{{short description|Albanian royalist political faction (1941-1945)}}{{Infobox War Faction | name = ''Legality Movement'' | native_name = Lëvizja Legaliteti | war = World War II in Albania | image = 200px | caption = Coat of arms of the Albanian Kingdom | active = 1943–1945 | ideology = Monarchism<br>Albanian nationalism | leaders = Abaz Kupi<br>Ndoc Çoba | allegiance = King Zog I | clans = | headquarters = Mat | area = Albania | size = 10,000 (1943)<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-11-21 |title=Pse u krijua Legaliteti?! |url=https://memorie.al/pse-u-krijua-legaliteti/ |access-date=2026-05-28 |website=Memorie.al |language=sq-AL}}</ref> | partof = | predecessor = | allies = *Allied Powers *United Kingdom *Balli Kombëtar<ref>{{Cite web |last=Redaksia |date=2018-11-21 |title=Legaliteti dhe Balli, vëllezërit siamezë të kombëtarizmit dhe antikomunizmit (nga letrat e Mit’hat Frashërit) |url=https://perqasje.com/2018/11/legaliteti-dhe-balli-vellezerit-siameze-te-kombetarizmit-dhe-antikomunizmit-nga-letrat-e-mithat-frasherit/ |access-date=2025-12-03 |website=Perqasje |language=en-US}}</ref> | opponents = *Albanian partisans *Axis | battles = Albanian resistance of World War II *Albanian Civil War (1943–1944) **Liberation of Krujë (1944) **Battle of Peshkopi | status = }}
The '''Legality Movement''' ({{langx|sq|Lëvizja Legaliteti}}) were an Albanian royalist and pro-monarchy faction founded in 1941. It was led by Abaz Kupi.<ref>{{cite book|title=Escape Through the Balkans: The Autobiography of Irene Grünbaum |author=Irene Grünbaum|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TSzUvxV0WVQC&dq=Abaz+kupi&pg=PA186|accessdate=31 January 2011|isbn=0803270828|year=1996|publisher=U of Nebraska Press }}</ref>
==Ideology==
thumb|left|145px|Zog I of Albania The Legaliteti sought the return of King Zog, who had fled the country on the eve of the Italian invasion.<ref>{{cite book|title=OSS in World War Two Albania by Peter Lucas|author=Peter Lucas|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CTdnAAAAMAAJ&q=Legaliteti|accessdate=31 January 2011|isbn=9780786429677|year=2007|publisher=McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers }}</ref> The Legaliteti consisted of supporters from mostly the northern mountain tribes, particularly the Mati region.{{citation needed|date=April 2020}} The Legaliteti were anti-communist. In the end of Albanian Resistance war they formed a government with Balli Kombëtar against the Germans and LANÇ.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Erald |first=Kapri |title=Sekretet e Luftës |publisher=Instituti Lumo Skëndo |pages=Page 269 |trans-title=The secrets of the war}}</ref>
==History==
The negative action of the Albanian Communists on the Kosovo issue alienated a significant number of its adherents from that border region. Following November 1943, Abaz Kupi, until the Mukje Conference, was a member of the Central Council of the NLM, withdrew with others to form the Legaliteti.{{citation needed|date=April 2020}} Kupi was a respected Gheg chieftain who had commanded King Zog's troops in Durrës when the Italians invaded Albania. In the early 1940s, three new political factions emerged within Albania after the Italians were defeated: the Albanian Communists, Balli Kombëtar (National Front), and Legaliteti (Legality).
After the outbreak of the Albanian Civil War, the communists reached Tirana in 1944. The communist 5th Brigade fought against the Legaliteti's headquarters at Tujan Pass. Abaz Kupi withdrew to avoid further civil war, informing King Zog of the bloodshed. In Mat, partisans clashed with Legaliteti forces, including a battle in Fushë-Aliaj on 9 July where 21 partisans were killed. This was one of their few engagements.
The Allies originally supported the Legaliteti. Being the smallest faction with no significant influence in Albania, the Allies broke aid with the Legaliteti and aided the Yugoslav Partisans, who in turn backed the Albanian communists.<ref name="ref9">{{cite book|title=Tito, Mihailović, and the allies, 1941-1945|author=Walter R. Roberts|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=43CbLU8FgFsC&q=Tito,+Mihailovi%C4%87,+and+the+allies,+1941-1945|accessdate=31 January 2011|isbn=0822307731|year=1987|publisher=Duke University Press }}</ref> In 1945, the Albanian communists assumed control over Albania at the end of World War II in Europe. Most Legaliteti members were executed or had escaped to the west.<ref name="ref9" />
==Legacy==
The monarchist Legality Movement Party takes its name from the group.
==References==
{{Reflist|2}}
== Further reading ==
*[http://albania.dyndns.org/najbor.htm Histoire de l'Albanie et de sa maison royale (5 volumes); Patrice Najbor - JePublie - Paris - 2008] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160215044039/http://albania.dyndns.org/najbor.htm |date=2016-02-15 }} * La dynastie des Zogu, Patrice Najbor - Textes&Pretextes - Paris - 2002
==External links==
*[http://www.albanianroyalcourt.al Official website of the Albanian Royal Court] *[http://albania.dyndns.org/ Site Officiel de la Maison Royale d'Albanie] *[http://albania.dyndns.org/najbor_albanie_juifs.htm L'Albanie et le sauvetage des Juifs]
Category:1941 establishments in Albania Category:1945 disestablishments in Albania Category:Albanian militant groups Category:Albanian monarchists Category:Political parties established in 1941 Category:Political parties disestablished in 1945 Category:Albania in World War II Category:Anti-communist organizations in Albania Category:Albanian Resistance Category:Monarchism in Albania Category:Zog I