of Tirana The University of Tirana (, abbreviated UT) is a public university located at the central borough of Tirana 10 in Tirana, Albania. It was established as the State University of Tirana (SUT) in 1957 through merging of five existing institutes ...

, where, in 1971, he obtained the ''Professor'' title. At the university he founded the chair of journalism, and focused on teaching international studies. In 1981 he founded the first Institute of Studies of International Relations in Albania. He was head of the Albanian Commission of Unesco, and from 1982 to 1991 political advisor of President

. Lazri headed special missions such as the reestablishment of relations with the

, the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. He was a member of the Central Committee of the

Party of Labour of Albania The Party of Labour of Albania (PLA), also referred to as the Albanian Workers' Party (AWP), was the ruling and sole legal party of Albania during the communist period (1945–1991). It was founded on 8 November 1941 as the Communist Party of ...

. Among Lazri's several publications is ''Rikthimi i dhimbjes'' (), a non-fiction book about World War II fighter

Ramize Gjebrea Ramize Gjebrea (April 20, 1923 – March 6, 1944, nom de guerre ''Ramona'') was an Albanian World War II partisan, accused of alleged immoral behavior by a martial court, and executed by a firing squad in the village of Ramicë, Vlorë. Biogra ...

and her tragic death, which was published post-mortem and reviewed by critic

Dhimitër Shuteriqi Dhimitër Shuteriqi (26 July 1915 ‒ 22 July 2003) was an Albanian scholar, literary historian, and writer. He participated in the anti-fascist National Liberation Movement. After the war, he was a member of the People's Assembly and one of th ...

Controversy

According to a book by Mehmet Elezi, entitled ''“Enigma e vëllezërve siamezë”, 2011'', Lazri was one of the most powerful people in communist Albania. It is claimed he made key decisions in the international politics of Albania and that he ranked higher than

in the eyes of the

. Other publications describe Lazri as merely the chief of secret services of the KGB in Albania.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lazri, Sofokli 1923 births 2002 deaths Diplomats for Albania People from Himara 20th-century Albanian journalists Albanian expatriates in the Soviet Union