Andrea Ekonomi | |
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| Born | (1879-07-14)July 14, 1879 |
| Died | 11 March 1934(1934-03-11) (aged 54) |
| Occupation(s) | educator, activist |
| Awards |  People's Teacher |
Andrea Ilia Ekonomi (14 July 1879 – 11 March 1934) was anAlbanian teacher, patriot and intellectual. Along with Pal Xhumari, he representedKavajë at theChurch Congress of Berat in 1922.
Andrea Ekonomi was born inKavajë to the well-known Ekonomi family. After completing studies at the local Greek school in his hometown he went on to study for a brief period inRomania. He returned home in 1902 and began teaching written Albanian to the local population despite the disliked from the central Ottoman authorities. Ekonomi would later move to Egypt and there he was acquainted with intellectualsJani Vruho and Thanas Tashko. Persuaded to return home by Ottoman authorities, he transferred to the southern town ofGjirokastër in 1908 where he opened the first official secularist Albanian language school there, "Iliria". In 1913, he was elected president of the "Ditunia" society which struggled to promote education on a national level. After the departure ofPrince Wied like many other Albanians, Ekonomi migrated toBari, Italy. He returned home in 1920 and two years later was elected as one of the delegates to represent Kavajë at the Church Congress of Berat, which established the autonomous Albanian Orthodox Church. Ekonomi died suddenly and suspiciously in 1934 at a hospital inTirana. On November 26, 1962, he was posthumously awarded the Order "For Patriotic Duties Class III." and on December 10, 1992, he was awarded the title "People's Teacher".[1]
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