Sejfi Vllamasi

Who was Sejfi Vllamasi?

Sejfi Vllamasi, an Albanian congressman and well-known politician during the first half of the 20th century. He was born in the village of Novoselë, in Kolonjë, Albania

Vllamasi studied in Istanbul, Turkey for veterinary. His activities started in 1905, as activist of Secret Committee for the Liberation of Albania in Monastir. Initially he was a member of the People's Party led by Fan S. Noli and took part in the June Revolution of 1924 to overthrow the rightist government. After the revolution was crushed, he migrated to Western Europe.

Vllamasi has been accused to participating in the anti-royalist movement during his exile in Vienna. He has been a founding member of the "Bashkimi Kombetar" organization, one of the organizations that collected many anti-Zog politicians in exile. Vllamasi was one of the organizers of the assassination attempt on Zogu in Vienna. He was arrested by the Austrian police, released shortly and deported from Austria. Since them he moved to Paris along with most of the other diaspora activists.

During Nazi Germany's occupation, Vllamasi returned to Albania and became a member of the puppet government.