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Rexhai Surroi

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Rexhai Surroi
Yugoslav Ambassador to Spain
In office
1985–1988
Preceded byFaik Dizdarević
Succeeded byBerislav Badurina
Yugoslav Ambassador to Mexico, Honduras and Costa Rica
In office
1977–1981
Preceded byBranko Vukušić
Succeeded byJože Brilej
Assistant Secretary of the Federal Secretariat of Foreign Affairs
In office
1981–1983
MinisterJosip Vrhovec
Lazar Mojsov
In office
1974–1977
MinisterMiloš Minić
Yugoslav Ambassador to Bolivia
In office
1971–1974
Preceded byIztok Žagar
Succeeded byLuka Belamarić
Vice-President of the Assembly of SAP Kosovo
In office
1969–1970
PresidentIlaz Kurteshi
Personal details
Born(1929-06-08)8 June 1929
Died22 December 1988(1988-12-22) (aged 59)
Madrid, Spain
Cause of deathCar accident
CitizenshipYugoslav
NationalityKosovo Albanian
ChildrenVeton and Flaka
Alma materUniversity of Belgrade Faculty of Law
OccupationDiplomat
ProfessionJournalist and writer

Rexhai Surroi (Serbo-Croatian Cyrillic: Реџаји Суроји, romanizedRedžaji Suroji; 8 June 1929 – 22 December 1988) was a Yugoslav Albanian journalist, diplomat and writer.

Biography

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He was a member of the first cohort of students to have finished high school in Albanian in the former Yugoslavia in 1947–48. He graduated from the University of Belgrade's Law School. He was also one of the few Kosovo Albanians to become ambassadors of Yugoslavia.[1] He was the father of Veton and Flaka Surroi.

He was an active football player before becoming journalist and editor of weekly "Zani i Rinisë". He was an editor in Radio Pristina, where he became director in the mid-sixties. In 1969–70, he served as vice-president of the provincial government of SAP Kosovo, he was one of the most fervent advocates for the establishment of the University of Pristina, the only in Yugoslavia where the medium of instruction was Albanian. In 1971, he was appointed ambassador of Yugoslavia to Bolivia and from 1974 to 1977 he held the post of assistant secretary in the Federal Secretariat of Foreign Affairs. From 1977 to 1981, he lived in Mexico City where he was the Yugoslav ambassador to Mexico, Honduras and Costa Rica, and from 1981 to 1983 again he held the post of the assistant secretary in the Federal Secretariat of Foreign Affairs. From 1983 to 1985 he was the general manager of the largest Albanian media company in Kosovo Rilindja.

He died in a car accident in December 1988 while serving as Yugoslavia’s ambassador to Spain.[2] An award for excellence in journalism is named after him in Kosovo.[3]

He is the author of a number of Albanian-language works such as Besniku, Dashunija dhe urrejtja, Pranvera e tretë, and Orteku I & II.[4][5][6]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Oral History Kosovo: Interview with Skender Boshnjaku" (PDF). oralhistorykosovo.org. 2019. p. 6.
  2. ^ "Yugoslav Envoy Dies in Car Crash in Spain". Los Angeles Times. 25 December 1988.
  3. ^ "BIRN Journalist Wins Journalism Award in Kosovo". Balkan Insight. 24 December 2019.
  4. ^ Duraku, Nebil (1984). Shkrimtarët e Kosovës '43-'83. Shoqata e Shkrimtarëve të Kosovës. p. 272.
  5. ^ "Vepra Letrare E Rexhai Surroit Me Bibliografi". Jeta e re. Vol. 40, no. 1–4. 1989. pp. 183–184.
  6. ^ Herdt, Gilbert, ed. (2020). Third Sex, Third Gender: Beyond Sexual Dimorphism in Culture and History. Princeton University Press. p. Index. ISBN 9781942130529.