Eleftherios Venizelos

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Eleftherios Venizelos
Ελευθέριος Βενιζέλος
Venizelos in 1919
Prime Minister of Greece
In office
16 January 1933 – 6 March 1933
PresidentAlexandros Zaimis
Preceded byPanagis Tsaldaris
Succeeded byAlexandros Othonaios
In office
5 June 1932 – 4 November 1932
PresidentAlexandros Zaimis
Preceded byAlexandros Papanastasiou
Succeeded byPanagis Tsaldaris
In office
4 July 1928 – 26 May 1932
PresidentPavlos Kountouriotis
Alexandros Zaimis
Preceded byAlexandros Zaimis
Succeeded byAlexandros Papanastasiou
In office
11 January 1924 – 6 February 1924
MonarchGeorge II
Preceded byStylianos Gonatas
Succeeded byGeorgios Kafantaris
In office
14 June 1917 – 4 November 1920
MonarchAlexander
Preceded byAlexandros Zaimis
Succeeded byDimitrios Rallis
In office
10 August 1915 – 24 September 1915
MonarchConstantine I
Preceded byDimitrios Gounaris
Succeeded byAlexandros Zaimis
In office
6 October 1910 – 25 February 1915
MonarchsGeorge I
Constantine I
Preceded byStefanos Dragoumis
Succeeded byDimitrios Gounaris
Prime Minister of the Cretan State
In office
2 May 1910 – 6 October 1910
Preceded byAlexandros Zaimis (as High Commissioner)
Minister of Military Affairs
In office
27 June 1917 – 18 November 1920
MonarchAlexander
Prime MinisterHimself
Preceded byAnastasios Charalambis
Succeeded byDimitrios Gounaris
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
23 August – 7 October 1915
MonarchConstantine I
Prime MinisterHimself
Preceded byDimitrios Gounaris
Succeeded byAlexandros Zaimis
Minister of Justice and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Cretan State
In office
1908–1910
Minister of Justice of the Cretan State
In office
17 April 1899 – 18 March 1901 -->
Personal details
Born(1864-08-23)23 August 1864
Sophoklis Venizelos
Parent(s)Kyriakos Venizelos
Styliani Ploumidaki
Alma materUniversity of Athens
ProfessionPolitician
Revolutionary
Legislator
Lawyer
Jurist
Journalist
Translator
Awards Order of the Redeemer
Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour
Order of the White Eagle
Signature
WebsiteNational Foundation Research "Eleftherios K. Venizelos"
Military service
Battles/wars

Eleftherios Kyriakou Venizelos (

prime minister of Greece for over 12 years, spanning eight terms between 1910 and 1933. During his governance, Venizelos entered in diplomatic cooperation with the Great Powers and had profound influence on the internal and external affairs of Greece. He has therefore been labelled as "The Maker of Modern Greece"[5] and is still widely known as the "Ethnarch".[6]

His first entry into the international scene was with his significant role in the autonomy of the

Aegean islands
.

In

Greco-Turkish War (1919–22). Venizelos, in self-imposed exile, represented Greece in the negotiations that led to the signing of the Treaty of Lausanne and the agreement of a mutual population exchange between Greece and Turkey
.

In his subsequent periods in office, Venizelos restored normal relations with Greece's neighbors and expanded his constitutional and economic reforms. In 1935, he resurfaced from retirement to support a

military coup. The coup's failure severely weakened the Second Hellenic Republic
.

Origins and early years

Ancestry

The house of Venizelos in Mournies.

The ancestors of Venizelos, named Crevvatas, lived in

]

However, during the National Schism, politician Konstantinos Krevattas denied that his family had any relation to Venizelos. In a letter to a Cretan partner, Venizelos wrote that his father Kyriakos had taken part in the siege of Monemvasia in 1821 with his brother Hatzinikolos Venizelos and 3 more brothers. His grandfather probably was Hatzipetros Benizelos, a merchant from Kythira.[11]

Family and education

Portrait of Kyriakos Venizelos, father of Eleftherios.

Eleftherios was born in

Abdülaziz
granted an amnesty.

He spent his final year of secondary education at a school in

University of Athens Law School and got his degree in Law with excellent grades. He returned to Crete in 1886 and worked as a lawyer in Chania. Throughout his life he maintained a passion for reading and was constantly improving his skills in English, Italian, German, and French.[10]

Entry into politics

The situation in Crete during Venizelos' early years was fluid. The Ottoman Empire was undermining the reforms, which were made under international pressure, while the Cretans desired to see the Sultan, Abdul Hamid II, abandon "the ungrateful infidels".[13] Under these unstable conditions Venizelos entered into politics in the elections of 2 April 1889 as a member of the island's liberal party.[12] As a deputy he was distinguished for his eloquence and his radical opinions.[14]

Political career in Crete

Cretan uprising

Background

The numerous revolutions in Crete, during and after the

independent Greece with the Ottoman Empire.[citation needed
]

In January 1897, violence and disorder escalated on the island, thus polarizing the population. Massacres against the Christian population took place in

Kolymbari on 3 February 1897,[26] and its commanding officer, Colonel Timoleon Vassos declared that he was taking over the island "in the name of the King of the Hellenes" and that he was announcing the union of Crete with Greece.[27] This led to an uprising that spread immediately throughout the island. The Great Powers decided to blockade Crete with their fleets and land their troops, thus stopping the Greek army from approaching Chania.[28]

Events at Akrotiri

Venizelos at Akrotiri, 1897.

