Bedri Bey Pejani | |
---|---|
Born |
Bedri Abdi Thaçi 1885 Pec, Kosovo Vilayet, Ottoman Empire |
Died | 1946 Prizren |
Nationality | Albanian |
Other names | Bedri bej Pejani |
Occupation | Politician, |
Known for | Albanian Declaration of Independence Committee for the National Defence of Kosovo June Revolution Second League of Prizren |
Awards | Order of Freedom (Kosovo) |
Bedri Pejani (or Bedri bej Ipeku; 1885–1946) was 20th century Albanian politician. During World War II, he was one of the founders of the Second League of Prizren.
Pejani was born in the city of İpek (now Peć) in the Kosovo Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire on 10 June 1885 with the name Bedri Thaçi, son of Abdi Thaçi (Pejani). To refer to his family origin he used the last name Pejani (from Ipek) as was custom for that period.
Pejani was active in the Nationalist Movement of Albanians in the Skopje region against the Young Turk administration in 1908. He was condemned to death by the Ottoman military court, and according to Sejfi Vllamasi's memories he passed a psychological shock which would affect him later. He was a delegate at the Congress of Monastir of 1908, and President of the Second Congress of Manastir. At the age of 27 Pejani became a signatory of the Albanian Declaration of Independence. He represented there the regions of Plav, Gusinje, Gjakova, and Ipek, and signed under the name "Bedri Bej Pejani". Elected at the first Albanian senate, he represented Kosovo at the Conference of Versailles in 1919.
Pejani was one of the founding members of the Committee for the National Defence of Kosovo, founded in Shkodër in November 1918.
In 1920 he became editor-in-chief of Populli ("The people") after the assassination of Sali Nivica, a newspaper based in Shkodër. During the 1921-1923 period he was head of the People's Party (Albanian: Partia e Popullit) formed by Fan Noli and other liberal-nationalists and member of the Albanian Parliament.