Ekrem Vlora

Ekrem Bey Vlora
Born	1885 Vlorë, Ottoman Empire
Died	1964 Vienna, Austria
Other names	Ekrem Vlora, Eqrem bej Vlora
Occupation	Scholar, writer, politician
Known for	Assembly of Vlorë Defense of Vlorë, 1912-1913

Eqrem Vlora (1885–1964), also known as Ekrem bey Vlora, was an Albanian lord, politician, writer, and one of the delegates to the Assembly of Vlorë, which proclaimed the Albanian Declaration of Independence in November 28, 1912.

He was born in Vlora, the son of Syrja Bey Vlora, member of one of the wealthiest landowning families of the south. He was related both to Ismail Qemali and also to his main political opponent Esad Pasha, who were both his uncles from his father's and mother's side respectively. He was educated at the Theresianum in Vienna, 1899–1903, and studied law and religion in Istanbul, 1904. After working for the Ottoman Foreign Ministry for a time, including a three-month tour of duty at the Ottoman embassy in St. Petersburg in 1907, and years of travel in Europe, Albania and the Orient, he joined his uncle Ismail Qemali in the movement for Albanian independence. During these travels he met some of the most important personalities of the time, including Herbert Kitchener, Franz Conrad von Hotzendorf, several Arab sheikhs who would become the monarchs of the Arab countries and also a young lieutenant, Mustafa Kemal, who would eventually become the president of Turkey. According to Vlora's memoirs, members of his family were de facto (not de jure) sanjakbeys of Sanjak of Avlona in period 1481—1828.

During the Balkan Wars, he was given the rank of reserve major and the command of a territorial battalion for the defense of Vlora by the Turkish commander in Ioannina. After several successful skirmishes with the Greek forces in the area of Himarë, he was recalled to Vlora by his uncle, Ismail bey.

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