Mithat Frashëri, political activist, writer, publicist, translator (also known by the pseudonyms Lumo Skëndo and Mali Kokojka) passed away in New York (USA). He was born in Ioannina, in 1880. He settled with his family in Istanbul, where, after his father’s death in 1892, his education was taken care of by Naim and Sami Frashëri, who also became his teachers. Under their influence and as an autodidact, he acquired a wide culture and mastered several foreign languages, which enabled him to serve in the Ottoman administration. From a young age, he devoted himself to the national cause. In July 1908, he founded the newspaper “Liria” (“Freedom”) in Thessaloniki. From 1897-1928, he published the magazine “Kalendari Kombiar” intermittently, and in 1909 he founded the magazine “Diturija” (“Knowledge”), which was first published in Thessaloniki, then in Constance (1916) and in Tirana (1926-1929). Both these magazines played a role in the national and cultural movement. They published documents and writings on issues of history, language, folklore and traditions of the Albanian people. Mithat Frashëri participated in the Congress of Bitola (1908), where he was elected chairman and appointed to the Alphabet Commission. In 1909, the Thessaloniki club, directed by him, issued the call for holding the Congress of Elbasan (1909), where Mithat Frashëri participated as a delegate of Skopje, Thessaloniki and Chameria. In the years 1910-1912 he stayed in Bucharest and Sofia and was involved in the activities of the patriotic colonies there. He participated in the National Assembly of Vlora, on November 28, 1912, and signed the Declaration of Independence Act. In the government of Ismail Qemali, he was appointed Minister of World Affairs. He supported the government of Prince Vid (1914), where he was charged with the office of Minister of Posts and World Affairs. He left after the outbreak of the uprising of Central Albania and stayed in Italy, Switzerland and Bulgaria, where he collaborated with the press. In the years 1923-1925, he was Minister Plenipotentiary of Albania in Greece, where he protested against the forced migration of the Cham population to Turkey. In the years 1926-1939, he opened the bookstore “Lumo Skëndo” in Tirana. In the years of the fascist occupation, he founded and led the organization of the National Front, which collaborated with the German invaders. At the end of the war, he left Albania; at first he settled in Italy and then in London, where he created the “Shqipëria e Lirë” (“Free Albania”) committee (1949). He was decorated with the “Gjergj Kastrioti – Skënderbeu” (“Gjergj Kastriot-Skanderbeg”) order. (In the photo: Mithat Frashëri)
Text: Albanian encyclopedic dictionary – Vol. 1 , Academy of Sciences of Albania, “Kristalina-KH”, Tirana, 2008, page 725-726.
Photo: © https://sq.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid%27hat_Frash%C3%ABri
Graphic processing: AHCF
