Vasil Andoni (Elbasan, Ottoman Empire, January 28, 1901 - Rome, Italy, July 13, 1994) was an Albanian politician and teacher. He was the Secretary General and one of leaders the

Balli Kombëtar The Balli Kombëtar (literally ''National Front'') was an Albanian nationalist, Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, collaborationist, and anti-communist resistance movement during the Second World War. It was led by Ali Këlcyra a ...

active in World War II in Albania.

Biography

Vasil studied at Robert College in

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

, then took a job at the Elbasan Normal School in his hometown. He became a teacher at a high school in

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 ...

in 1939 and taught in

Prishtina Pristina or Prishtina ( , ), . is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. It is the administrative center of the eponymous municipality and district. In antiquity, the area of Pristina was part of the Dardanian Kingdom. The heritage of th ...

in the early 1940s. In 1942, he joined the Nationalist National Front led by

Midhat Frashëri Midhat (also spelled Medhat, Mitat, or Mithat) () is a name of Arabic origin, usually masculine, except in Pakistan. It means "praise" or "eulogy". Given names * Midhat Pasha (1822–1884), Ottoman grand vizier * Medhat Abdel-Hady (born 1974) ...

and became its General Secretary. During the battles between the Communist-led National Liberation Movement and the National Front, he joined the National Front units fighting in the mountains of Central Albania in late 1943. Unlike many of his party counterparts, he opposed collaboration with German invaders. Seeing the overwhelming advance of the Communist guerrilla brigades, along with other leaders of the National Front, Frashëri,

Ali Këlcyra Ali Bey Këlcyra (May 28, 1891 – September 24, 1963) born Ali Klissura, was an Albanian lord and a member of the Albanian parliament in the 1920s. He was co-founder with Mid'hat Frashëri of the Balli Kombëtar organization in 1942, and the ...

and

Hasan Dosti Hasan Dosti (1895January 29, 1991) was an Albanian jurist and politician. He was the leader of the Balli Kombëtar after the war and was considered by the communists to be one of Albania's greatest enemies. Biography Early life Hasan Dosti was ...

, they left for Shkodra on October 18, 1944, with a small fishing boat, and on October 23, they sailed south of Bris. He first settled in Rome and wrote for the anti-communist newspapers Albania libre ('Free Albania') and Flamuri ('The Flag'). He emigrated to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, in 1949, along with Midhat Frashëri, and until his death was a leading figure in the Albanian expatriate community in the United States. He never returned to his homeland.

Ideology

Vasil Andoni along with Abaz Ermenji, Zef Pali and Halil Maçi was part of the

agrarian socialist Agrarian socialism or agricultural socialism is a political ideology that promotes social ownership of agrarian and Agriculture, agricultural production as opposed to Private property, private ownership. Agrarian socialism involves equally distri ...

and progressive wing of the party, which gained the leadership of the party after the war. He expressed himself as having " no religion" when he left Albania.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Andoni, Vasil People from Elbasan People from Manastir vilayet Albanian atheists 1901 births 1994 deaths Albanian nationalists Balli Kombëtar Albanian schoolteachers Albanian expatriates in Italy