Prof. Osman Kraja, an outstanding personality with important contributions, especially in Albanian higher education, where he continuously worked and directed with passion, correctness and professionalism, Rector of the State University of Tirana (1981 - 1988), Ambassador of the Republic of Albania in Republic of Poland and Ukraine (1997 – 2002), Vice-President of the Central Election Commission (1992).

Prof. Osman Kraja has participated in laying the foundations of teaching in the high school and in its modernization and further scientific strengthening at the University of Tirana. He occupies a place of honor in the development of the Albanian nation and is always remembered with respect, gratitude and special consideration.

Prof. Osman Kraja is decorated in 2002 with the "Golden Commander's Cross" order from the President of Poland and in 2012 he was decorated with the "Grand Master" medal from the President of Albania.

Prof. Osman Kraja was born in 1930 in Istanbul, into a progressive family originally from Kraja, Montenegro. Before the 40s, his family returned to Albania and settled first in Shkodër and then in Tirana. In 1949, he finished the Tirana High School with high results, where his teachers and inspirers were: Ahmet Gashi, Nonda Bulka, Qazim Turdiu, Abdurrahim Buza, Konstandin Trako, etc. He then continued his higher studies in mathematics at the Polytechnic University of Warsaw, Poland (1949-1952), where he was awarded a gold medal for the results achieved.

He returns to Albania, where he begins his teaching career at the Higher Pedagogical Institute (4-year) of Tirana, which was the first institution of higher education in Albania. He was appointed to the Department of Mathematics and Physics of this Institute, which was headed by Prof. Partridge Pilika.

In September 1957, the State University of Tirana was inaugurated and Prof. Kraja was part of this university, conceived as a natural development of the education and research system, based on the knowledge, enthusiasm and efforts of its founding pedagogues.

The Department of Mathematics, which was the first such department in our higher education, consisted in those years of the honorable professors Petraq Pilika, QazimTurdiu, Kristaq Fundo, Osman Kraja, Shaban Baxhaku, Aleko Minga, Aristokli Çifliku, Zoja Bozgo, Kristian Bukuroshi , Spiro Makoçi and others who joined you later.

In 1958, Osman Kraja was sent to postgraduate studies at "Lomonosov" University, in Moscow, in order to create in the Department of Mathematics an active nucleus with high and contemporary qualifications. He successfully passed the exams provided by the program, attended all seminars and other activities, but unfortunately his postgraduate studies were brutally interrupted with the breakdown of Soviet-Albanian relations.

In 1965-1966 Osman Kraja completed his interrupted postgraduate qualification, successfully defending his dissertation at the Institute of Mathematics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, under the guidance of the renowned professor Ding Hsiao Shi (Beijing, 1966).

The expansion of mathematics teaching at the University led to the creation of the Chair of General Mathematics in 1964, headed by Prof. Osman Krajën. And then, in 1966, the five-year profile of the Department of Mathematics was created, through which it was intended to prepare more qualified specialists to ensure continuity at a high level, and which was also realized with the special contribution of the professors of FSHN, and especially of Kol Popa, Petraq Pilika and Osman Kraja. The Chair of General Mathematics was developed and directed by Prof. Kraja for a period of more than 20 years (1964-1986).

With a high scientific qualification, he continued with a rare ability and a perfect method to give lectures in the branches of Mathematics and Physics, to prepare university textbooks and to carry out scientific research and at the same time contribute to the direction of the Faculty of Natural Sciences, a faculty symbol of virtue and human solidarity, of unity to preserve and protect the created values, of non-compromise towards ignorance and evil, of maximum appreciation, even fanaticism, of intelligence and creative work, of broad collaboration, lecturer - lecturer and lecturer - student. In 1973 Osman Kraja was given the title "Professor", which he held with dignity and honor.

In 1968, the State University of Tirana established contacts with the most vocal representatives of higher education and science in Kosovo. To concretize the cooperation, in October 1970 a delegation from the University of Pristina headed by the Rector Prof. Dervish Rozhaja, arrived in Tirana where the Protocol was signed between the State University of Tirana and the University of Pristina, by Osman Kraja and Dervish Rozhaja. The protocol began to be implemented immediately, in December of that year, and the two sides hastily started preparations for its implementation. At that time, the whole-hearted commitment, the many contacts with all the institutions responsible for the implementation of the cooperation agreements through the exchange of lecturers and researchers of the two Albanian-speaking universities, are already part of the contribution of Prof. The end in the history of our nation's higher education.

Prof. Osman Kraja, in addition to the selfless and passionate work of teaching and scientific research, has performed leadership duties in the Faculty of Natural Sciences as Deputy. Dean (1964-1970) and Dean (1974-1980), and at the University of Tirana as Deputy. Rector (1970 - 1974) and Rector of the University of Tirana (1981 - 1988).

In September 1992, he was retired.

In August 1997 Prof. Osman Kraja started working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and then by decree of the President of the Republic he was appointed ambassador to the Republic of Poland, Ukraine and the Baltic countries (1997 - 2002). Then, for several years, he worked as an advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and represented Albania in the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization.

Prof. Osmani is undoubtedly one of the most prominent figures of education and our culture, especially university education. We will always remember his words: "The mind of a nation is education".

Prof. Osman Kraja was a wonderful collaborator, a wise orator, with a precise and balanced speech, a connoisseur and steadfast user of the Albanian language, with a perfect logic and a systematic and careful treatment of issues, a connoisseur of fluent in Polish and Russian and fluent in French, Italian and Turkish. He will remain as always loving, caring, unpretentious, interactive and smiling. A great model that inspires.

Prof. Osman Kraja left this life on June 15, 2022.

 

15.06.2022