Ismail Qemal's clashes with the Sultan

By: Evarist Beqiri

"Bring forth the light of Albania, / out of the dark city, / You save the skin of the fox / And cheer us the poor./ You, since you came into life/, Since my mother gave birth to a boy,/ You kept your head upright/ And your soul is fire wave".

Verses dedicated to Ismail Qemali by the poet Dhamian Strati (also known as Dush Strati or Duçe Jorgo Baba), published in "Kalendari Kombiar", from 1900.

Human dignity has a key role in the field of leadership, which transcends time and cultural barriers. This principle is just as valuable in life as it is in leadership. Respect for human dignity lays the foundation upon which a positive and productive environment is created. It can exert tremendous transformative power in leadership. It is not for nothing that this fundamental principle is found at the foundation of the rule of law. Human dignity is an indivisible and inalienable right enjoyed by every human being. This essay attempts to illustrate the value of courage and dignity in virtuoso leadership. Courage and human dignity are two sides of the same coin.

Also from Evarist Beqiri:

- Ismail Bey Qemali at the Congress of Young Turks in 1902 in Paris

- "The New York Times" about the escape of Ismail Qemali from Istanbul

- Strength of character and leadership: Ismail Qemali's skills as governor of Beirut

In a short but very significant article that the newspaper "Le Moniteur Oriental" published under the title "Notes of the day", in Constantinople, on March 23, 1899, almost a year before Ismail Qemali's voluntary political asylum, there is talk of a dinner of laid by the British Ambassador in Istanbul, Sir Nicholas Roderick O'Conor, in honor of the former British Prime Minister, Lord Rosebery. Several important dignitaries in Istanbul were invited to this dinner, including Ismail Qemal bey Vlora, the ambassador of Italy in Istanbul Pansa, colonel and Mrs. Ponsonby, Miss Milner, Mr. De Bunsen, the first dragoman, Adam Block, the secretary of the embassy, ​​Scott, and Mr. Waterfield. Ismail Qemali also spoke about this episode in his memoirs...

When Ismail Qemali served as a member of the "Conseil d'État" (Council of State), it was announced during a lunch with the British ambassador in Istanbul, Sir Nicholas O'Conor, that a letter had arrived from Lord Rosebery, the former British prime minister in 1894-1895. In this letter, he informed them that he would come to Istanbul and wanted to meet Ismail Qemali. He accepts the invitation and on the appointed day as he happens to be at the Palace, he informs the Sultan that he will be having dinner with the former British Prime Minister and asks him if he has any orders for him. But Abdyl Hamidi told him that he did not want him to participate in the dinner and apologized to the ambassador for this.

Meekness without any reason, before such a whim of the Sultan, would make Ismail Qemali look ridiculous in front of Lord Rosebery and the British ambassador. For Ismail Qemali, preserving human dignity was worth more than satisfying the sultan's whims. Ismail Qemali's arguments to justify his participation in the dinner fell on deaf ears.

One of the participants in this dinner, the British diplomat Sir Maurice de Bunsen, would write in his diary: "Ismail Qemali is one of the few who dares to come to the Embassy. No Turk of position is allowed to visit or dine at an Embassy without the permission of the Sultan, which is often refused. Many are being exiled daily, and a state of terror reigns everywhere, caused by the terror which the Sultan has of any liberal movement against him."

The Sultan sent all his friends to the Palace one by one to fill his mind. Despite the Sultan's demands, Ismail Qemali went to the dinner and wrote a letter beforehand to the Sultan, in which he told him that he knew that by disobeying the order of his imperial superior, he was committing an act that deserved punishment, but in this case his personal dignity and the interests of the Sultan demanded that he not refuse this invitation. He informed the Sultan that he would return the next day to await his orders. And, so he did, he went the next day to Yildiz Palace, to await the punishment, and tells the Sultan about the conversations with Lord Rosebery. Abdyl Hamidi II did not mention this work to him again.

Another meaningful episode would take place on December 31, 1908, when Sultan Abdyl Hamidi II hosted a dinner in honor of the newly elected Ottoman parliamentarians. The only opposition MP who refused the Sultan's invitation was the leader of the Liberal Party, Ismail Qemali. This fact is reflected in several articles of the international press of the time, such as, for example, the Canadian newspaper "The Gazette", (Montreal, February 4, 1909), which deserves to be carefully analyzed, or the French newspaper "Le Temps" of April 30, 1909. Ismail Qemali saw this reconciliation dinner as meaningless and unworthy, where the deputies turned into the sultan's kissers.

Character is the essence of virtuoso leadership. And, in subtle moments, it emerges showing the personality of the person. Leadership is not based on titles, positions, ranks, seniority, or experience, but on character and the ability to influence others. Courage is one of those character qualities without which leadership cannot survive. It was not for nothing that Winston Churchill would say that: "Courage is rightly valued as the first among human qualities ... because it is what guarantees all other qualities."

Leadership and power are not the same thing. Often they even contradict each other. History shows us plenty of cases in which staying in power for a long time does not necessarily translate into positive achievements. On the contrary, often the prolonged stay in power and the creeping behind it, also leads to the decay of the leadership. "In the end, it's not the years of your life that count. But it's life in your years," said Abraham Lincoln.

Power, just as it comes and goes, while leadership is something internal that remains with you and no one can take it away. The essence of leadership is moral strength of character and not the pursuit of power. The leader must put the brakes on his ego, placing the general interest above all else.

If you are overcome by self and the narrow world of desires and self-interests, then you have lost the power of leadership. Personal ego is the main enemy of leadership. Leadership is about perception. With the perception you have of yourself and others, but also with the perception others have of you. Often the perception you have of yourself does not match the perception that people around you have of you. The more similar these two perceptions are, the closer the assessment of leadership is to reality.