Mihal Turtulli
| Mihal Turtulli | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | 1847 Korçë, Manastir Vilayet |
| Died | 1935 Egypt |
| Nationality | Albanian |
| Other names | Michal Tourtoulis Dr.Turtulli |
| Occupation | Oculist, politician |
| Known for | Paris Peace Conference, 1919 |
Mihal Turtulli (1847–1935), also known as Michal Tourtoulis or Dr. Turtulli, was an Albanian oculist, politician, member of High Council of State (Jan - Dec 1920), and representative of Albania in the Paris Peace Conference, 1919.
M.Turtulli was born in Korçë, Ottoman Empire. His family originated in Vithkuq and had settled in Korçë circa 1823. He was practically raised in El-Fayyūm, Egypt being part of the Albanian colony there. He graduated from the Lycée Al-Horreya of Alexandria. During the period 1876-1885, he studied medicine in Greece and later in France, where he became and oculist. He returned to Egypt in 1885 and worked as a physician in Cairo's hospitals until 1912. Following the Albanian Declaration of Independence from the Ottoman Empire in November 1912, he returned to Albania.
Turtulli was a supporter of Prince Wied for the Albanian throne. He was part of the delegation that went to Neuwied, Germany to offer the crown to Wied.
He was elected Minister of Health and Education in the provisional government of Turhan Pasha Permeti on May 20, 1914. He spent most of the period until 1918 in Lausanne, Switzerland. During this time, he was active in the Albanian patriotic press where he advocated total unity between social and regional communities of Albania. While in Switzerland, together with Pandeli Cale and Sotir Kolea, he published the periodical L'Albanie, which went out during 1915-1919.
On June 3, 1917, with his initiative, Vatra, the Pan-Albanian Federation of America held a fundraising congress in order to support the diplomatic activities of Albania in the processes following World War I. Turtulli was the first to donate, with an amount of $1,000. In his telegram, he urged all members of Albanian-American diaspora to donate $10. This was the first fundraising event of Vatra, for this purpose.
In 1918, he was elected Representative of Vatra to establish contacts with the Albanian community of Italy and Italian authorities, in the eve of Congress of Durres. Due to his non pro-Italian stance, he was substituted by Mehmet Konica. Turtulli participated in the Congress of Durres (Dec 25-27, 1918), and was elected Minister without portfolio in the government that came out of it.
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