Osman Haxhiu, leader of the Albanian National Movement and one of the leaders of the Vlora War (1920), passed away. He was born in Picar, Vlora. He finished the American high school “Roberts College”, in Istanbul. He was involved in the patriotic activity of the club “Labëria” of Vlora (1908). In the years 1911-1912, he participated in the Anti-Ottoman Uprising of Vlora and Mallakastra. With the Declaration of National Independence, he served in the sub-prefecture of Fier and the Municipality of Vlora. In the years 1914-1917, he was prefect of Vlora. In an effort to protect national rights, Osman Haxhiu opposed the Italian invaders, who removed him from the post of prefect in February 1917. With his stance against the efforts of the government of Rome to separate the province of Vlora from Albania and to establish Italian sovereignty over it, gained great authority in the province of Vlora. In the Assembly of Barçallai (Vlora) on May 29, 1920, Osman Haxhiu was elected chairman of the National Defense Committee, which organized and directed the War of Vlora. In 1921, he was elected a deputy in the Albanian parliament (1921–1923). He participated in the Democratic Revolution of June 1924 and supported the government of Fan S. Noli. After Fan Noli’s government fell, he retired from political life. (In the photo: Osman Haxhiu)
Text: Albanian encyclopedic dictionary – Vol. 2 , Academy of Sciences of Albania, “Kristalina-KH”, Tirana, 2008, page 897-898.
Photo: © Xhoxhi L., personal archive
Graphic processing: AHCF
