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Zog I

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Zog I, King of the Albanians
Reign September 1, 1928 - April 7, 1939
Coronation September 1, 1928
Predecessor New Kingdom
Successor Leka I, King of the Albanians*
Spouse Geraldine Apponyi
Royal House Zogu
Father Xhemal Pasha Zogu
Mother Sadijé Toptani
Born October 8, 1895
Burgajet, Albania
Died April 9, 1961
Hauts-de-Seine, France
*claimant to the throne

King Zog (full ruling name: Zog I Skanderbeg III), born Ahmet Bej Zogu (October 8, 1895–April 9, 1961), was an Albanian prime minister (1922-1924), president (1925-1928), and king (1928-1939 and 1943-1946, the latter period in name only).

Background and early political career

Changed his name from Ahmed Zogolli to the last name Zogu which means "the bird" as a sign of modernization and later to just Zog when he became king. Ahmed Zogu was born in Castle Burgajet, Albania, as the third son to Xhemal Pasha Zogu and his wife, Sadijé Toptani as Ahmet Muhtar . At the time of his birth, his was a feudal beylik family ruling over the Mat region, and claimed descent from Skanderbeg. In 1911, on the death of his father, Zog became Hereditary Governor of Mat and Chief of the Gheg clan. He was only sixteen at the time.He was chosen,because his older brother Xhelal Bey Zogu was believed to be abnormal.

As a young man during the First World War, Zog supported the cause of Austria-Hungary. This was in contrast to traditional Albanian political attitudes, which had tended to support Eastern European nations or the Ottoman Turks. He was detained at Vienna in 1917 and 1918 and in Rome in 1918 and 1919 before returning to Albania in 1919. During his time in Vienna, he grew to enjoy a Western european lifestyle, and was rumoured very popular among the Viennese women.

Upon his return, Zog became involved in the political life of the fledgling Albanian government that had been created in 1920. He became leader of a major reformist party, and his political supporters included southern feudal landowners (called beys, Turkish for "village chieftain") and noble families in the north, along with merchants, industrialists, and intellectuals. During the early 1920s, Zog served as governor of Shkodër (1920-1), Minister of the Interior (March-November 1920, 1921-1924), and chief of the Albanian military (1921-1922). His primary rivals were Luigj Gurakuqi and Fan S. Noli.

It was a dangerous time to be an Albanian politician. In 1923, Zog was shot and wounded in parliament. A crisis arose in 1924 after the assassination of one of Zog's industrialist allies, Avni Rustemi (the man who in 1920 assassinated Essad Pasha ); in the aftermath, a leftist revolt was raised by Noli, which forced Zog, along with 600 of his allies, into exile in June 1924. He returned to Albania with the assistance of Yugoslavia-based White Russian troops, and became Prime Minister.

President of Albania

Zog was officially elected to the post of president of Albania by the Constituent Assembly on January 21, 1925, taking office on February 1. Zog's government followed the European model, though large parts of Albania still maintained a social structure unchanged from the days of Ottoman rule, and most villages were serf plantations run by the beys. A Muslim himself, Zog's reforms included the prohibition of veils and prohibitions against cruelty to animals. Zog's principal ally during this period was Italy, which loaned his government funds in exchange for a greater role in Albania's fiscal policy. During Zog's presidency, serfdom was gradually eliminated, and Albania began to emerge as a nation, rather than a feudal patchwork of local beyliks, for the first time since the death of Skanderbeg. His administration was marred by disputes with Kosovar leaders, primarily Hasan Prishtina and Barjam Curri.

During his presidency, many already referred to him as King, for they had no idea what the word "president" meant.

Albanian King

Reverse of Zogian coin
Obverse of Zogian coin

Zogu was crowned King of the Albanians by the will of the people (Mbret i Shqiptarëvet in Albanian). Afterwords he was declared Field Marshal of the Royal Albanian Army on September 1, 1928. He proclaimed a constitutional monarchy similar to the contemporary regime in Italy. He created a strong police force and instituted a Zogist salute (flat hand over the heart with palm facing forwards) and claimed to be a successor of Skanderbeg. Zog hoarded gold coins and precious stones, which were used to back Albania's first paper currency.

Zog's mother, Sadijé, was declared Queen Mother of the Albanians, and Zog also gave his brother and sisters royal status as Prince and Princesses Zogu. One of his sisters, Senijé, Princess Zogu (1908-1969), married His Imperial Highness Prince Shehzade Mehmed Abid Efendi of Turkey, a son of Sultan Abdul Hamid II.

Zog attempted to reinforce his regime's legitimacy by ruling as a constitutional monarch. His kingdom's constitution forbade any prince of the royal house from serving as prime minister or a member of the cabinet and contained provisions for the potential extinction of the royal family. Ironically, in light of later events, the constitution also forbade the union of the Albanian throne with that of any other country. Under the Zogian constitution, the King of the Albanians, like the King of the Belgians, exercised royal powers only after taking an oath before Parliament; Zog himself swore an oath on the Bible and the Qur'an to bear the good of the people in mind.

Zog's regime brought stability to Albania and the king organized an educational system. He also attempted to modernize the Albanian military, though the costs involved in this project were high.

Life as king

Although born as an aristocrat and hereditary Bey HM King Zog was ignored somewhat by other monarchs in Eurpope, perhaps due to the perculiarity of his being Muslim. In the absence of nightclubs or theater in Tirana, the king spent much of his free time playing poker. He was also a great lover of perfumed cigarettes, smoking about one hundred and fifty a day. His household expenses made up nearly two percent of the national budget.

