On April 12, 1939, after the occupation of Albania by the Fascist Italy (April 7), the so-called Constitutional Assembly was convened in Tirana, consisting of 159 people, chosen from among the elite of the country, among the nobles, big merchants, various intellectuals, many of whom had faithfully served the Zog regime in the years 1928–1939. It was headed by Xhafer Ypi. The Constitutional Assembly declared the end of the Kingdom of Zog and abolished the Constitution of the former monarchy, as well as offered the crown to Victor Emmanuel III, sanctioning the annexation of Albania by Italy. The Albanian state formally remained a Constitutional Kingdom under the Italian rule. (In the photo: Constituent Assembly, 1939.)
Text: Xhoxhi L., 100 years of Albanian parliamentarism , “print-AL”, Tirana, 2021, page 40.
Photo: © Dervishi K., personal archive
Graphic processing: AHCF
