ESSAD (c. 1875-1920), Turkish pasha and Albanian leader, sprang from the rich Albanian family of the Toptani, and was born at Elbasan. He entered the political service of the Sultan `Abdul Hamid, and when the Turkish Revolution broke out joined the new movement and was deputy for Albania in the first Turk ish Parliament. His influence over the somewhat uncertain Al banian population, and the desire of the Constantinople Govern ment not to have so exceedingly cunning and skilful a man for their enemy, led to his being given, in 1912, the high command at Scutari, then under siege by the Montenegrins, though he knew almost nothing of military matters. But the town commandant Hasan Riza was the soul of the defence of Scutari ; and, in order to have a free hand for his own secret dealings with the Montene grins, Essad had him assassinated on Jan. 13, 1913. On April 25 Essad took the lead in the unreal and theatrical ceremony of handing over the fortress to Montenegro, but when the princedom of Albania was constituted after the Balkan War, Essad became Minister of War and also Minister of the Interior to William of Wied, and brought his policy into close touch with that of Italy. During the World War he was president of the Albanian delega tion in Paris, but appeared at frequent intervals at Salonika and on the Albanian front as a guerrilla leader. He succeeded in bring ing about the overthrow, by a so-called National Assembly in Cusonio, of the "Provisional Government of Durazzo," which was under Italian influence, and this National Assembly purposed to proclaim Essad King of Albania. But on June 13, 1920, he was killed in front of the Hotel Continental in Paris by Aveni Rustam, an Albanian.