Sotir Kolea (1872-1945) 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 ...

folklorist, diplomat and activist of the

Albanian National Awakening The Albanian National Awakening ( or ), commonly known as the Albanian Renaissance or Albanian Revival, is a period throughout the 19th and 20th century of a cultural, political, and social movement in the Albanian history where the Albanian ...

. Along with Thoma Kacori he has been labeled as the ''Last of the

Rilindas The Albanian National Awakening ( or ), commonly known as the Albanian Renaissance or Albanian Revival, is a period throughout the 19th and 20th century of a cultural, political, and social movement in the Albanian history where the Albanian ...

''.

Life

Sotir Kolea was born in the Goricë district of

Berat Berat (; sq-definite, Berati) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, ninth most populous city of Albania and the seat of Berat County and Berat Municipality. By air, it is north of Gjirokastër, west of Korçë, south of Tirana, and ea ...

, southern

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 ...

(then part of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

) on September 4, 1872. His father Kristo was a lawyer that worked as a legal counselor for the French company '' La Regie Des Tabacs'', which held the monopoly on tobacco in the

. At the age of nine he moved to

Bitola Bitola (; ) is a city in the southwestern part of North Macedonia. It is located in the southern part of the Pelagonia valley, surrounded by the Baba, Nidže, and Kajmakčalan mountain ranges, north of the Medžitlija-Níki border crossing ...

, where his uncle Ilia, a tobacco merchant of the same company, lived. After graduating from the local Greek-language gymnasium, he was hired by ''La Regie Des Tabacs'' and worked in their

Ohrid Ohrid ( ) is a city in North Macedonia and is the seat of the Ohrid Municipality. It is the largest city on Lake Ohrid and the eighth-largest city in the country, with the municipality recording a population of over 42,000 inhabitants as of ...

branch. In 1896 he worked as a teacher of Albanian language in the Albanian community of

Kavala Kavala (, ''Kavála'' ) is a city in northern Greece, the principal seaport of eastern Macedonia and the capital of Kavala regional unit. It is situated on the Bay of Kavala, across from the island of Thasos and on the A2 motorway, a one-and ...

. Between 1899 and 1902 he was transferred to the

Drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

and Kavala branches of the company. Later Kolea migrated to Egypt, where he was elected secretary of the local ''Bashkimi'' organization. After 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 took part of a delegation sent to the London Conference, together with Rasih Dino,

Filip Noga Filip Noga ( Shiroka, 1867Shkodra Daily (in Albanian)
or 1868 –

, and

Mehmet Konica Mehmed Konica (1881 – 1948), was an Albanian politician. He served three times as the Foreign Minister of Albania. He was the brother of Albanian writer Faik Konica. Konica was born in Konitsa, today's Greece, back then part of the Janina Vi ...

. In 1913 he co-organized with

Faik Konica Faik Bey Konica (later named Faïk Dominik Konitza, 15 March 1875 – 15 December 1942) was an important figure in Albanian language and culture in the early decades of the twentieth century. As the Albanian minister to Washington, D.C., his lit ...

the

Albanian Congress of Trieste The Albanian Congress of Trieste () was a congress of Albanians held in Trieste, Austria-Hungary in the period between 27 February – 6 March 1913, organized by Faik Konica and Sotir Kolea with strong support from the Austrian authorities. Dev ...

. After settling in Switzerland he published in

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

the newspaper ''L'Albanie'' from 1915 to 1919. In 1919-20 he was a member of the Albanian delegation to the

Paris Peace Conference Agreements and declarations resulting from meetings in Paris include: Listed by name Paris Accords may refer to: * Paris Accords, the agreements reached at the end of the London and Paris Conferences in 1954 concerning the post-war status of Germ ...

and the Franco-Albanian Administrative Council. In 1920 he migrated to

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

and later to France, where he lived in

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

until 1927. From 1928 to 1937 he served as the director of the

National Library of Albania The National Library of Albania () is Albania's national library headquartered in the country's capital, Tirana. It was founded in 1920 and inaugurated on December 10, 1922. History The Library Commission of Albania began planning the National ...

, the volumes of which tripled during his term. According to some sources, Kolea was the one bringing the rare Codex of Constantine of Berat, part of the Christian literature known as "Kodikët e Shqipërisë" (''Albanian Codex''), discovered by Ilo Mitkë Qafëzezi. Since 1937 he had lived in Elbasan, where he died in 1945. His obituary was written by his close friend, the linguist Mahir Domi. In 1944 his work on Albanian proverbs ''Një tufë proverba'' was published in Tiranë. In 2002

Alfred Moisiu Alfred Spiro Moisiu (; born 1 December 1929) is an Albanian military general, diplomat and politician who served as the president of Albania from 2002 to 2007. He is the oldest son of Albanian Army general Spiro Moisiu. Early life, education a ...

honoured him with the gold medal of the

Naim Frashëri Naim bey Frashëri, more commonly Naim Frashëri (; ; 25 May 184620 October 1900), was an Albanian historian, journalist, poet, translator, and one of the most prominent figures of the Albanian National Awakening. Regarded as a pioneer of moder ...

Order.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kolea, Sotir 1872 births 1945 deaths Albanian folklorists Activists of the Albanian National Awakening People from Berat Diplomats for Albania 19th-century Albanian politicians 20th-century Albanian politicians Emigrants from the Ottoman Empire to Egypt Eastern Orthodox Christians from Albania Members of the Albanian Orthodox Church Albanian people from the Ottoman Empire