This page is about the Albanian national hero - for the town named after him, see Bajram Curri (town)

Bajram Curri (town)

Bajram Curri is a town in Northern Albania on the border with Kosovo, in a remote, mostly mountainous region. Water from the mountains flow into the waters of the Valbona River, the latter being famous for having the clearest river water in Albania. The town is named after Bajram Curri, a national...

.

Bajram Curri (1862 – March 29, 1925) was an ethnic Albanian

Albanians

Albanians are a nation and ethnic group native to Albania and neighbouring countries. They speak the Albanian language. More than half of all Albanians live in Albania and Kosovo...

 politician and activist within the Vilayet of Kosovo, Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

. He is awarded the title Hero of Albania.

Curri was born in Gjakova, in the Rumelia Province

Rumelia

Rumelia was an historical region comprising the territories of the Ottoman Empire in Europe...

 of the Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

. Whilst the present-day regions of Albania

Albania

Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...

 and Serbia

Serbia

Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...

 were under Ottoman control, Curri represented the interests of the Albanians. He successfully fought in 1912 against the Young Turks

Young Turks

The Young Turks , from French: Les Jeunes Turcs) were a coalition of various groups favouring reformation of the administration of the Ottoman Empire. The movement was against the absolute monarchy of the Ottoman Sultan and favoured a re-installation of the short-lived Kanûn-ı Esâsî constitution...

. During World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, he organized a guerrilla

Guerrilla warfare

Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...

 unit as part of the Kachak

Kachak

A Kachak is an originally Turkish term for rebel or bandit. In Albania the term is used to define guerrilla units established by Albanian revolutionaries who fought in Albanian inhabited areas against foreign rule during the period of the Albanian National Awakening and the early 20th century in...

 movement trough the Committee for the National Defence of Kosovo

Committee for the National Defence of Kosovo

The Committee for the National Defence of Kosovo was an Albanian organization illegally founded in Shkoder at the beginning of November 1918. It was mainly consisted of the political exiles from Kosovo and was led by Hoxha Kadriu from Priština. It existed in looser form since May 1915...

 which he was a member.

When Albania was reconstituted after the war, he held various governments posts as a Minister and as a commander in the army. As an opponent of the later King Ahmed Zogu, to whom the Kosovo issue was less important, he was pursued by the King's troops and encircled in the northern Albanian mountains. He shot himself on March 29, 1925, in order to escape capture. The place where he died, Dragobi, in Tropojë District

Tropojë District

The District of Tropojë is one of the thirty-six districts of Albania, part of Kukës County. It has a population of 16,260 , and an area of 1,043 km². It is in the north of the country, and its capital is Bajram Curri. The area is also known for its massive chestnuts forests and the Valbonë...

, was renamed after him (Bajram Curri

Bajram Curri (town)

Bajram Curri is a town in Northern Albania on the border with Kosovo, in a remote, mostly mountainous region. Water from the mountains flow into the waters of the Valbona River, the latter being famous for having the clearest river water in Albania. The town is named after Bajram Curri, a national...

), to commemorate him as a freedom fighter.