Sokrat Dodbiba (17 March 1898 – 20 October 1956) was an

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

n economist and politician who served as Minister of Finance of Albania during 1943–44.

Life

Dodbiba was born in Elbasan, back then

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, in the

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

community of the "Kala" (Castle) neighborhood, a small community but with prominent members. He was the son of Anastas Dodbiba and Polikseni Nosi (sister of Albanian politician

Lef Nosi Lef Nosi (born Elefter Nosi; 9 April 187720 February 1946) was an Albanian publisher, archivist, philologist, folklorist, ethnographer, numismatist, archaeologist and politician. On 28 November 1912, he was as one of the signatories of the Decla ...

). He took his first lessons in his neighborhood's school, first in

Greek language Greek ( el, label=Modern Greek, Ελληνικά, Elliniká, ; grc, Ἑλληνική, Hellēnikḗ) is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, native to Greece, Cyprus, southern Italy (Calabria and Salento), southern Al ...

, later in

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 ...

. Dodbiba studied later in the

Robert College The American Robert College of Istanbul ( tr, İstanbul Özel Amerikan Robert Lisesi or ), often shortened to Robert, or RC, is a Selective school, highly selective, Independent school, independent, mixed-sex education, co-educational Secondary ...

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

where between others he was taught by

Sali Nivica Sali Nivica or Sali Nivitza (May 15, 1890 – January 10, 1920) was a politician, a patriot, an Albanian journalist and a teacher. For his patriotic activity he received the highest Albanian award, 'Honour of the Nation' as well as that of 'Teach ...

.Dodbibajt, familja që shpëtoi thesarin e shtetit shqiptar (in Albanian)
/ref> In 1921, he went to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

to follow his graduate studies in the Faculty of Economical Sciences. During that time, he was engaged with the "Albania" Society of the Albanian students, and contributed in establishing the ''Djalëria'' (Fellowhood) newspaper of this society. He returned to Albanian with a graduate degree in

Political Economy Political economy is the study of how Macroeconomics, economic systems (e.g. Marketplace, markets and Economy, national economies) and Politics, political systems (e.g. law, Institution, institutions, government) are linked. Widely studied ph ...

. In 1932, Dodbiba started working in the Ministry of Finances as Head of Receivables Department. He was assigned to publish the newspaper ''Ekonomisti shqiptar'' (The Albanian economist) after he had published several articles in contemporary press organs. Soon-after he moved on up as Chief-administrator of the Ministry of Finances of Albania, and later commissioner of the State Bank where he worked until 1943. During the Nazi occupation of Albania, he became member of the

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

of Rexhep Mitrovica as Minister of Finance. One of his achievements was the retrieval the amount of 120 million golden francs (Alb: ''franga ari'') from the Italian central bank, which was deposited in the Central Bank of Albania. At the same period, he brought to Albania the machinery for money printing for the first time. Meanwhile, some of his nephews were engaged on the opposite front, affiliated with the partisans of the National Liberation Movement. The most prominent is Pirro Dodbiba, who would server later as Minister of Agriculture of Albania and member of the

Politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the executive committee for communist parties. It is present in most former and existing communist states. Names The term "politburo" in English comes from the Russian ''Politbyuro'' (), itself a contraction ...

.The International Year Book and Statesmen's Who's Who, 1983 International Publications Service, Jan 1, 1983, p.23
/ref> In December 1944 he was arrested by the Communists. He was one of the many political figures of the Italian occupation and German occupation periods who were tried in Special Court of 1945. He was sentenced to 30 years, and died in

Burrel Prison Burrel Prison () is a high security prison located outside the town of Burrel, in northeastern Albania at the District Police Station in Mat with a maximum capacity of 198 inmates. In 2011 the prison housed 182 inmates and employed 120 correction ...

in 1956.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dodbiba, Sokrat 1898 births 1956 deaths 20th-century Albanian politicians 19th-century Albanian people Albanian economists People from Elbasan People from Manastir vilayet Government ministers of Albania Finance ministers of Albania Albanian collaborators with Nazi Germany Robert College alumni University of Vienna alumni Prisoners who died in Albanian detention