The General Directorate of Archives today commemorated Hafiz Ali Korça, a teacher at the “Albanian School,” whose commitment to his homeland surpassed all divisions.

Ali Korça was a key figure at the Congress of Monastir, where he supported the views of the Franciscan priest Gjergj Fishta. Born in 1866 in Korça to Iljas Efendi, he received his early education in his hometown and continued his studies in Istanbul. After completing his education, he returned to Korça and began teaching at the Albanian school, offering lessons in Ottoman language, mathematics, and Turkish orthography.

A skilled polyglot, Korça was fluent in Arabic, Persian, Ottoman Turkish, and French. In 1890, he became a teacher at the Rushdiye school in Korça and later moved to the Idadiye school, where he taught geography and mathematics. In 1903, he was appointed to teach geography and history at the Idadiye school in Sparta, Anatolia. He participated in the Congress of Monastir (1908) and the Congress of Dibra (1909), and gave a speech in French during the arrival of Prince Wied in 1914.

In 1916, Korça was appointed director of the education office for Tirana, Durrës, and Central Albania. Between 1918 and 1924, he served as a member of the High Sharia Council.

With the rise of the communist regime, Korça was arrested and interned due to his political beliefs. He spent his final years in isolation in Kavaja, where he passed away on January 7, 1957.

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