11 Facts About Avni Rustemi

Avni Rustemi was an Albanian patriot, militant, teacher, activist and member of the Albanian parliament.

Avni Rustemi was born in Libohove, in a patriotic family of landowners with ancient progressive traditions who were born into the Bektashi faith.

Avni Rustemi attended secondary school in Janina and Istanbul.

In 1917 he taught school in Tepelene and Vlore, and then in early 1919, Avni Rustemi began further studies at the Arberesh College of Saint Adrian in San Demetrio Corone in Calabria.

On 21 May 1920, Avni Rustemi travelled to Rome and continued from there to Paris, pursuant to his instructions.

Avni Rustemi was acquitted of the crime before a French court on 2 December 1920.

On 23 February 1924, Avni Rustemi was involved in an attempt to assassinate Zogu.

Avni Rustemi's widely attended funeral in Vlora on 30 April gave rise to the anti-government demonstrations that led to the Noli Revolution and the short lived rise to power of Fan Noli in June 1924.

Avni Rustemi's ideology, expressed through different forms of speeches and journalism, became a strong weapon for the democratic Albanian youth.

Avni Rustemi bravely criticized the bureaucratic system of that time and the ignorance of the governing classes and fiercely defended traditional values and the human rights of the Albanians living in ethnic Albania.

Avni Rustemi has been the subject of numerous feature films, in most of them he appears as national hero, who killed the traitor of the nation.