Turhan Përmeti

Who was Turhan Përmeti?

Turhan Përmeti was an Albanian politician in the Ottoman Empire and later prime minister of Albania.

Among the Ottoman posts he occupied were Governor of Crete 1895 and 1896, and ambassador in Saint Petersburg. He was a fluent Greek speaker and considered a capable though rather indecisive administrator. His governorship of Crete ended with the insurrection of May 24, 1896 that eventually led to the loss of the island by the Ottoman Empire.

He served as Prime Minister of Albania in 1914, and then again in 1918–1920. Succeeding Fejzi Bej Alizoti, he became Albania’s third prime minister and the first to serve under Prince Wied. Përmeti’s contemporaries argued that, because he had lacked affiliation with the Albanian national cause, he was not familiar with the needs of Albanians. His premiership was interrupted by Albanian discontent twice. He was overthrown by Essad Pasha in 1914, and then by the Congress of Lushnjë in 1920.