International Gendarmerie

International Gendarmerie
Albanian Gendarmerie in southern Albania, 1913
Country	Principality of Albania
Type	Gendarmerie
Role	Law enforcement agency
Commanders
Colonel	Willem De Veer
Major	Lodewijk Thomson

The International Gendarmerie was the first law enforcement agency of the Principality of Albania. It was established by the decision of the ambassadors of the six Great Powers that participated in the London Peace Conference. This decision was made on the basis of the London Treaty signed on May 30, 1913. Since most of the members were from the Netherlands, this force was also known as the Dutch Military Mission.

The first gendarmerie members arrived in Albania on November 10, 1913. They were soon faced with a peasant revolt. One International Gendarmerie officer was killed and many were imprisoned after the revolt erupted in June 1914. Dutch officers were gradually replaced by officers from Austria-Hungary and Germany, who arrived in Durrës on July 4. Soon, World War I broke out and by August 4, most of the Dutch officers had returned to the Netherlands. By September 19, 1914, the last two imprisoned officers were released.

The ambassadors of the six Great Powers decided to constitute the Principality of Albania on July 29, 1913 during the 54th meeting of the London Conference. The new country needed a sovereign, borders, government and military police force. To ensure the gendarmerie's neutrality, the Powers decided that its members should come from a different country. Their first choice was Sweden, but that country was already busy with a similar mission in Persia, they chose the Netherlands for its neutrality, lack of direct interest in Albania and extensive colonial experience in the Dutch East Indies. On October 15, 1913 they established the International Commission of Control to administer the country until its own political institutions were established.Wilhelm of Wied was selected as the first prince.