Syrja Vlora

Syreja Vlora (1860–1940), usually referred to as Syrja Bey Vlora ( and one of the delegates of the Assembly of Vlorë.

Biography Syrja Bey was born in Vlorë, then in the Ottoman Empire, today in Albania in 1860. He was a member of the distinguished wealthy landowning Vlora family, historically successful through the ranks of Ottoman administration and military for almost 4 centuries. During the late Ottoman period, Vlora served as economic advisor to sultan Abdul Hamid II.

Before the creation of the Albanian state, he also held the positions of General Director of the Customs of the Ottoman Empire, and was a representative in the Ottoman Parliament from 1908. Vlora thought that, if Albanians were not ready for independence, a future autonomous Albania becoming a protectorate under Austria-Hungary in the event of the collapse of the Ottoman Empire would be favorable. In 1911 Vlora wrote a chapter on Albanian history focusing on the Ottoman era and subjects like Skanderbeg and Ali Pasha of Yanina in a book titled Musaver Arnavud (The Illustrated Albanian) in Ottoman Turkish by Dervish Hima.

In 1912 during the Albanian revolt and aftermath of the Ottoman parliamentary elections, Syrja Vlora parliamentarian for Berat and Essad Toptani for Durrës represented the Albanian side in a parliamentary discussion with the Young Turks. After the Declaration of Independence of Albania during November 1912 in his home town, where he was a delegate for the Përmet region, he held minor political positions, known mainly as the Albanian Ambassador in Vienna in 1914.

He died in 1940, in Switzerland.