Born Ahmet Muhtar Zogolli, King Zog was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, if not one produced by royal decree. His family was one of landowners, who for a while wielded feudal authority over the region of Mati in Albania. That privileged start in life is what gave him a leg up in eventually being Prime Minister and later President of the country later on. Zog's Albania was a police state, where he kept the press on a short leash, had all his political rivals murdered, and essentially erased all civil liberties. When Albania was transformed into a kingdom in 1928, he took the next logical step: starting a monarchy in his own name, riling now as Zog I, King of the Albanians. Never technically crowned by anybody with the authority to do that sort of thing, Zog managed to cease any rebellion by also taking control of the Royal Albanian Army. He instituted the Zogist salute. Still, they weren't equipped to deal with an Italian invasion in 1938, and Zog died in exile in France, after years living at The Ritz in London.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
