Shahin Kolonja was an Albanian

Albanians

Albanians are a nation and ethnic group native to Albania and neighbouring countries. They speak the Albanian language. More than half of all Albanians live in Albania and Kosovo...

 journalist and politician.

Born in Starje

Starje

Starje is a village in the Kolonjë District in southeastern Albania. Originally the name was Plakas meaning old in albanian. It is situated at the foot of the Gramos mountains, about 2 km northeast of Ersekë, and is within walking distance to Albanian-Greek border. The highest peak of...

, southern Albania

Albania

Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...

 Kolonja was a graduate of the school of civil service and had served as director of several idadiye schools. Later he was arrested in Bitola

Bitola

Bitola is a city in the southwestern part of the Republic of Macedonia. The city is an administrative, cultural, industrial, commercial, and educational centre. It is located in the southern part of the Pelagonia valley, surrounded by the Baba and Nidže mountains, 14 km north of the...

 and sentenced to three years in prison for disseminating Albanian-language works. From 1901 to 1908 he published in Sofia

Sofia

Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...

 the journal Drita

Drita (magazine)

Drita magazine is an Albanian literary magazine published by the Association of the Young Modern Artists of Albania . Drita was one of the first magazines in the Albanian language. It has been published for 127 years with some interruptions.-History: 1883-1922:Drita was one of the first magazines...

. In 1908 he was elected deputy of Korçë

Korçë

Korçë is a city in southeastern Albania and the capital of the Korçë District. It has a population of around 105,000 people , making it the sixth largest city in Albania...

 in the Ottoman parliament At the same year he became one of the delegates of Congress of Monastir, in which the Albanian alphabet was standardized.