Venizelos, at that time, was on an electoral tour of the island. Once he "saw Canea in flames",

Greek flag was raised. The Ottoman forces
requested help from the foreign admirals and attacked the rebels, with the ships of the Great Powers bombarding the rebel positions at Akrotiri. A shell threw down the flag, which was raised up again immediately. The mythologizing became more pronounced when we come to his actions in that February, as the following quotes display:

On 20th of February [he] was ordered by the admirals to lower the flag and disband his rebel force. He refused![30]

Venizelos turned towards the port of Souda, where the warships were anchored, and explained: "You have cannon-balls – fire away! But our flag will not come down" ... [after the flag was hit] Venizelos ran forward; his friends stopped him; why expose a valuable life so uselessly?[31]

There was that famous day in February 1897 when ... he rejected the orders of the Protecting Powers and in the picturesque phrase in the Greek newspapers "defied the navies of Europe"[32]

Under the smooth diplomat of today is the revolutionist who prodded the Turks out of Crete and the bold chieftain who camped with a little band of rebels on a hilltop above

Canea and there he defied the consuls and the fleets of all the [Great] Powers![33]

On the same evening of the bombardment, Venizelos wrote a protest to the foreign admirals, which was signed by all the chieftains present at Akrotiri. He wrote that the rebels would keep their positions until everyone was killed from the shells of European warships in order not to let the Turks remain in Crete.[34] The letter was deliberately leaked to international newspapers, evoking emotional reactions in Greece and in Europe, where the idea of Christians, who wanted their freedom, being bombarded by Christian vessels, caused popular indignation. Throughout Western Europe much popular sympathy for the cause of the Christians in Crete was manifested, and much popular applause was bestowed on the Greeks.[28]

War in Thessaly

Ethnic composition of the Balkans according to the Atlas Général Vidal-Lablache, Librairie Armand Colin, Paris, 1898.
Ethnic composition map of the Balkans by the Greek diplomat Ioannis Gennadius,[35] published by the English cartographer E. Stanford in 1877.

The Great Powers sent a verbal note on 2 March to the governments of Greece and the Ottoman Empire, presenting a possible solution to the "Cretan Question", under which Crete to become an autonomous state under the suzerainty of the Sultan.

Porte replied on 5 March, accepting the proposals in principle, but on 8 March the Greek government rejected the proposal as a non-satisfactory solution and instead insisted on the union of Crete with Greece as the only solution.[citation needed
]

As a representative of the Cretan rebels, Venizelos met the admirals of the

Great Powers on a Russian warship on 7 March 1897. Even though no progress was made at the meeting, he persuaded the admirals to send him on a tour of the island, under their protection, in order to explore the people's opinions on the question of autonomy versus union.[36] At the time, the majority of the Cretan population initially supported the union, but the subsequent events in Thessaly turned the public opinion towards autonomy as an intermediate step.[citation needed
]

In reaction to the rebellion of Crete and the assistance sent by Greece, the Ottomans had relocated a significant part of their army in the Balkans to the north of

Greek army was in retreat within weeks. The Great Powers again intervened, and an armistice was signed in May 1897.[39]

Conclusion

The defeat of Greece in the

Great Powers (Britain, France, Russia, and Italy), following the massacre in Heraklion on 25 August,[21][40][41] imposed a final solution on the "Cretan Question"; Crete was proclaimed an autonomous state under Ottoman suzerainty.[citation needed
]

Venizelos played an important role in this solution, not only as the leader of the Cretan rebels but also as a skilled diplomat with his frequent communication with the admirals of the Great Powers.

Prince George of Greece, the second son of King George I of Greece, became High Commissioner, with Venizelos serving as his minister of Justice from 1899 to 1901.[42]

Autonomous Cretan State

The council of Crete in which Venizelos participated. He is the second from the left.

Prince George of Greece was appointed High Commissioner of the Cretan State for a three-year term.[42]
On 13 December 1898, he arrived at Chania, where he received an unprecedented reception. On 27 April 1899, the High Commissioner created an Executive Committee composed of the Cretan leaders. Venizelos became minister of Justice, and with the rest of the Committee, they began to organize the State and create a "Cretan constitution". Venizelos insisted on not making reference to religion so all the residents of Crete would feel represented. For his stance, he was later accused of pro-Turk (pro-Muslim) by his political opponents on the island.

After Venizelos submitted the complete juridical legislation on 18 May 1900, disagreements between him and Prince George began to emerge. [citation needed] Prince George decided to travel to Europe and announced to the Cretan population that "When I am traveling in Europe, I shall ask the Powers for annexation, and I hope to succeed on account of my family connections".[43] The statement reached the public without the knowledge or approval of the Committee. Venizelos said to the Prince that it would not be proper to give hope to the population for something that was not feasible at the given moment. As Venizelos had expected, during the Prince's journey, the Great Powers rejected his request.[42][43]

The disagreements continued on other topics; the Prince wanted to build a palace, but Venizelos strongly opposed it as that would mean the perpetuation of the current arrangement of Governorship; Cretans accepted it only as temporary until a final solution was found.[42] Relations between the two men became increasingly soured, and Venizelos repeatedly submitted his resignation.[44]

