Zog I of Albania

Zog I, King of the Albanians (Albanian: Nalt Madhnija e Tij Zogu I, Mbreti i Shqiptarëvet, IPA: [ˈzɔɡu]; 8 October 1895 – 9 April 1961), born Ahmet Muhtar Zogolli, taking the surname Zogu from 1922, was the leader of Albania from 1925 to 1939, first as President (1925–1928) and then as King (1928–1939). Earlier he served as Prime Minister of Albania (1922–1924).

Background and early political career

Zog was born Ahmet Muhtar Zogolli in Burgajet Castle, near Burrel in the northern part of the Albanian section of the Ottoman Empire, second son to Xhemal Pasha Zogolli, and first son by his second wife Sadijé Toptani in 1895. His family was a beylik family of landowners, with feudal authority over the region of Mati. His mother's Toptani family claimed to be descended from the sister of Albania's greatest national hero, the 15th century general Skanderbeg. He was educated at Galatasaray High School (Lycée Impérial de Galatasaray) in Constantinople, then the seat of the decaying Ottoman Empire, which controlled Albania. Upon his father's death in 1911, Zogolli became governor of Mat, being appointed ahead of his elder brother, Xhelal Bey Zogolli.