Aubrey Herbert, English political personality, popularizer and defender of the Albanian issue in the international arena, was born. He was born in 1880. From 1904 to 1917 he traveled through the Albanian lands, from north to south, got to know the Albanian people, learned Albanian and tried to support them in difficult moments for their national issue. At the time of the declaration of independence, the creation of the independent Albanian state and the initiation of efforts to stabilize it, in 1913, Aubrey Herbert created the Anglo-Albanian Committee in London, which he led for many years together with the secretary of to this committee, Edith Durham. In this capacity, he devoted himself to the protection of the rights of the Albanian nation for an independent state and for the unification of its lands. He provided valuable assistance during the years of World War I. He was appointed “Honorary delegate” of the “Vatra” Federation in Europe since 1916 and at the Peace Conference in Paris (1919). In favor of the Albanian cause, he published many materials in the European press and intervened in European international institutions, especially with the English governors. He passed away in 1923. In 1924, his book “Ben Kendim: A Record of Eastern Travel” was published, in which Aubrey Herbert wrote entire sections about the characteristics and values of the Albanian people. On May 17, 1924, the National Assembly of Albania (Constitutional Assembly) observed a minute of silence in his honor. He has been decorated with the silver “Naim Frashëri” order. (In the photo: Aubrey Herbert)
Text: Albanian encyclopedic dictionary – Vol. 2 , Academy of Sciences of Albania, “Kristalina-KH”, Tirana, 2008, page 909.
Photo: © http://www.Albanianhistory.net/1912_Herbert/index.html
Graphic processing: AHCF