In a meeting of the Executive Committee, Venizelos expressed his opinion that the island was not autonomous since the military forces of the Great Powers were still present and that the Great Powers were governing through their representative, the Prince. Venizelos suggested that once the Prince's service expired, then the Great Powers should be invited to the Committee, which, according to article 39 of the constitution (which was suppressed in the conference of Rome) would elect a new sovereign, thereby removing the need for the presence of the Great Powers. Once the Great Powers' troops and their representatives left the island, the union with Greece would be easier to achieve. This proposal was exploited by Venizelos' opponents, who accused him of wanting Crete to be an autonomous hegemony. Venizelos replied to the accusations by submitting his resignation once again, with the reasoning that it would be impossible henceforth to collaborate with the Committee's members; he assured the Commissioner, however, that he did not intend to join the opposition.[42]

On 6 March 1901, in a report, he exposed the reasons that compelled him to resign to the High Commissioner, which was however leaked to the press. On 20 March, Venizelos was dismissed because "he, without any authorization, publicly supported opinions opposite of those of the Commissioner".[42][45] Henceforth, Venizelos assumed the leadership of the opposition to the Prince. For the next three years, he carried out a hard political conflict until the administration was virtually paralyzed, and tensions dominated the island. Inevitably, these events led in March 1905 to the Theriso Revolution, whose leader he was.[citation needed]

Revolution of Theriso

Venizelos at the beginning of the 20th century.

On 10 March 1905, the rebels gathered in Theriso and declared "the political union of Crete with Greece as a single free constitutional state".[46] The resolution was given to the Great Powers, where it was argued that the illegitimate provisional arrangement was preventing the island's economic growth and that the only logical solution to the "Cretan Question" was the unification with Greece. The High Commissioner, with the approval of the Great Powers, replied to the rebels that military force would be used against them.[42] However, more deputies joined with Venizelos in Theriso. The Great Powers' consuls met with Venizelos in Mournies in an attempt to achieve an agreement, but without any results.[citation needed]

A speech by Venizelos on 25 March 1905.
The committee for the drafting of a new constitution for Crete in 1906–07.

The revolutionary government asked that Crete be granted a regime similar to that of

King George I of Greece, thereby de facto nullifying the Ottoman suzerainty. An ex-Prime Minister of Greece, Alexandros Zaimis, was chosen for the place of High Commissioner, and Greek officers and non-commissioned officers were allowed to undertake the organization of the Cretan Gendarmerie. As soon as the Gendarmerie was organized, the foreign troops began to withdraw from the island. This was also a personal victory for Venizelos, who, as a result, achieved fame not only in Greece but also in Europe.[42]

Following the

annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Encouraged by these events, on the same day, the Cretans, in turn, rose up. On that day, thousands of citizens in Chania and the surrounding regions formed a rally in which Venizelos declared the union of Crete with Greece. Having communicated with the government of Athens, Zaimis left for Athens before the rally.[citation needed
]

An assembly was convened and declared the independence of Crete. The civil servants were sworn in the name of

King George I of Greece, while a five-member Executive Committee was established, with the authority to control the island on behalf of the King and according to the laws of the Greek state. Chairman of the committee was Antonios Michelidakis, and Venizelos became Minister of Justice and Foreign Affairs. In April 1910, a new assembly was convened, and Venizelos was elected chairman and then Prime Minister. All foreign troops departed from Crete, and power was transferred entirely to Venizelos' government.[47][clarification needed
]

Political career in Greece

Goudi military revolution of 1909

After I finished my studies in Athens I returned home and hung out my bandolier. I had not tried many cases in the court of my home island before it became necessary for me to take up arms against the Turkish government. Although my father was born in Greece, I was considered an Ottoman subject—therefore a rebel—because my mother was born under the Turkish flag. At the end of the revolution, I returned again to my hometown and resumed my practice. I did not have time, however, to go far with it, for I had to take up arms again and go to the mountains. I soon reached the point where I had to decide whether I ought to be a lawyer by profession and a revolutionary at intervals or a revolutionary by profession and a lawyer at intervals ... I naturally became a revolutionary by profession.

— Venizelos speaking at a banquet given in his honor by the foreign press at the Peace Conference in 1919.[48][49]

In May 1909, a number of officers in the Greek army emulating the

Kiriakoulis Mavromichalis. An inaugurating period of direct military pressure upon the Chamber followed, but initial public support for the League quickly evaporated when it became apparent that the officers did not know how to implement their demands.[50] The political dead-end remained until the League invited Venizelos from Crete to undertake the leadership.[51]

Popular lithograph celebrating the coup's success. Greece steps triumphantly over the dead monster of the old-party system, cheered by the army and the people.

Venizelos went to Athens, and after consulting with the

absolute majority. The old parties boycotted the new election in protest[50] and on 11 December 1910, Venizelos' party won 307 seats out of 362, with most of the elected citizens being new in the political scene. Venizelos formed a government and started to reorganize the economic, political, and national affairs of the country.[citation needed
]

Reforms in 1910–1914

Venizelos tried to advance his reform program in the realms of political and social ideologies, education, and literature, by adopting practically viable compromises between often conflicting tendencies. In education, for example, the dynamic current in favor of the use of the popular spoken language,

dimotiki, provoked conservative reactions, which led to the constitutionally embedded decision (Article 107) in favor of a formal "purified" language, katharevousa, which looked back to classical precedents.[53]

On 20 May 1911, a revision of the Constitution was completed, which focused on strengthening individual freedoms, introducing measures to facilitate the legislative work of the Parliament, establishing obligatory

labor legislation in Greece were promulgated. Specific measures were enacted that prohibited child labor and night-shift work for women, regulated the hours of the working week and the Sunday holiday, and allowed for labor organizations.[54] Venizelos also took measures for the improvement of management, justice, and security and for the settlement of the landless peasants of Thessaly.[53]

Balkan Wars

Background

The boundaries of the Balkan states before the Balkan Wars.

