Themistoklis P. Sofoulis

In memoriam

Greek name: Θεμιστοκλής Σοφούλης Prominent centrist Greek politician; three times prime minister: 24 July 1924 – 7 October 1924, 22 November 1945 – 4 April 1946, 7 September 1947 – 24 June 1949. He was born at Samos, then an autonomous region of the Ottoman Empire, the son of prominent merchant, and later politician, Panagiotis Sofoulis. Ηε studied Philosophy at the University of Athens with graduate studies in Archaeology in Germany. As an archaeologist he was the first, in 1895, to dig and explore the ruins of ancient Messene. In 1899, Sofoulis returned to Samos and became involved in politics. In 1902, he was elected President of the local Council (Prime Minister) however, he and his party were accused, by members of the opposition party, as advocating "Enosis" (union) of Samos with Greece. Sofoulis was forced to flee Samos after the disputes turned bloody. In 1912, during the First Balkan War, he landed in Samos leading a band of guerrilas, to encourage the locals to revolt against the Turks and join Greece. On November 24 of that year (November 11 OS), Enosis was declared and Samos became part of Greece. Sofoulis served as interim governor of the island until May 1914 when he was appointed governor of Macedonia. In 1915, he was elected for the first time to the Hellenic Parliament. After serving as Minister for the Interior and Speaker of the Hellenic Parliament, in 1924 he became Prime Minister of Greece for the first time. In 1924 Sofoulis headed the Liberal Party (Komma Filelevtheron) after Elevtherios Venizelos (Ελευθέριος Βενιζέλος) fled from Greece. He married: 1. Maria Papadimitriou 2. Loukia Karatheodori From his first marriage to Maria Papadimitriou, he had two children: Panagiotis and Despoina. His grandson, Themistoklis Sofoulis, son of Panagiotis, was elected Member of Parliament for Samos in 1981. Sofoulis died in office on 24th June 1949, while the Greek Civil War was still being fought, and was succeeded by Alexandros Diomedes (Αλέξανδρος Διομήδης).

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