Forsaken Albania

By Artan Lame
Tirana, 1925. I noticed that last week’s edition left a feeling of sadness among many people with all its rags and poverty. So this time, allow me to paint a picture of brilliance. In January 1925, Ahmet Zog, newly returned from exile in Yugoslavia, proclaims the Albanian Republic and himself at the head of this Republic. On this occasion, several uniforms were ordered for him in Italy (I know at least three types), of which, the one shown in the photograph is the more fancy. I will allow one of his contemporaries, Catin Saraci, describe the uniform..
“I strode into His Excellency’s reception room and was taken so much by surprise, I could hardly believe the extraordinary scene before my eyes, hence my hesitation on the threshold. I looked intently at him before I opened my mouth to greet him. Zog twirled around towards me and with a smile of happiness said, “I can see that you like my uniform, as do I. It is no wonder, because the individual who cut and sewed it is truly an artist.
He continued to stand in front of the mirror dressed in that crisp white uniform, a pompom of white feathers on top of a white felt Cossack type hat, embroidered in white, a white tunic, white trousers, white gloves, and to my astonishment, even white leather boots which shone from their polishing. Even the belts from which the sword hung were white. Unfortunately, the person who was some kind of Court photographer only managed to take the one photograph where Zog, all dressed up in his white uniform, stands there looking like a peacock.”
The above uniform was truly magnificent, but unfortunately very much out of fashion. Uniforms of this kind had been the rage up until World War One, but after this War, they more or less ceased to be used. And even when they were in fashion, these uniforms were only worn for parades or other ceremonial occasions, and by Heads of State who were Monarchs, not Presidents. The origin of white uniforms for monarchs dates back to ancient times, as far back as the Roman Emperors, who were the only persons to be attired in white on the field of battle. Between the Emperors of Rome and our President from Mat, there is a substantial difference, but so what!
Zog was well aware of the value in a shining new uniform in the eyes of his Albanian subjects, and from this viewpoint, he was following in the footsteps of Isat Pasha Toptani, who even after the Proclamation of Independence, continued to wear the uniform of a Turkish General to give himself greater stance. During the time he was in Albania, Prince Vid also wore military uniform, to avoid acquiring the mundane bourgeois appearance complete with the borsalino, in the eyes of his subjects.
If all this reasoning possibly had any meaning at all, in the environment of the mountains of Albania, it remained absolutely beyond the comprehension of the Europeans, which led to the Monarchy of Zog being treated in their newspapers of the day, as a series of operettas and it was never taken seriously.
Twenty years later, Enver Hoxha also fell under the spell of military attire, but he soon got over this virus, making sure the rest of the military did too, by removing all their grades as well.