At the time, there were diplomatic contacts with the

Asia Minor to Europe, while in contrast, the Greek fleet was dominating the Aegean Sea. Venizelos did not want to initiate any immediate major movements in the Balkans, until the Greek army and navy were reorganized (an effort that had begun from the last government of Georgios Theotokis) and the Greek economy was revitalized.[56] In light of this, Venizelos proposed to Ottoman Empire to recognize the Cretans the right to send deputies to the Greek Parliament, as a solution for closing the Cretan Question. However, the Young Turks (feeling confident after the Greco-Turkish war in 1897) threatened that they would make a military walk to Athens, if the Greeks insisted on such claims.[citation needed
]

Balkan League

Nikola Pasic
in 1913

Venizelos, seeing no improvements after his approach with the Turks on the Cretan Question and at the same time not wanting to see Greece remain inactive as in the Russo-Turkish War in 1877 (where Greece's neutrality left the country out of the peace talks), he decided that the only way to settle the disputes with Ottoman Empire, was to join the other Balkan countries, Serbia, Bulgaria and Montenegro, in an alliance known as the Balkan League. Crown Prince Constantine was sent to represent Greece to a royal feast in Sofia, and in 1911 Bulgarian students were invited to Athens.[57] These events had a positive impact and on 30 May 1912 Greece and the Kingdom of Bulgaria signed a treaty that ensured mutual support in case of a Turkish attack on either country. Negotiations with Serbia, which Venizelos had initiated to achieve a similar agreement, were concluded in early 1913,[58] before that there were only oral agreements.[59]

Montenegro opened hostilities by declaring war on the Ottoman Empire on 8 October 1912. On 17 October 1912, Greece along with her Balkan allies, declared war on the Ottoman Empire, thus joining the First Balkan War.[58] On 1 October, in a regular session of the Parliament Venizelos announced the declaration of war to the Ottomans and accepting the Cretan deputies, thus closing the Cretan Question, with the declaration of the union of Crete with Greece. The Greek population received these developments very enthusiastically.[citation needed]

First Balkan War – The first conflict with Prince Constantine

Venizelos with Constantine

The outbreak of the First Balkan War caused Venizelos a great deal of trouble in his relations with Crown Prince Constantine. Part of the problems can be attributed to the complexity of the official relations between the two men. Although Constantine was a Prince and the future King, he also held the title of army commander, thus remaining under the direct order of the Ministry of Military Affairs, and subsequently under Venizelos. But his father, King George, in accordance with the constitutional conditions of the time, had been the undisputed leader of the country. Thus in practical terms, Venizelos' authority over his commander of the army was diminished due to the obvious relation between the Crown Prince and the King.[citation needed]

In these conditions, the army started a victorious march to Macedonia under the command of Constantine. Soon the first disagreement between Venizelos and Constantine emerged, and it concerned the aims of the army's operations. The Crown Prince insisted on the clear military aims of the war: to defeat the opposed Ottoman army as a necessary condition for any occupation, wherever the opponent army was or was going, and the main part of the Ottoman army soon started retreating to the north towards Monastir. Venizelos was more realistic and insisted on the political aims of the war: to liberate as many geographical areas and cities as fast as possible, particularly Macedonia and Thessaloniki; thus heading east. The debate became evident after the victory of the Greek army at Sarantaporo, when the future direction of the armies' march was to be decided. Venizelos intervened and insisted that Thessaloniki, as a major city and strategic port in the surrounding area, should be taken at all costs and thus a turn to the east was necessary.[citation needed] In accordance to his views, Venizelos sent the following telegraph to the General Staff:

Salonique à tout prix![60]

Territorial changes as a result of the First Balkan war, as of April 1913.

and tried to keep frequent communication with the key figure, the King, in order to prevent the Crown Prince from marching north.

Battle of Giannitsa situated 40 km west of Salonika, Constantine's hesitation in capturing the city after a week had passed, led into an open confrontation with Venizelos. Venizelos, having accurate information from the Greek embassy in Sofia about the movement of the Bulgarian army towards the city, sent a telegram to Constantine in a strict tone, holding him responsible for the possible loss of Thessaloniki. The tone in Venizelos' telegram and that in the answer from Constantine that followed to announce the final agreement with the Turks, is widely considered as the start of the conflict between the two men that would lead Greece into the National Schism during World War I. Finally, on 26 October 1912, the Greek army entered Thessaloniki, shortly ahead of the Bulgarians.[61] But soon a new reason of friction emerged due to Venizelos' concern about Constantine's acceptance of the Bulgarian request to enter the city. A small Bulgarian unit, which soon became a full division, moved into the city and immediately started an attempt to establish a condominium in spite of initial assurances to the contrary, showing no intentions to leave. After Venizelos' protest Constantine asked him to take the responsibility (as a prime minister) by ordering him to force them out, but that was hardly an option since that would certainly lead to confrontation with the Bulgarians. To Venizelos' view, since Constantine allowed the Bulgarians to enter the city, he now passed the responsibility of a possible conflict with them to him, in an attempt to deny his initial fault. To Constantine, it was an attempt by Venizelos to get involved in clearly military issues. Most historians agree that Constantine failed to see the political dimensions of his decisions. As a consequence both incidents increased mutual misunderstanding shortly before Constantine's accession to the throne.[citation needed
]

