Mihal Zallari, publicist, translator and poet, was born in Frashër in Përmet. At the age of 12, together with his family, he moved to Istanbul. He completed primary and secondary school there and studied at the German High School. In 1922 he was admitted to the Faculty of State Sciences at the University of Graz (Karl-Franzens-Universität). After finishing his studies in Graz in 1925, Mihal returned to Albania where he settled for some time in the dormitory of Gjirokastra and then, at the beginning of the 1930s, he finally settled in Tirana. At the Royal School of Officers, he was engaged in teaching, where he taught the subject of art history. Likewise, in addition, Mihal taught as an external teacher of the subject of mathematics in several other schools of the capital. After returning from Austria, Mihal Zallari started to write in the newspapers of the time, where he quickly became one of the most popular publicists with numerous editorials in the newspapers “Demokratia“ (“Democracy”), “Besa“ (“The Pledge”), etc. Even during the war, he wrote a lot in the newspaper “Kombi” (“Nation”) and “Bashkimi” (“Unity”). With the capitulation of Italy, Mihal was requred in the Provisional Committee, which had the attributes of the Government, and then in the election of the Assembly, which had the functions of the Parliament, where he was elected its chairman. Mihal remained in this position until October 1944. He was arrested on February 6, 1944 by the communists, as a “war criminal”. During the special trial (March 1-April 13, 1945) he was accused of being an “enemy of the people”. On April 13, 1945, the Special Court sentenced him to 30 years in prison. On April 22, 1962, he was released from prison, having served most of his sentence in Burrel prison. After his release, he settled in Tirana, where he worked for some time in the capital’s publishing company. He passed away in Tirana, in 1976. (In the photo: Mihal Zallari)
Text: Encyclopedic dictionary of victims of communist terror – Vol. IX , “West Print”, Institute for the Study of Crimes and Consequences of Communism, Tirana, 2020, page 215-216.
Graphic processing: AHCF
