TheAll-Albanian Congress[1] orAlbanian National Congress[2] orAlbanian Independence Congress[3] was a congress held inVlorë (thenOttoman Empire, todayRepublic of Albania) on November 28, 1912.[4] At the beginning of the session,Ismail Qemali took the floor and, referring to the threatened Albanian rights resulting from the Albanian revolts of the previous four years, explained to the participants of the congress that they should do whatever was necessary to save Albania.[5] After his speech they began by checking the documents.[6]
After the documents were checked, Ismail Qemali again took the floor and gave a speech stating that he believed that the only way to prevent division of the territory of theAlbanian Vilayet between theBalkan allies was to separate it from theOttoman Empire.[7] Qemali's proposal was unanimously accepted and it was decided to sign thedeclaration of independence of Albania in the name of the constituted Assembly of Vlorë (Albanian:Kuvendi i Vlorës). By thedeclaration of Albanian independence the Assembly of Vlorë rejected the autonomy granted by the Ottoman Empire to the Albanian Vilayet, projected a couple of months earlier.[8] Theconsensus was for completeindependence.[9]
The sitting was then suspended and members of the newly constituted National Assembly went to the house of Ismail Qemali, who raised the flag ofSkanderbeg on thebalcony of his house, in front of the gathered people.[10]
The second session of the Assembly of Vlorë was held on December 4, 1912. During that session members of the assembly established theProvisional Government of Albania. It was a government that consisted of ten members, led byIsmail Qemali until his resignation on January 22, 1914.[11] The Assembly established theSenate (Albanian:Pleqësi) with an advisory role to the government, consisting of 18 members of the Assembly.[12]
^Zhelyazkova, Antonina (2000)."Albania and Albanian Identities". International Center for Minority Studies and Intercultural Relations. Archived fromthe original on August 7, 2011. RetrievedJanuary 24, 2011.calling together an all-Albanian congress. On 28 November 1912, delegates from all over the country gathered in Vlora
^Qemali, Ismail."Ismail Kemal bey Vlora: Memoirs". Archived fromthe original on June 17, 2010. RetrievedJanuary 23, 2011.from all parts of the country to Valona, where a national congress was to be held
^Nosi, Lef."Dokumenta historike për t'i shërbye historiës tone kombëtare". Archived fromthe original on May 7, 2011. RetrievedJanuary 23, 2011...Ismail Kemal bey... took the floor and explained... that they all must strive to do what is necessary to save Albania from the great perils it is now facing.... they began by checking the documents...
^Langer, William Leonard; Ploetz, Karl Julius (1940).Encyclopedia of World History. Houghton Mifflin company.ISBN0-395-65237-5. RetrievedJanuary 24, 2011.Proclamation of Albanian independence by an assembly at Valona which rejected the grant of autonomy made by Turkish government{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
^Giaro, Tomasz (2007)."The Albanian legal and constitutional system between the World Wars".Modernisierung durch Transfer zwischen den Weltkriegen. Frankfurt am Main, Germany: Vittorio Klosterman GmbH. p. 185.ISBN978-3-465-04017-0. RetrievedJanuary 24, 2011.From its own members congress elected a senate (Pleqësi), composed of 18 members, which assumed advisory role to the government.