Once the campaign in Macedonia was completed, a large part of the Greek army under the Crown Prince was redeployed to Epirus, and in the Battle of Bizani, the Ottoman positions were overcome and Ioannina taken on 22 February 1913. Meanwhile, the Greek navy rapidly occupied the Aegean islands, which were still under Ottoman rule. After two victories, the Greek fleet established naval supremacy over the Aegean, preventing the Turks from bringing reinforcements to the Balkans.[62][63]

On 20 November, Serbia, Montenegro, and Bulgaria signed a truce treaty with Turkey. It followed a conference in London, in which Greece took part, although the Greek army still continued its operations in the Epirus front. The conference led to the Treaty of London between the Balkan countries and Turkey. These two conferences gave the first indications of Venizelos' diplomatic efficiency and realism. During the negotiations and facing the dangers of Bulgarian maximalism, Venizelos succeeded in establishing close relations with the Serbs. A Serbian-Greek military protocol was signed on 1 June 1913, ensuring mutual protection in case of a Bulgarian attack.[citation needed]

Second Balkan War

Demonstration in Greece during the Balkan Wars with the words "Long Live Venizelos".
Venizelos with other participants in Bucharest peace treaty negotiations

Despite all this, the Bulgarians still wanted to become a hegemonic power in the Balkans and made excessive claims to this end, while Serbia asked for more territory than what was initially agreed with the Bulgarians. Serbia was asking for a revision of the original treaty since it had already lost north Albania due to the Great Powers' decision to establish the state of Albania in an area that had been recognized as a Serbian territory of expansion under the prewar Serbo-Bulgarian treaty. Bulgarians also laid claims on Thessaloniki and most of Macedonia. In the conference of London, Venizelos rebuffed these claims, citing the fact that it had been occupied by the Greek army,[64] and that Bulgaria had denied any definite settlement of territorial claims during the pre-war discussions, as it had done with Serbia.[citation needed]

The rupture between the allies, due to the Bulgarian claims, was inevitable, and Bulgaria found herself standing against Greece and Serbia. On 19 May 1913,

peace treaty was signed with Greece, Montenegro, Serbia and Romania on one side and Bulgaria on the other. Thus, after two successful wars, Greece had doubled its territory by gaining most of Macedonia, Epirus, Crete and the rest of the Aegean Islands,[66] although the status of the latter remained as yet undetermined and a cause of tension with the Ottomans.[citation needed
]

World War I and Greece

Dispute over Greece's role in World War I

Bust of Eleftherios Venizelos in Belgrade, Serbia.

With the outbreak of World War I and the Austro-Hungarian invasion of Serbia, a major issue started regarding the participation of Greece and Bulgaria in the war. Greece had an active treaty with Serbia which was the treaty activated in the 1913 Bulgarian attack that caused the Second Balkan War. That treaty was envisaged in a purely Balkan context and was thus invalid against Austria-Hungary, as was supported by Constantine and his advisors.[citation needed]

The situation changed when the Allies, in an attempt to help Serbia, offered Bulgaria the

Ochrid area of Serbia and the Greek Eastern Macedonia (the Kavala and Drama areas) if she joined the Entente. Venizelos, having received assurances over Asia Minor if the Greeks participated in the alliance, agreed to cede the area to Bulgaria.[67]

But Constantine's anti-Bulgarism made such a transaction impossible. Constantine refused to go to war under such conditions, and the men parted. As a consequence, Bulgaria joined the Central Powers and invaded Serbia, an event that led to Serbia's final collapse. Greece remained neutral. Venizelos supported an alliance with the Entente, not only believing that Britain and France would win but also that it was the only choice for Greece because the combination of the strong Anglo-French naval control over the Mediterranean and the geographical distribution of the Greek population, could have ill effects in the case of a naval blockade, as he characteristically remarked:

One cannot kick against geography![68]

On the other hand, Constantine favored the Central Powers and wanted Greece to remain neutral.[69] He was influenced both by his belief in the military superiority of Germany and also by his German wife, Queen Sophia, and his pro-German court. He therefore strove to secure a neutrality, which would be favorable to Germany and Austria.[70]

In 1915, Winston Churchill (then First Lord of the Admiralty) suggested to Greece to take action in Dardanelles on behalf of the allies.[71] Venizelos saw this as an opportunity to bring the country on the side of the Entente in the conflict. However, the King and the Hellenic Army General Staff disagreed and Venizelos submitted his resignation on 21 February 1915.[70] Venizelos' party won the elections and formed a new government.[citation needed]

National Schism

The "Triumvirate of National Defence" in Thessaloniki. L-R: Admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis, Venizelos, and General Panagiotis Danglis.

Even though Venizelos promised to remain neutral, after the elections of 1915, he said that Bulgaria's attack on Serbia, with which Greece had a treaty of alliance, obliged him to abandon that policy. A small-scale mobilization of the Greek army took place.

The dispute between Venizelos and the King reached its height shortly after that, and the King invoked a Greek constitutional provision that gave the monarch the right to dismiss a government unilaterally. Meanwhile, using the excuse of saving Serbia, in October 1915, the Entente disembarked an army in Thessaloniki,[72] after invitation by Venizelos. Prime Minister Venizelos's action enraged Constantine.