Zog had been engaged to the daughter of Shefqet Bey Verlaci before he became king; soon after his coronation, however, he broke off the engagement. According to traditional customs of blood vengeance still prevalent in Albania at the time, Verlaci had the right to kill Zog as a result. The king made more than a few enemies -- rumor had it that he was the subject of over 600 blood vendettas in addition to Verlaci's -- and frequently surrounded himself with a personal guard, avoiding public appearances. In 1931, Zog visited Vienna, and survived an assassination attempt there while leaving the performance of "Pagliacci". He also feared that he might be poisoned, so his mother assumed supervision of the royal kitchen.

During his reign, he was said to have survived over 55 assassination attempts.

In April 1938, Zog married Countess Geraldine Apponyi de Nagy-Apponyi, a Roman Catholic who was half Hungarian and half American. Their only child, Crown Prince Leka Zogu, was born on April 5, 1939.

Relations with Italy

The fascist government of Benito Mussolini's Italy had supported Zog since early in his presidency; that support led to increased Italian influence in Albanian affairs. The Italians forced Zog to refuse to renew the First Treaty of Tirana (1926), although Zog still retained British officers in the Gendarmerie as a counterbalance against the Italians, who had pressured Zog to remove them.

File:Zog2.jpe
King Zog (left) with Italian Count Ciano, 1937

During the worldwide depression of the early 1930s, Zog's government became almost completely dependent on Mussolini (one example-the Albanian national bank had its seat in Rome) . Grain had to be imported from abroad and many Albanians emigrated. In 1932 and 1933, Albania was unable to pay the interest payments on its loans from the Society for the Economic Development of Albania, and the Italians used this a pretext for further dominance. They demanded that Tirana put Italians in charge of the Gendarmerie, join Italy in a customs union, and grant the Italian Kingdom control of Albania's sugar, telegraph, and electrical monopolies. Finally, Italy called for the Albanian government to establish teaching of the Italian language in all Albanian schools, a demand that was swiftly refused by Zog. In defiance of Italian demands, he ordered for the national budget to be slashed by 30 percent, dismissed all Italian military advisers, and nationalized Italian-run Roman Catholic schools in the north of Albania to decrease Italian influence on population of Albania. In 1934 he tried without success to build ties with France, Germany, and the Balkan states, and Albania drifted back into the Italian orbit.

Two days after the birth of his son, on April 7, 1939, Italian troops entered Albania. Mussolini declared Albania a protectorate under Italy's King Victor Emmanuel III. Zog and his family fled into exile.

Life in exile

Immediately after his deposition, Zog moved temporarily to Egypt, where he became a friend to King Farouk. He then began life in exile as a jet setter in various countries. The royal family settled in England firstly at The Ritz Hotel in London, moving in 1941 to Sunninghill, Berkshire and then to Parmoor, Frieth, Buckinghamshire. He was an occasional guest at London's Claridge's on Brook Street in Mayfair. Records of his conversations with friends and family indicate that he wished to set up a feudal kingdom outside of Albania.

In 1951, he bought the Knollwood estate in Muttontown, New York, for approximately $102,800, though some stories claim that he bought the mansion for a bucket of diamonds and rubies. The sixty-room estate was described as a castle. Zog intended Knollwood to be his kingdom-in-exile, staffed by loyal Albanian subjects. Nevertheless, Zog never moved into the mansion, though a local legend holds that he hid his treasure in the mansion's walls. This is unlikely, as by the early 1950s he did not possess any great treasure to hide. Zog sold the estate in 1955, by which point vandals had done over $8,000 worth of damage to it in his absence. The mansion was later further vandalized and parts of it have since been torn down.

When Zog went to United States, he wanted to bring along his entire 115-member royal court, but the immigration authorities only allowed twenty members to come. Zog tried unsuccessfully to bribe the American Senate to permit the rest to join him.

Zog finally chose to make his home in France. Zog died in France in a hospital in Hauts-de-Seine, on April 9, 1961 at the age of 65, survived by his wife and son. He is buried at the Thiais Cemetery in Paris. His widow, HM Queen Geraldine, died of natural causes in 2002 at the age of 87 in a hospital in Tirana, Albania.

Political legacy

During World War II, royalist resistance in northern Albania was largely ineffective, later merging with communist insurgents (partisans). While the Albanian establishment mostly opted for collaboration with the Italians and Germans, it was the partisans who took control of the country. They were able to defeat the last Nazi remnants, as the war ended.

Zog attempted to reclaim his throne after the war but Albania now had a communist government led by Enver Hoxha who remained in power for 45 years. A referendum in 1997 proposed to restore the monarchy in the person of Zog's son Leka Zogu (who since 1961 has styled himself Leka I, King of the Albanians). Two-thirds of voters favoured a continued republican government. On learning of the result HM King Leka attempted an armed uprising as he believed the result to be fraudulent. He was unsuccesful, however and was forced into exile.

Anecdote about Zog

There exists an anecdote of King Zog.

"After Italy's invasion of Albania in 1939, King Zog, having been exiled by Mussolini, set out with his royal retinue for London's Ritz Hotel. The hall porter, surprised by the unusual weight of the king's cases, asked him whether they contained anything valuable. "Yes," Zog replied. "Gold." "

A character bearing a striking similarity to the king, appeared in the Tintin comic book series as "Muskar XII" in King Ottokar's Sceptre.

See also

References

  • Jason Tomes - The Throne of Zog: Monarchy in Albania 1928-1939 (History Today September 2001)

Bibliography

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