Letter:King Zog a great force for good

King Zog a great force for good

Sir: Andrew Gumbel ("Legacy of conflict and misrule", 14 February), in describing King Zog of Albania as "a power-hungry autocrat", does this remarkable man a grave injustice.

Under his rule, first as prime minister, then as president and later as king, Albania's agriculture flourished, the oil and mining industries were developed, ports, roads, bridges and electricity installations were constructed, a gendarmerie was trained by British officers, and compulsory education introduced for girls as well as boys - an innovation in a Muslim country.

The late Lord Amery described Zog as "the most impressive man I ever met". By failing to help Zog regain his throne after the Second World War, the Western powers permitted the Stalinist Enver Hoxha to plunge Albania back into the poverty from which Zog had done so much to rescue it.

DONALD FOREMAN

Secretary-General

The Monarchist League

London WC1