The dispute continued between the two men, and in December 1915, King Constantine forced Venizelos to resign for a second time and dissolved the Liberal-dominated parliament, calling for new elections. Venizelos left Athens and moved back to Crete. Venizelos did not take part in the elections, as he considered the dissolution of Parliament unconstitutional.[73][74]

The 1st Battalion of the National Defence army marches before the White Tower on its way to the front.

On 26 May 1916 the Fort Rupel (a significant military fort in Macedonia) was unconditionally surrendered by the royalist government to Germano-Bulgarian forces.[75] This produced a deplorable impression. The Allies feared a possible secret alliance between the royalist government and the Central Powers, placing their armies in grave danger in Macedonia. On the other hand, the surrender of Fort Rupel for Venizelos and his supporters meant the beginning of the destruction of Greek Macedonia. Despite German assurances that the integrity of the Kingdom of Greece would be respected, they were unable to restrain the Bulgarian forces, which had started dislocating the Greek population, and by 4 September Kavala was occupied.[76]

On 16 August 1916, during a rally in Athens, and with the support of the allied army that had landed in Thessaloniki under the command of General

Venizelists, who supported Venizelos. On 30 August 1916, Venizelist army officers organized a military coup in Thessaloniki, and proclaimed the "Provisional Government of National Defence". Venizelos, along with Admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis and General Panagiotis Danglis agreed to form a provisional government, and on 9 October, they moved to Thessaloniki and assumed command of the National Defence to oversee the Greek participation in the allied war effort. The triumvirate, as the three men became known, had formed this government in direct conflict with the Athens political establishment.[77] There they founded a separate "provisional state" including Northern Greece, Crete, and the Aegean Islands, with the support of the Entente.[78]
Primarily, these areas comprised the "New Lands" won during the Balkan Wars, in which Venizelos enjoyed broad support, while "Old Greece" was mostly pro-royalist. However, Venizelos declared, "we are not against the King, but against the Bulgarians". He didn't want to abolish the monarchy and continued his efforts to persuade the King to join the Allies, blaming his "bad advisors" for his stance.

The National Defence government started assembling an army for the Macedonian front and soon participated in operations against the Central Powers forces.[citation needed]

"Noemvriana" – Greece enters World War I

French troops in Athens, with the Acropolis in the background, after the Noemvriana.

In the months following the creation of the provisional government in Thessaloniki in late August, negotiations between the Allies and the king intensified. The Allies wanted further demobilization of the Greek army as a counterbalance to the royalist government's unconditional surrender of Fort Rupel and the military evacuation of Thessaly to ensure the safety of their troops in Macedonia. On the other hand, the king wanted assurances that the Allies would not officially recognize Venizelos' provisional government or further support it, guarantees that Greece's integrity and neutrality would be respected, and a promise that any war material surrendered to the Allies would be returned after the war.[79]

The Franco-British use of Greece's territory in co-operation with the Venizelos government[i] throughout 1916 was opposed in royalist circles and therefore increased Constantine's popularity, and caused much excitement and several anti-Allied demonstrations took place in Athens.[77] Moreover, a growing movement had been developed in the army among lower officers, led by military officers Ioannis Metaxas and Sofoklis Dousmanis, determined to oppose disarmament and the surrender of any war materials to the Allies.[80]

Pavlos Koundouriotis (left) and General Maurice Sarrail
(right).

The Allies' pressure on the government of Athens continued. On the next day, 24 November, du Fournet presented a new ultimatum ending on 1 December to the government of Athens, demanding the immediate surrender of at least ten mountain batteries.[81] The admiral made a last effort to persuade the king to accept France's demands. He advised the king that according to his orders, he would land an Allied contingent with the aim to occupy certain positions in Athens until his demands were satisfied.[81] In reply, the King claimed that he was pressed by the army and the people not to submit to disarmament and refused to make any commitment. However, he promised that the Greek forces would receive orders not to fire against the Allied contingent.[82] Despite the gravity of the situation, both the royalist government and the Allies let the events take their own course. The royalist government decided to reject the admirals' demands on 29 November, and armed resistance was organized. By 30 November, military units and royalist militia (the epistratoi, "reservists") from surrounding areas had been recalled and gathered in and around Athens (in total over 20,000 men[83][84][85]) and occupied strategic positions, with orders not to fire unless fired upon.[82] On the other hand, the Allied authorities failed in their assessment of the prevailing temper. A diplomat characteristically insisted that the Greeks were bluffing, and in the face of force, they would "bring the cannons on a plater"; a viewpoint that Du Fournet also shared.[82]

Greek lithograph depicting Venizelos along with the principal Allied leaders of World War I, David Lloyd George, Georges Clemenceau, Ferdinand Foch and Woodrow Wilson.

The Allies landed a small contingent in Athens on 1 December [

Old Style calendar at the time, and drove a deep wedge between the Venizelists and their political opponents, deepening what would become known as the National Schism.[citation needed
]

After the armed confrontation in Athens, on 2 December [

Archbishop of Athens, under pressure by the royal house,[89] anathematised him.[90] The Allies unwilling to risk a new fiasco, but determined to solve the problem, established a naval blockade around southern Greece, which was still loyal to the king, and that caused extreme hardship to people in those areas.[91] In June, France and Great Britain decided to invoke their obligation as "protecting powers", who had promised to guarantee a constitutional form for Greece at the time the Kingdom was created, to demand the king's resignation.[92] Constantine accepted and on 15 June 1917 went to exile, leaving his son Alexander on the throne as demanded (whom the Allies considered as pro-Entente), instead of his elder son and crown prince, George.[93][94] His departure was followed by the deportation of many prominent royalists, especially army officers such as Ioannis Metaxas
, to exile in France and Italy.

