Sulejman Delvina, also known as ''Sylejman Fehmi'' (5 October 1871 – 1 August 1932), was an Albanian politician, who served as

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

from 30 January March to 14 November 1920.

Life and career

Early life

Sulejman Delvina was born on 5 October 1871 in the city of the same name, Delvinë, then

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 ...

. His father Selim

bey Bey, also spelled as Baig, Bayg, Beigh, Beig, Bek, Baeg, Begh, or Beg, is a Turkic title for a chieftain, and a royal, aristocratic title traditionally applied to people with special lineages to the leaders or rulers of variously sized areas in ...

came from a family of high status in the area which is evidenced by the

honorific An honorific is a title that conveys esteem, courtesy, or respect for position or rank when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes, the term "honorific" is used in a more specific sense to refer to an Honorary title (academic), h ...

title ''

Bey Bey, also spelled as Baig, Bayg, Beigh, Beig, Bek, Baeg, Begh, or Beg, is a Turkic title for a chieftain, and a royal, aristocratic title traditionally applied to people with special lineages to the leaders or rulers of variously sized areas in ...

'' that Sulejman himself, his father Selim and his brother Namik Delvina held. He studied in the ''rüşdiye'' (

Middle school Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school, is an educational stage between primary school and secondary school. Afghanistan In Afghanistan, middle school includes g ...

) at the

Zosimaia School The Zosimaia School () is a Greek middle-level educational institution of Ioannina (in Epirus). It was significant during the last period of Ottoman rule in the region (1828–1913). The ''Zosimaia'' was founded at 1828 through the personal expen ...

Ioannina Ioannina ( ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina (regional unit), Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus (region), Epirus, an Modern regions of Greece, administrative region in northwester ...

, while completed his university studies at the Mekteb-i Mülkiye for Public Administration in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

, from where he graduated in the class of 1899. In the same year he began to serve as an officer in the Ottoman Ministry of Interior. In May 1901, he became a professor of Ottoman literature at Vefa ''Idadi'' school in Istanbul, and from September 1905 onwards he held the same post at the prestigious

Galatasaray High School Galatasaray High School (, ), established in Istanbul in 1481, is the oldest and Selective school, highly selective high school in Turkey. It is also the second-oldest Turkish educational institution after Istanbul University, which was establi ...

. In 1909, he wrote a manual, republished in 1910 and 1912, on Ottoman literature for the high schools of the empire. In July 1911 he was one of the organizers of the student protest, demanding the right to use the

Albanian alphabet The Albanian alphabet () is a variant of the Latin alphabet used to write the Albanian language. It consists of 36 letters representing all the phonemes of Standard Albanian: The vowels are shown in bold. The letters are named simply by their ...

that was adopted on 1908 in the Congress of Manastir, but has not been recognized by the

. In 1916, in addition to being a professor, he resumed work in the Ministry of the Interior until the signing of the

Armistice of Mudros The Armistice of Mudros () ended hostilities in the Middle Eastern theatre between Ottoman Turkey and the Allies of World War I. It was signed on 30 October 1918 by the Ottoman Minister of Marine Affairs Rauf Bey and British Admiral Somerset ...

Return to Albania

In 1919 he was the representative of the Albanian communities of the

in the Paris Peace Conference. On 30 January 1920, the

Congress of Lushnjë The Congress of Lushnjë (), historically documented by the name ''Mbledhja Kombiare Lushnje'', was a conference of Albanian political leaders held from January 21 to January 31, 1920, in Lushnjë, Albania. Its objective was to deal with the is ...

decided to overthrow the so-called the Government of Durrës for violating national interests and decided to appoint a new government. Sulejman Delvina was appointed as Prime Minister, taking into account his experience as a former official in the Ottoman Empire.In 1924 Sulejman Delvina was one of the leaders of the revolution that overthrew the regime of

Zog I 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 ...

King of Albania The King of Albania ( Albanian: ''Mbreti i Shqipërisë'') was a title styled by the official ruler of Albania. While the medieval Angevin Kingdom of Albania was a monarchy, it did not encompass the entirety of modern Albania. Although disconten ...

and established a democratic government. Fan S. Noli became the new Prime Minister, while Sulejman Delvina was part of the new cabinet as Minister of Foreign Affairs. He died on 1 August 1932 in

Vlorë Vlorë ( ; ; sq-definite, Vlora) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, third most populous city of Albania and seat of Vlorë County and Vlorë Municipality. Located in southwestern Albania, Vlorë sprawls on the Bay of Vlorë and is surr ...

Notes

References

Sources

* * 1884 births 1932 deaths Albanian diplomats Albanian Sunni Muslims 20th-century civil servants from the Ottoman Empire Foreign ministers of Albania Government ministers of Albania Mekteb-i Mülkiye alumni People from Delvinë People from Janina vilayet Prime ministers of Albania {{Albania-politician-stub