Mujo Ulqinaku

Mujo Ulqinaku
Birth name Mujo Cakuli
Born 1896
Ulcinj, Principality of Montenegro (now Montenegro)
Died 7 April 1939 (aged 42–43)
Durrës, Albanian Kingdom (now Albania)
Allegiance Royal Albanian Army
Battles/wars Italian Invasion of Albania
Awards People's Hero of Albania

Mujo Ulqinaku (born Mujo Cakuli), (1896–1939) was an Albanian officer of the Royal Albanian Army, known for his resistance on April 7, 1939, to the Italian forces during the Italian Invasion of Albania. He was given the People's Hero of Albania award after death.

Life

Mujo Ulqinaku was born in Ulcinj, Principality of Montenegro, now modern Montenegro, in 1896 to a family of a sailors and fishermen. Since in his teens he entered in commercial fleet in Shkodër and Lezhë. Later he entered in Albanian navy based in Durrës with the rank of sergeant. He was one of the few officers of the Royal Border Guard (part of Royal Albanian Army) who tried to stop the Italian invasion of Albania. Armed only with a machine gun he was placed in the center of defense line and fought uninterruptedly until he was eventually killed by an artillery shell from an Italian warship in the last hour of the combat, and never quit his position.[1] Before dying it is reported that he had killed and wounded dozens of Italian soldiers with his machine gun.[2]

Legacy

Mujo Ulqinaku's statue in Durrës, in front of the Durrës Castle.

To honor his action, patriotism, and sense of duty a monument was erected in front of the Durrës Castle. A grammar school in Durrës and a street in Tirana and Prishtina bear his name.[2] A documentary on his life and act with the title "Lufton Mujo Ulqinaku" (English: Mujo Ulqinaku fights on) was released in 1979 by Kinostudio Shqipëria e Re.[3]

References

  1. ↑ Zeqo, Mojkom (1980). Mujo Ulqinaku (in Albanian). Tirana, Albania: 8 Nëntori Pub. House.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Kore, Blerim (7 April 2009). "Kur mbreti italian Viktor Emanueli, vizitonte Gjirokastren". Koha Jone (in Albanian) (Koha Jone). Retrieved 2 September 2010.
  3. ↑ Mujo Ulqinaku at the Internet Movie Database