The patriot Luigj Gurakuqi was born. He attended the College of Saint Adrian in the Arbëresh village of San Demetrio (Italy) and studied medicine and biology at the University of Naples. He has a rich literary, journalistic, national and political activity. His activity began with lyrical poetry and translations into the Albanian language. It continued with the publication of primer texts in the two dialects of Albanian. He wrote articles in the Albanian press. In 1908, he participated as vice-president of the commission for the unification of the alphabet, in the Congress of Manastir. In 1911, he was one of the drafters of the Greça Memorandum during the 1911 Mbishkodra highlanders’ uprising, which laid out a complete program of Albanian autonomy. He was in the Assembly of Vlora for the Declaration of Independence and was appointed Minister of Education by Ismail Qemali. In 1916, he was appointed General Director of Education. In 1918 , he was elected Minister of Education and a member of the Albanian delegation to the Peace Conference in Paris. Luigj Gurakuqi was involved in the June Movement of 1924 and was elected Minister of Finance in Fan Noli’s government. (In the photo: Luigj Gurakuqi)
Text: Albanian encyclopedic dictionary – Vol. 1, Academy of Sciences of Albania, “Kristalina-KH”, Tirana, 2008, page 798-799.
Photo: © National History Museum
Graphic processing: AHCF
