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Albania: Italian occupation, 1939-1943

Last modified: 2013-03-23 by ivan sache
Keywords: eagle: double-headed (black) | crown: royal | fasces | king's lieutenant | skanderbeg | helmet |
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[Italian occupation, 1939]

Flag of Albania, 1939-1943 - Image by Jaume Ollé, 15 July 1996

See also:

National flag

On 7 April 1939 Italian forces landed in Albania and took control of the country. An assembly gathered in Tirana deposed Zogu and offerred the crown of the country to the Italian king, Victor Emmanuel III, by the way of a personal union. On 13 April 1939 the offer was accepted and a new national or Royal flag was adopted.

The flag was prescribed in Article 3 of the Constitution adopted on 3 June 1939, as follows:

The flag of Albania is red with the double-headed eagle in the center, together with the fascist fasces

This constitutional provision was supplemented by Royal Decrees No. 141 and No. 142, adopted on 28 September 1939, relative to the national arms and flag. Article 15 relative to the flag reads:

The national flag of Albania consists of a red rectangular cloth, measuring of height two thirds of its length and containing in its center a red shield outlined in black containing the double-headed eagle, crowned by the helmet of Skanderbeg. The shield is supported by two black fasces whose heads face outwards, connected above by two Savoy ribbons in black and below with a black scroll, where the word FERT is written three times.

The Royal Decree was signed by the King, by the Prime Minister Sh. Verlaci and by the Ministers of the Interior and of Justice.

Jaume Ollé, 15 June 1996

State flag

[Italian occupation, 1939 - state flag]

State flag - Image by Mario Fabretto, 12 March 1998

Use: State flag on land *S*/***
Date: 3 June 1939 - 25 July 1943
Proportions: 2:3
Source: O. Neubecker, The flags of Albania, The Flag Bulletin [tfb] # 26
Documentation: Constitution Law 3 June 1939, Royal Decree No. 142, issued 28 September 1939
Accuracy: High

Mario Fabretto, 12 March 1998

King's Lieutenant's flag

[Italian occupation, 1939 - king's lieutenant flag]

King's Lieutenant's flag - Image by Mario Fabretto, 12 March 1998

Use: King's Lieutenant flag
Date: 30 July 1940 - 1943
Proportions: 66:89
Source: O. Neubecker, The Flag Bulletin [tfb] # 26
Documentation: Ministry Decree 30 July 1940
Accuracy: High

Mario Fabretto, 12 March 1998

"Flag unrest" of 1942

In May 1942, after several incidents involving demands for the readoption of the old State flag of Zogu times, it got back into use. The Fascist Union of Tirana accepted its use, whereas the Fascist Union and the State authorities kept on using the flag with the fasces.

Jaume Ollé