The Political Activities of Ismail Kemal Bej Vlora (1870-1908)
Avlonyalı İsmail Kemal Bey’in Siyasi Faaliyetleri (1870-1908)

Summary/Abstract: Young Turks were from different nationalities but sharing a common ideology of Ottomanism. The Ottoman politician Ismail Kemal Vlora is one of the most prominent Young Turks. Living in 1847-1919, Ismail Kemal is one of the famous statesman of Sultan Abdulhamid II and Costitution Periods. Ismail Kemal who first met with Europe in 1865, because of his job at Office of Paris, later was (Mutasarrif) vice-governor of Ruscuk. He is well known as pro-British and for his friendliness to Great Britain who was recently appointed vice-governor of Tripoli. In 1900, he mysteriously escaped to Europe with his three sons. The escape of Ismail Kemal is hardly less important than that of Mahmud Pasha, the Sultan’s brother-in-law. In February 1902 when the Young Turks met in Paris to plan the overthrow of the Sultan, many Albanians participated, including Ismail Kemal; the Turkish diplomat who ten years later proclaimed Albania’s independence. He supported a Decentralized Government which would make possible an autonomous Albania in Ottoman Empire. His political activity oscillated between the overthrow of the regime of Sultan Abdulhamid II and the National Albanian movement which was gradually gaining ground. He devoted his life to the political activities. He travelled to Brussels, Rome, Paris, London, Budapest, Bucharest and Vienna meeting senior diplomats and political figures, working hard to pave the way for the Great Powers to accept initially the political ideas of him. The Sultan tried to sentenced him to death by default and finally confiscated his properties. In this study, I will try to explain Ismail Kemal’s political activities before 1908.

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