Editing Zog I (section)

==Albanian king==
[[File:King Zog.jpg|150px|thumb|left|Ahmed Zogu]]
{{Main|Royal Albanian Army|Zogist salute}}

On 1 September 1928, Albania was transformed into a [[Albanian Kingdom (1928–1939)|kingdom]], and President Zogu declared himself to be Zog I, with the title ''King of the [[Albanians]]''. He appointed as his advisor [[Mehmed Orhan|Mehmed Orhan Efendi]], a [[Ottoman dynasty|prince]] of the recently-abolished [[Ottoman Empire]]. He took as his regnal name his surname rather than his forename since the Islamic name ''Ahmet'' might have had the effect of isolating him on the European stage. He also initially took the parallel name "Skanderbeg III" (Zogu claimed to be a successor of [[Skanderbeg]] through descent through Skanderbeg's sister; "Skanderbeg II" was taken to be [[Wied, Prince of Albania|Prince Wied]], but this fell out of use).<ref>Michael Schmidt-Neke, ''Die Verfassungen Albaniens: mit einem Anhang: Die Verfassung der Republik Kosova von 1990''. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, 2009, p. 34</ref>

On the same day as he declared himself king (he was never technically crowned), he also declared himself [[Field Marshal]] of the [[Royal Albanian Army]]. He proclaimed a [[constitutional monarchy]] similar to the contemporary regime in Italy, created a strong police force, and instituted the [[Zogist salute]] (flat hand over the heart with palm facing downwards). Zog hoarded gold coins and precious stones, which were used to back Albania's first [[paper currency]].
[[File:Flamuri i N.M. së Tij dhe i Ushtrisë.svg|thumb|150px|Royal standard of Zog I and of the Army]]

Zog's mother, Sadije, was declared Queen Mother of Albania, and Zog also gave his brother and sisters Royal status as Prince and Princesses Zogu. One of his sisters, [[Princess Senije Zogu|Senije]] ({{circa|1897}} – 1969), married [[Şehzade Mehmed Abid|Shehzade Mehmed Abid Efendi]], another Ottoman prince and son of Sultan [[Abdul Hamid II]].

Zog's constitution forbade any Prince of the Royal House from serving as Prime Minister or a member of the Cabinet, and contained provisions for the potential extinction of the royal family. The constitution also forbade the union of the Albanian throne with that of any other country, a term which would later be violated with the [[Italian invasion of Albania|Italian invasion]]. Under the Zogist constitution, the King of the Albanians, like the [[List of Belgian monarchs|King of the Belgians]], ascended the throne and exercised Royal powers only after taking an oath before Parliament; Zog himself swore an oath on the [[Bible]] and the [[Quran]] (the king being [[Muslims|Muslim]]) in an attempt to unify the country. In 1929, King Zog abolished [[Sharia|Islamic law]] in Albania, adopting in its place a [[civil code]] based on the [[Switzerland|Swiss]] one, as [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]] [[Atatürk's reforms|had done]] in [[Secularism in Turkey|Turkey]] in the same decade.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20081203131358/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,881789,00.html Swiss Laws, Greek Patriarch], [[Time (magazine)|''Time'' magazine]], 15 April 1929</ref> 
[[File:Royal Monogram of King Zog I of Albania.svg|thumb|left|100px|Royal monogram]]
Although nominally a constitutional monarch, in practice Zog retained the dictatorial powers he had enjoyed as president. Thus, in effect, Albania remained a military dictatorship.<ref name=cs />

In 1938, as a result of a request from his advisor and friend Constantino Spanchis, Zog opened the borders of Albania to [[Jewish]] refugees fleeing persecution in [[Nazi Germany]].<ref>[http://www.besathepromise.com/bios.html Besa: The Promise > Bios]</ref>

===Life as king===

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| footer            = Reverse and Obverse of a [[Franga|Zogian gold hundred-franc coin]].
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[[File:100 Franka Albania (1926).jpg|thumb|right|206px|[[Franga|100-franc]] banknote of Zog's reign]]

Although born as an [[Aristocracy (class)|aristocrat]] and hereditary [[Bey]], King Zog was somewhat ignored by other monarchs in Europe because he was a self-proclaimed monarch who had no links to any other European royal families. Nonetheless, he did have strong connections with Muslim [[royal families]] in the [[Arab World]], particularly [[Kingdom of Egypt|Egypt]], whose [[Muhammad Ali Dynasty|ruling dynasty]] had Albanian origins. As king, he was honoured by the governments of [[Kingdom of Italy|Italy]], [[Luxembourg]], [[Kingdom of Egypt|Egypt]], [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]], [[French Third Republic|France]], [[Kingdom of Romania|Romania]], [[Kingdom of Greece|Greece]], [[Belgium]], [[Kingdom of Bulgaria|Bulgaria]], [[Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946)|Hungary]], [[Second Polish Republic|Poland]], [[First Czechoslovak Republic|Czechoslovakia]], and [[First Austrian Republic|Austria]].{{Citation needed|date=June 2020}}

Zog had been engaged to the daughter of [[Shefqet Verlaci|Shefqet Bey Verlaci]] before he became king. Soon after he became king, however, he broke off the engagement. According to traditional customs of [[Feud#Albania|blood vengeance]] prevalent in Albania at the time, Verlaci had the right and obligation to kill Zog. The king frequently surrounded himself with a personal guard and avoided public appearances. He also feared that he might be poisoned, so the mother of the king assumed supervision of the royal kitchen.<ref name="Shaw">{{cite book|last=Shaw|first=Karl|title=Power Mad!|trans-title=Šílenství mocných|year=2005|orig-year=2004|publisher=Metafora|location=Praha|language=cs|isbn=8073590026|pages=31–32}}</ref>

In April 1938, Zog married [[Countess]] [[Geraldine Apponyi de Nagy-Appony]], a [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] [[Aristocracy (class)|aristocrat]] who was half-[[Hungarians|Hungarian]] and half-[[Americans|American]]. The ceremony was broadcast throughout Tirana via [[Radio Televizioni Shqiptar#History|Radio Tirana]] that was officially launched by the monarch five months later. Their only child, [[Leka, Crown Prince of Albania (born 1939)|Crown Prince Leka]], was born in Albania on 5 April 1939.