In the village of Bekaj in Triesh of the Malësi e Madhe, Mirash Ivanaj was born an activist, leader and, reformer, organizer of national education, and Teacher of the People. He finished high school in Pozharevac (Serbia) and continued his studies for ten years in literature-philosophy and law at the Royal University of Rome. He first worked in Shkodër as a publicist and lawyer. Then, I was a teacher and director of the State Gymnasium of Shkodra, a teacher in the Gymnasium of Tirana, and a minister of education (1933-1935). At the head of the Ministry of Education, he initiated and led the educational reform of 1933, through which he nationalized and secularized the Albanian schools; supplemented the texts and improved the teaching programs; repaired the school premises and strengthened the discipline, etc. He was a member and chairman of the State Council (1936-1939), but after the fascist occupation of Albania, he emigrated to Turkey. After the liberation, he returned to his homeland, where the communist regime sentenced him to 7 years in prison. He died after six years, in prison. He was decorated with the “Honour of the Nation” Order (2003). (In the photo: Mirash Ivanaj)
Text: Albanian encyclopedic dictionary – Vol. 2 , Academy of Sciences of Albania, “Kristalina-KH”, Tirana, 2008, page 1055.
Photo: © https://sq.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirash_Ivanaj
Graphic processing: AHCF
