Zog I of Albania (8 October 1895-9 April 1961), born Ahmed Muhtar Bey Zogolli and also known as Ahmet Zogu, was Prime Minister of Albania from 26 December 1922 to 25 February 1924 (succeeding Xhafer Ypi and preceding Shefqet Verlaci) and from 6 January 1925 to 1 September 1928 (succeeding Ilias Vrioni and preceding Koco Kota), President of Albania from 31 January 1925 to 1 September 1928, and King of Albania from 1 September 1928 to 9 April 1939 (succeeding Wilhelm, Prince of Albania and preceding Victor Emmanuel III).
Biography[]
A bust of Ahmet Zogu
Ahmed Muhtar Bey Zogolli was born at Burgajet Castle in Albania in 1895, and he came from an aristocratic family which claimed descent from Skanderbeg. He succeeded his father as Governor of Mat in 1911, and he represented Mat at Albania's declaration of independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1912. During World War I, he volunteered in the Austro-Hungarian Army, and he was interned in Vienna from 1917 to 1918 and in Rome from 1918 to 1919, growing to enjoy a Western European lifestyle. On his return to Albania, he became a leading figure among southern feudal landowners, and he served as Governor of Shkoder from 1920 to 1921, Minister of the Interior in 1920 and from 1921 to 1924, and as chief of the army from 1921 to 1922. In 1922, he Albanized his surname to "Zogu", and, in 1923, he was wounded in an assassination attempt in Parliament; during that time, he was affiliated with Luigj Gurakuqi and Bajram Curri's dominant, liberal People's Party. In June 1924, he and several of his allies were forced into exile by a leftist revolt, but he returned with the backing of Yugoslav and White Russian forces and became Prime Minister and, shortly after, President. A new constitution granted Zogu dictatorial powers, appointing all major government personnel and one-third of the lower house. Zogu supported close economic ties with Italy, and he transformed Albania into a police state with no regard for civil liberties, freedom of the press, and political diversity. This resulted in Gurakuqi, Fan Noli, and Avni Rustemi forming the left-wing "Democratic Party" to challenge Zog's dictatorial rule. Meanwhile, Zog switched parties to the far-right conservative "Progressive Party", led by Shefqet Verlaci.
In 1928, Zog transformed Albania into a kingdom with himself as its monarch, "Zog I", believing that the Islamic name "Ahmet" would isolate him among European rulers. He was declared Field Marshal of the Royal Albanian Army and established a "constitutional monarchy" upheld by a strong police force, saluted with a hand-over-heart gesture, and marked by the abolition of sharia law and its replacement with a Swiss-style civil code. While he reigned as a military dictator, he opened Albania's borders to Jewish refugees in 1938.
During his reign, Zog survived 55 assassination attempts, among them attempts on his life by his opponents-in-exile. Zog's government was reliant on Italian fascist support, with this reliance growing during the Great Depression; Italians were allowed to settle in Albania and the Albanian bank relocated to Rome in exchange for the importation of Italian grain. Eventually, Benito Mussolini began to make harsh demands such as the placement of Italians in charge of Zog's British-staffed Gendarmerie, joining an Italian customs union, granting Italy control of key monopolies, and teaching the Italian language in all Albanian schools. Zog responded by dismissing all Italian military advisors, nationalizing Italian-run Catholic schools in Albania, and failing to realign himself with the Western Allies. On 7 April 1939, Italy invaded Albania, forcing Zog and his family to plunder the country's gold from Tirana and Durres and flee to Greece, while the Italians quickly defeated the poorly-equipped Albanian army. Zog later settled in Paris, only to be forced to flee to London following the Fall of France in 1940. In 1946, Zog moved to Egypt, ruled by the Albanian Farouk I of Egypt, and he also bought an estate in Muttontown, Long Island in the United States. In 1955, Zog once again relocated to France after selling his American estate, and he died in Suresnes in 1961 at the age of 65, having been a heavy smoker for much of his life.