GJENDJA E RËNDË EKONOMIKO-FINANCIARE E SHQIPËRISË DHE PËRPJEKJET E QEVERISË SHQIPTARE PËR SIGURIMIN E NJË KËSHILLTARI FINANCIAR BRITANIK (1921 -1922)
THE DIFFICULT ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL SITUATION OF ALBANIA AND THE EFFORTS OF THE ALBANIAN GOVERNMENT TO PROVIDE A BRITISH FINANCIAL ADVISOR (1921-1922)

Summary/Abstract: This article reflects the endless difficulties faced by the leaders of the Albanian state in economic and financial terms in the early 1920s. In January 1922, the Albanian government asked the British government to support her in finding a capable financial advisor. The Albanian government undertook to give the British adviser full powers, such as: Full administrative control of staff and the organization of the Ministry of Finance; Giving a specialized opinion on the terms of the proposed concessions; Seek and propose new sources of revenue for the Albanian state budget; To assist the Albanian govemment in drafting the state budget. However, the financial advisor did not have the right to allocate funds to various ministries nor to block the drafting of the Albanian state’ final budget. The Minister of Albania in London, Mehmet Konica, invited the former British diplomat George Young to take the position of the financial advisor of Albania. Top Foreign Office officials expressed a unique opposition to this proposal. The British government rejected Albania’s request to have a British financial adviser, for the following reasons: First, the Albanian proposal could provoke a backlash from Italy, France and the Serbo-Croatian-Slovenian Kingdom. Secondly, since Albania was not a priority of British interests, the presence of the British financial advisor in this Balkan country would not bring any great benefit to Great Britain. Third, in conditions when the future state of the Albanian state was not known, the efforts of British diplomacy could be associated with a waste of time and energy; Fourth, the British government could face considerable difficulties in finding a suitable man for this job.

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