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Zog I
King of the Albanians
(1895–1961)

Other names: Ahmed bey Zog, Skënderbeg III

Biographical

King of the Albanians, 1928–39 dep; titular from 1939–61†
Hereditary Governor of Mati, 1911
Chief of the Gheg clan, 1911 Knight of the Order of St Stephen of Hungary, 1938 (Hungary)
Knight of the Order of Leopold, 1929 (Belgium)
Knight of the Order of the Annunziata, 1928 (Italy)
Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Carol I, 1928 (Romania)
Knight of the Legion of Honour, 1926 (France)
Commander of the Order of Franz Josef, with swords, 1918 (Austria)
Knight of the Order of the Golden Lion of Nassau (Luxembourg/Netherlands)
Collar of the Order of Muhammad ‘Ali (Egypt)
Grand Cross of the Order of the Star of Karageorge (Serbia)
Knight Grand Cross of the Orders of Saint Maurice and Saint Lazarus (Italy)
Knight of the Order of the Redeemer (Greece)
Grand Cross of the National Order of Civil Merit (Bulgaria)
Knight of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland)
Order of the White Lion, first class with collar (Czechoslovakia)
Grand Star of the Decoration of Honour for Merit (Austria)

Field Marshal, Royal Albanian Army 1928
President of Albania, 1925–28
Minister for War, 1925
Prime Minister of Albania 1922–24 deposed; January 1925
General and Commander–in–Chief of the Forces, 1921–22
Governor of Skutari, 1920–21
Minister for the Interior, 1920, 1921–24 & 1925
Colonel of the Imperial and Royal Austro–Hungarian Army, 1916 Colonel, 1912

Biographical

Zog emerged as a political leader in post–World War I Albania, eventually rising through government ranks before being ousted in 1924; he returned later that year with Yugoslav backing, became president in early 1925, and was crowned king in 1928, ushering in a period of relative stability. His rule saw deepening ties with Italy, beginning with a financial agreement in 1925 and evolving into military pacts that gave Mussolini growing control over Albania. Despite attempts to resist Italian dominance in the 1930s, Zog was forced into exile when Italy occupied the country in 1939, and Victor Emmanuel III of Italy was made King of Albania. After World War II, the rise of a communist regime under Enver Hoxha dashed his hopes of returning, and he officially abdicated in 1946. In 2012, his remains were returned from France and laid to rest in a newly constructed royal crypt in Tirana.

Place of birth: Burgajet
Place of marriage: Tirana
Place of death: Suresnes, France
Place of burial: Tirana, 2012

Son of Xhemal Zogu Pasha and Sadije Toptani, he married Geraldine Apponyi de Nagy-Appony in 1938, and had issue.

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