Rexhep Mitrovica (1888 - 1967)

Rexhep Mitrovica, an activist for the national cause, a signatory of the Act of Independence in 1912, Minister of Education, and Prime Minister of Albania during a difficult period of the Second World War (1943–1944).

Despite his contribution in Kosovo in opposing Serbian Chetnik forces, his role in helping save Jews and Roma from deportation, and his efforts to defend Albania’s northern border, he was labelled a “collaborator” by the post-war government. This designation was linked to his election, on 16 October 1943, by the National Assembly in Tirana as a member of the High Council of the Regency, followed on 5 November of the same year by his appointment as Prime Minister of Albania.