Hamit Keçi
Hamit Keçi (20 March 1915 – 8 December 2002) was an Albanian military officer, partisan commander, and anti-fascist figure. He became known for refusing to swear allegiance to Fascist Italy following the Italian invasion of Albania in 1939, an act that led to his imprisonment and internment. During the Second World War, he participated in the Albanian anti-fascist resistance and later commanded the 23rd Assault Brigade.
After the war, Keçi served in senior positions within the Albanian military establishment. In 1949, he was arrested following political disputes within the leadership of the Albanian People's Army and was later sentenced to imprisonment on political and military charges. He was released in 1957. Following the collapse of communism in Albania, he became active in veterans’ organisations and published memoirs and articles concerning the wartime and postwar periods.
Early life and education
Hamit Keçi was born on 20 March 1915 in Tirana, then part of the Principality of Albania, to Ibrahim and Hafsa Keçi. The Keçi family were described as among the notable civic families of Tirana.
He completed his secondary education at the Tirana Gymnasium before beginning military studies in Naples on 11 January 1935. In 1937, he continued his studies at the Artillery and Engineering Academy in Turin, graduating in 1939.
Following the Italian invasion of Albania in April 1939, Keçi refused to swear allegiance to Fascist Italy, declined his military diploma, and rejected service in the Italian armed forces. As a result, he was sentenced to four years' imprisonment and internment on the Tremiti Islands.
He returned to Albania on 1 September 1941 and became involved in the anti-fascist underground movement in Tirana.
Between 1945 and 1948, he attended the Voroshilov Military Academy in Moscow, graduating with distinction.
Second World War
After refusing service under the Italian occupation authorities in 1939, Keçi was imprisoned and interned on the Tremiti Islands.
After his return to Albania in 1941, he joined the anti-fascist resistance movement. Both Hamit Keçi and his brother, Isuf Keçi, as active participants in Tirana's guerrilla units during the war.
In 1943, Keçi became commander of the Dajt Battalion. On 21 September 1944, he was appointed commander of the 23rd Assault Brigade, a position he held until the end of the war.
Postwar military career and imprisonment
Following the end of the Second World War, Keçi continued his military career in communist Albania. After graduating from the Voroshilov Military Academy in Moscow, he was appointed director of the Political Intelligence Directorate at the Ministry of Defence and was promoted to the rank of colonel.
On 1 August 1949 Keçi clashed with senior communist officials including Beqir Balluku and Hysni Kapo over military training policies, which he criticised as harmful to the Albanian army. He was arrested the following day, on 2 August 1949.
A later resolution of the Central Committee of the Party of Labour of Albania, both Hamit Keçi and his brother Isuf Keçi were expelled from the party and arrested for alleged “crimes against the people and the state”.
In 1950, the Military College of the Supreme Court sentenced Keçi to 15 years' imprisonment on charges including insubordination, disclosure of military secrets, and insulting military leadership and a Soviet adviser. He was released in 1957.
Later life
Following the collapse of communism in Albania in the early 1990s, Keçi returned to public life and published memoirs and articles concerning the wartime resistance and postwar political developments. He was among the founders of the United War Veterans Organisation, which sought to reassess the history of the Albanian left and the partisan movement from a non-dogmatic perspective.
Keçi died on 8 December 2002.