Aleks Buda, personality of historiography and Albanian culture in the second half of the 20th century, first president of the Academy of Sciences of Albania (1972-1993), Teacher of the People, passed away in Tirana. He was born in Elbasan, in a well-known intellectual family. He completed primary school in Lecce (Lecce, Italy), secondary school in Salzburg (Salzburg, Austria), higher studies at the Faculty of Philosophy (philosophy-literature branch) of the University of Vienna (1929–1935). Then (1939-1943) he worked as a teacher in the High School of Tirana and Korça. He participated in the National Liberation Anti-Fascist Movement; in 1944 he was elected vice president of the Anti-Fascist National Liberation Council of Elbasan district. He was one of the organizers of the Institute of Sciences, where he led the department of history and sociology and helped establish the departments of archeology and ancient history, medieval history, modern history, medieval art, ethnography, etc. . With the formation of the Institute of History and Linguistics in 1955, Aleks Buda, as one of its organizers and the most experienced scientific workers, founded the medieval history department and thus laid the foundations of Albanian medieval studies. With the establishment of the University of Tirana (1957), Aleks Buda became one of the founders of the Albanian history departament and the Albanian history course at the Faculty of History and Philology. As the president of the Academy of Sciences of Albania since its foundation (1972) and as a researcher with comprehensive cultural, historical, linguistic, archaeological, ethnographic, medieval art, etc. training, Aleks Buda made a valuable contribution to the organization of research-scientific work, especially in the field of albanology, orienting scientific research in the study of the history of the Albanian nation, in particular the ancient history, the medieval history and the National Renaissance. Aleks Buda conceived and conceptualized the collective work “Historia e Shqipërisë” (History of Albania) (volumes I-II, 1959, 1965), a completely new work both in terms of content breadth and treatment, as well as scientific criteria for construction and observation of the historical process. He is also a co-author and co-editor of the new edition of the “Historia e Shqipërisë” (History of Albania) (volume II, 1984), co-author of the “Historisë së popullit shqiptar” (History of the Albanian People), volume II, 2002. He provided invaluable assistance in the scientific leadership (chief editor) of the “Fjalorit enciklopedik shqiptar” (Albanian Encyclopedic Dictionary) (1985). Aleks Buda has represented Albanian historical science at international conferences and congresses, including those of the Association for Southeast European Studies, the World Association of Historians, etc., where he addressed issues of Albanian history, highlighting the historical peculiarities of Albania’s development compared to other Balkan countries and the mutual relations of Albanians with other peoples. He has been awarded the “Order of the Republic” first class, decorated with the “Order of Freedom” first class and the “Order of the Flag of Labor” first class. The President of the Republic of Austria decorated him with the “Great Gold Medal” (1990). Aleks Buda has been a deputy in the People’s Assembly for several legislatures (since 1950) and a member of the General Council of the Democratic Front of Albania. (In the photo: Alex Buda)
Text: Albanian encyclopedic dictionary – Vol. 1 , Academy of Sciences of Albania, “Kristalina-KH”, Tirana, 2008, page 315-316.
Photo: © https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleks_Buda
Graphic processing: AHCF