The course of events paved the way for Venizelos to return to Athens on 29 May 1917, and Greece, now unified, officially entered the war on the side of the Allies. Subsequently, the entire Greek army was mobilized (though tensions remained inside the army between supporters of the

monarchy and supporters of Venizelos) and began to participate in military operations against the Central Powers army on the Macedonian front.[citation needed
]

Conclusion of World War I

Painting depicting Greek military units in the World War I Victory Parade in Arc de Triomphe, Paris. July 1919.
Venizelos in 1919.

By the fall of 1918, the Greek army numbering 300,000 soldiers, was the largest single national component of the Allied army in the Macedonian front.

Paris Peace Conference.[97]

Treaty of Sèvres and assassination attempt

Photo of the members of the commission of the League of Nations created by the Plenary Session of the Preliminary Peace Conference, Paris, France 1919. Venizelos is on the right.

Following the conclusion of World War I, Venizelos took part in the

Paris Peace Conference of 1919 as Greece's chief representative. During his absence from Greece for almost two years, he acquired a reputation as an international statesman of considerable stature.[3][4] President Woodrow Wilson was said to have placed Venizelos first in point of personal ability among all delegates gathered in Paris to settle the terms of Peace.[98]

Map of Greater Greece after the Treaty of Sèvres, when the Megali Idea seemed close to fulfillment, featuring Eleftherios Venizelos.

In July 1919, Venizelos reached an agreement with the Italians on the cession of the

Imvros, Tenedos and the Dodecanese except Rhodes.[99][ii]

The assassination attempt by Greek royalists at the Gare de Lyon.

In spite of all this, fanaticism continued to create a deep rift between the opposing political parties and to impel them towards unacceptable actions. On his journey home on 12 August 1920, Venizelos survived an assassination attack by two royalist soldiers at the Gare de Lyon railway station in Paris.[101] This event provoked unrest in Greece, with Venizelist supporters engaging in acts of violence against known anti-Venizelists, and provided further fuel for the national division. The persecution of Venizelos' opponents reached a climax with the assassination of the idiosyncratic anti-Venizelist Ion Dragoumis[70] by paramilitary Venizelists on 13 August.[102] After his recovery Venizelos returned to Greece, where he was welcomed as a hero because he had liberated areas with Greek populations and had created a state stretching over "five seas and two continents".[70]

1920 electoral defeat, self-exile and the Great Disaster

Venizelos on the journey back to Greece, injured from the Paris assassination attempt

plebiscite.[70] This caused great dissatisfaction not only to the newly liberated populations in Asia Minor but also to the Great Powers who opposed the return of Constantine.[103] As a result of his defeat Venizelos left for Paris and withdrew from politics.[105]

Caricature related to the 1920 parliamentary election, depicting Venizelos and his main political opponent Dimitrios Gounaris.

Once the anti-Venizelists came to power, it became apparent that they intended to continue the campaign in Asia Minor. However, the dismissal of the war experienced pro-Venizelist military officers for political reasons

Great Fire of Smyrna).[106]

Eleftherios Venizelos on the cover of Time magazine, 18 February 1924.

Following the

King George II of Greece was forced into exile. Venizelos returned to Greece and served as prime minister until 1924, when quarrels with anti-monarchists forced him back into exile.[citation needed
]

During these absences from power, he translated Thucydides into modern Greek, although the translation and incomplete commentary were only published in 1940, after his death.[citation needed]

Venizelos in The Hague, 1929 autochrome by Stéphane Passet

Return to power (1928–32): Greco-Turkish alliance, assassination attempt and subsequent exile

In the elections held on 5 July 1928, Venizelos' party regained power and forced the government to hold

free trade zone of Thessaloniki in a way favorable to Greek interests.[107] Nevertheless, despite the co-ordinated British efforts under Arthur Henderson in 1930–1931, full reconciliation with Bulgaria was never achieved during his premiership.[108] Venizelos was also cautious towards Albania, and although bilateral relations remained at a good level, no initiative was taken by either side aiming at the final settlement of the unresolved issues (mainly related with the status of the Greek minority of South Albania).[109]

Greek–Turkish relations even before his electoral victory in a speech in Thessaloniki (23 July 1928). Eleven days after the formation of his government, he sent letters to both the prime minister and the minister of foreign affairs of Turkey (İsmet İnönü and Tevfik Rüştü Aras respectively), declaring that Greece had no territorial aspirations to the detriment of their country. İnönü's response was positive and Italy was eager to help the two countries reach an agreement. Negotiations, however, stalled because of the complicated issue of the properties of the exchanged populations. Finally, the two sides reached an agreement on 30 April 1930; on 25 October, Venizelos visited Turkey and signed a treaty of friendship. Venizelos even forwarded Atatürk's name for the 1934 Nobel Peace Prize,[110] highlighting the mutual respect between the two leaders.[111] The German Chancellor Hermann Müller described the Greek-Turkish rapprochement as the "greatest achievement seen in Europe since the end of the Great War". Nevertheless, Venizelos' initiative was criticized domestically not only by the opposition but also by members of his own party that represented the Greek refugees from Turkey. Venizelos was accused of making too many concessions on the issues of naval armaments and of the properties of the Greeks who were expelled from Turkey according to the Treaty of Lausanne.[112]

