Pavlos Kountouriotis

Pavlos Kountouriotis
Παύλος Κουντουριώτης
Kountouriotis c. 1915
President of Greece
In office 24 August 1926 – 10 December 1929
Prime Minister	See list Georgios Kondylis Alexandros Zaimis Eleftherios Venizelos
Preceded by	Theodoros Pangalos
Succeeded by	Alexandros Zaimis
In office 25 March 1924 – 6 April 1926
Prime Minister	See list Alexandros Papanastasiou Themistoklis Sofoulis Andreas Michalakopoulos Theodoros Pangalos
Preceded by	Regent of Greece
In office 23 December 1923 – 25 March 1924
Monarch	George II
Prime Minister	See list Stylianos Gonatas Eleftherios Venizelos Georgios Kafantaris Alexandros Papanastasiou
In office 28 October 1920 – 17 November 1920
Monarch	Vacant
Prime Minister	Eleftherios Venizelos
Succeeded by	Queen Mother Olga
Minister of the Navy
In office 24 September 1915 – 9 June 1916
Monarch	Constantine I
Prime Minister	Alexandros Zaimis Stephanos Skouloudis
Preceded by	Athanasios N. Miaoulis
Succeeded by	Konstantinos Kallaris
Personal details
Born	(1855-04-09)9 April 1855 Venizelist )
Spouses	Angeliki Petrokokkinou ​ ​ (m. 1889; died 1903)​ Helen Koupas ​ (m. 1918)​
Relations	Georgios Kountouriotis (grandfather) Lazaros Kountouriotis (great-uncle) Nikolaos Votsis (nephew)
Children	3, including Návarchos (admiral)
Commands	Alfeios Miaoulis Georgios Averof
Battles/wars	Greco-Turkish War (1897) Cretan Revolt Balkan Wars First Balkan War First Battle of Lemnos Battle of Lesbos Battle of Elli Second Battle of Lemnos Second Balkan War

Pavlos Kountouriotis (

In 1886, he took part in the naval operations at

In 1900, Kountouriotis, as the commanding officer of the three-masted cruiser Navarchos Miaoulis, crossed the Atlantic Ocean and brought the flag of the Hellenic Navy to the New World for the very first time. His orders were to present the flag of the Hellenic Navy to the 60,000 Greeks living in the U.S., but also to be the first exploratory mission of independent Greece. William McKinley, the President of the United States, invited Kountouriotis to the White House.^[2]

Kountouriotis served as an

On 16 April 1912 he was appointed Chief of the Navy General Staff until 16 September, when he was appointed of the Aegean Fleet, in view of the worsening situation in the Balkans, and the imminent outbreak of the First Balkan War.

Kountouriotis played a crucial role in the Greek government's decision to enter the war. Partly because the Greek fleet had not yet completed its modernization programme, and in view of the disaster of 1897, the Greek leadership remained ambivalent about Greece's prospects. Kountouriotis weighed in decisively in these discussions, proclaiming his confidence that even with the existing fleet, victory could be achieved, thanks to superior personnel. His reply to Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos became famous:^[3]

Mr. President, I do not occupy myself with x plus y and angles of divergence. I know to speak of one thing. Ships without capable personnel, are [nothing but] heavy lead that sinks in water. I assure you that with the ships we have, we shall do our job well.

During the

General Pangalos' dictatorship. He served a second time as a provisional president from August 1926 until December 1929.^[5]

Death and honours

Greek destroyer and a Standard-class frigate, Kountouriotis, are named after him.

One of the two gold 100-Euro coins issued by Greece in 2012 to commemorate the centenary of the Balkan Wars featured Kountouriotis and Georgios Averof.^[6]

See also

• History of the Hellenic Navy

References

1. ^ Jochalas, Titos (2020). "Lettere di contenuto velenoso inviate da Londra al Primo Ministro greco scritte nel dialetto albanese di Idra (1824)". Shejzat. 3–4: 69. Sembra che la lingua abituale di comunicazione dei Cundurioti anche con il loro cognato fosse l'arvanitica di Idra. Era così frequente l'abitudine dei Cundurioti di parlare arvanitica che persino l'ammiraglio Pavlos Cunduriotis tutte le volte che andava ad Idra voleva comunicare con gli abitanti dell' isola solo in arvanitica, come attesta il testimone e suo segretario Nic. Chalioris: "E' con vero piacere che il bell'ufficiale parla in albanese con i bravi isolani", (ΤΟ ΜΕΛΛΟΝ ΤΗΣ ΥΔΡΑΣ, ag.-sett. 1935, n. 9, pag. 225) e altrove: «L'ammiraglio in tutto questo tempo era molto allegro. Salutava in arvanitica tutti i pescatori che incontravamo per strada», (ibidem, apr. 1960, n. 4, pag. 91).
2. ^ "1900: The voyage of "Miaoulis" to America". www.1900thebook.com. 2024-09-19.
3. ^ "Η Πρώτη Νίκη του Ναυάρχου Κουντουριώτη στους Βαλκανικούς Αγώνες" (PDF). Hellenic National Defence General Staff. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
4. ^ The Times (London), Friday 29 October 1920, p. 12
5. ^ "Countries Go-Gu: Greece". rulers.org. Retrieved 2022-04-14.
6. ^ "Greece - 100 Euro gold, centennial of the Balkan Wars, 2012". Electa Collections. The Eurocoin Store. Retrieved 12 May 2013.

Political offices
New title Monarchy Abolished	President of Greece 25 March 1924 – 15 March 1926	Succeeded by Theodoros Pangalos
Preceded by Theodoros Pangalos	President of Greece 24 August 1926 – 9 December 1929	Succeeded by Alexandros Zaimis