Hafëz Jusuf Azemi

Hafëz Jusuf Azemi^[a] (born in Dobrošte) was a Balli Kombëtar fighter from the Dobrošte unit,[1][2] and an Albanian activist in exile.

Having survived World War II and the onslaught of the Yugoslav Partisans, Azemi was forced into exile, first in Italy and finally in the United States. In Bari 1945, Jusuf Azemi came in to contact with Mid'hat Frashëri, Vasil Andoni, Zef Pali, Hasan Dosti and others, who were also Ballist exiles that escaped Albania after Enver Hoxha's ascension to power. Azemi moved from Italy to Chicago. While in exile in America, Azemi continued fighting for the rights and freedom of Albanians in Yugoslavia.

In a press conference in London, Mithat Frashëri was reprimanded by pro-Yugoslavian British authorities, who opposed Frashëri's words which included "Kosovo", stating that he should speak about only those territories that were part of the Albanian state. To counter the western sympathisers of Yugoslavia, Azemi, along with Abas Ermenji and Luan Gashi, formed the Union of Kosovars (Lidhja Kosovare) as well as many other Albanian organisations in the United States.[3][4]

Azemi died in 2023 at the age of 102.