The car of Venizelos after the assassination attempt of 1933

In 1929, the Venizelos government, in an effort to avoid reactions from the lower classes whose conditions had worsened due to the wave of immigration, introduced the so-called Idionymon (#4229), a law that restricted civil liberties and initiated the repression against unionism, left-wing supporters and communists.[citation needed]

His domestic position was weakened, however, by the effects of the

referendum in November.[115]

Death

Venizelos left for Paris and on 12 March 1936 wrote his last letter to

Pavlos Kountouriotis to Chania, avoiding Athens in order not to cause unrest. A great ceremony with wide public attendance accompanied his burial at Akrotiri, Crete.[citation needed
]

Legacy

Venizelos' gravestone in Akrotiri, near Chania, Crete.
A statue in Theriso, Crete.

One of the main contributions of Venizelos to Greek political life was the creation, in 1910, of the Liberal Party, which contrasted with the Greek parties of that period. Until the early twentieth century, the Greek parties were inspired by the protecting powers (

English Party for example) or clustered around a political personality, such as Charilaos Trikoupis. The Liberal Party was based on the ideas of Venizelos (and the military coup of Goudi), but it survived its creator. In addition, the birth of a leading party would coincide with the birth of an opposing party. The opposing party was reflected around the personality of the king, but that survived the various abolitions of the monarchy.[117] Venizelism, from its inception, is essentially a liberal Republican movement which opposes anti-Venizelist monarchist and conservative ideologies. These two competed for power throughout the inter-war period.[118]

Its main ideas, adapted from its creator, were: opposition to the monarchy; the defense of the Megali Idea; formation of alliances with Western democratic countries, in particular, the United Kingdom and France against Germany during the First and Second World Wars, and later with the United States against the Soviet Union during the Cold War; and finally a protectionist economic policy.[119]

Panhellenic Socialist Movement of Andreas Papandreou.[120]

Venizelos was one Greek politician who achieved worldwide fame during his lifetime, and in the six years between 1915 and 1921, five biographies of him were published in English together with numerous profiles in the newspapers.[121] The character of Constantine Karolides, the able and charismatic prime minister of Greece in John Buchan's 1915 adventure spy novel The Thirty-Nine Steps, is a thinly disguised version of Venizelos.[121] Venizelos's advocacy throughout his career in varying ways of a bloc of Balkan states led the press, especially in Britain, to portray him as a far-sighted statesman who was bringing peace and stability to the unstable Balkans.[122]

Bust at Athens International Airport, which was named after him.

Athens International Airport is named after Venizelos.

Personal life and family

In December 1891, Venizelos married Maria Katelouzou, daughter of Eleftherios Katelouzos. The newlyweds lived on the upper floor of the Chalepa house, while Venizelos' mother and his brother and sisters lived on the ground floor. There, they enjoyed the happy moments of their marriage and also had the birth of their two children, Kyriakos [el] in 1892 and Sofoklis in 1894. Their married life was short and marked by misfortune. Maria died of post-puerperal fever in November 1894 after the birth of their second child. Her death deeply affected Venizelos and as a sign of mourning, he grew his characteristic beard and mustache, which he retained for the rest of his life.[12]

After his defeat in the November elections of 1920, he left for

Lady Domini Crosfield. The Crosfields were well connected and Venizelos met Arthur Balfour, David Lloyd George and the arms dealer Basil Zaharoff in subsequent visits to the house.[citation needed
]

The married couple settled down in Paris in a flat at 22 rue Beaujon.[clarification needed] He lived there until 1927 when he returned to Chania.[12]

Gallery

See also

Notes

^ i: The most pronounced violation was when the Allies occupied the island of Corfu and used it as a base to gather the remains of the Serbian army. The Allies informed Athens of their intention a few hours before the first ships reached the island.[123]
^ ii: Rhodes became a part of Greece in 1949.

Citations

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  12. ^ a b c d Mitsotaki, Zoi (2008). "Venizelos the Cretan. His roots and his family". National Foundation Research. Archived from the original on 18 May 2007.
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  14. ^ Kitromilides, 2006, pp. 45, 47
  15. ^ Kitromilides, 2006, p. 16
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General references

Books

Journals

External links

Political offices
Preceded by
Stephanos Dragoumis
Prime Minister of Greece
18 October 1910 – 10 March 1915
Succeeded by
Preceded by Prime Minister of Greece
23 August 1915 – 7 October 1915
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Minister of Foreign Affairs

23 August 1915 – 7 October 1915
Succeeded by
Preceded by Prime Minister of Greece
27 June 1917 – 18 November 1920
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Minister for Military Affairs

27 June 1917 – 18 November 1920
Succeeded by
Preceded by Prime Minister of Greece
24 January 1924 – 19 February 1924
Succeeded by
Georgios Kaphantaris
Preceded by Prime Minister of Greece
4 July 1928 – 26 May 1932
Succeeded by
Preceded by Prime Minister of Greece
5 June 1932 – 3 November 1932
Succeeded by
Preceded by Prime Minister of Greece
16 January 1933 – 6 March 1933
Succeeded by
Party political offices
New title Chairman of the Liberal Party
1910–1936
Succeeded by
Themistoklis Sophoulis
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Cover of Time magazine
18 February 1924
Succeeded by
Bernard M. Baruch