HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Andreas Metaxas ( el, Ανδρέας Μεταξάς; 179019 September 1860) was a
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
, fighter of the
Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. The Greeks were later assisted by ...
and diplomat from
Cephalonia Kefalonia or Cephalonia ( el, Κεφαλονιά), formerly also known as Kefallinia or Kephallenia (), is the largest of the Ionian Islands in western Greece and the 6th largest island in Greece after Crete, Euboea, Lesbos, Rhodes and Chios. It i ...
. He was prime minister of Greece from 3 September 1843 to 16 February 1844. Some military leaders of the revolution (Makriyannis) gave him the ironic nickname of "Conte Lalas'" due to his injury during the Battle of Lalas.


Biography


Origins and personal life

Born in 1790 in
Argostoli Argostoli ( el, Αργοστόλι, Katharevousa: Ἀργοστόλιον) is a town and a municipality on the island of Kefalonia, Ionian Islands, Greece. Since the 2019 local government reform it is one of the three municipalities on the island ...
Dimitrios Fotiadis, ''Όθωνας - Η μοναρχία'', εκδόσεις Κυψέλη, Αθήνα, 1963, p.341. he belonged to the historical Metaxas family, which originated in
Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
and moved to Kefalonia in the 15th century.''Σύγχρονος Εγκυκλοπαίδεια Ελευθερουδάκη'', vol. 17, p.369. He was the second son of Petros Metaxas and Violeta Loverdou and had three brothers, Anastasios, Paisios and Ioannis.
Konstantinos Metaxas Konstantinos Metaxas ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Μεταξάς, 1793–1870) was a Greek fighter of the Greek War of Independence and politician from Cephalonia. Biography Origin and activity in the War of Independence He was born in Argost ...
was his cousin. Although he did not receive any special education, other than Greek he was fluent in
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...
and French and was a scholar of ancient Greek history. A few years before the Greek Revolution he married Marietta Vourvachi, sister of a Greek officer in the French army,
Dionysios The name Dionysius (; el, Διονύσιος ''Dionysios'', "of Dionysus"; la, Dionysius) was common in classical and post-classical times. Etymologically it is a nominalized adjective formed with a -ios suffix from the stem Dionys- of the name ...
, with whom he had two sons (Spyros and Petros) and two daughters. In pre-revolutionary years, he worked as a solicitor.


Greek War of Independence

He was initiated into
Filiki Eteria Filiki Eteria or Society of Friends ( el, Φιλικὴ Ἑταιρεία ''or'' ) was a secret organization founded in 1814 in Odessa, whose purpose was to overthrow the Ottoman rule of Greece and establish an independent Greek state. (''ret ...
. When the revolution was declared, he rushed to
Peloponnese The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic regions of Greece, geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmu ...
and established, along with his brother Anastasios and his cousin Konstantinos, a military contingent of 350 men from Kefalonia equipped with two cannons, contribution of Evangelinos Panas. Among the leaders were Victor Gerasimos Fokas, Konstantinos Fokas Karandinos and others. Claiming that they were chasing pirates, they boarded a ship belonged to Anastasios and Fokas Theodoratou brothers, which was equipped with 18 cannons, 50 sailors and 50 gunmen. They disembarked in early May 1821 in Glarentza and marched to
Manolada Manolada ( el, Μανολάδα) is a village and a community in the municipal unit of Vouprasia, Elis, Greece. It is situated in a vast, rural plain near the Ionian Sea, 2 km northwest of Varda, 3 km west of Nea Manolada and 40 km ...
. There, they were joined by other military captains (Vilaetis, Sisinis and Plapoutas) and then marched to Lalas, which was the foothold of notorious Albanian fighters. During the battles that took place in the region and until 13 June, when all the people from Lalas had to resort to Patra, Metaxas was among the noteworthy. He even got wounded in both hands by bullets. Later, after
Demetrios Ypsilantis Demetrios Ypsilantis (alternatively spelled Demetrius Ypsilanti; el, Δημήτριος Υψηλάντης, ; ro, Dumitru Ipsilanti; 1793August 16, 1832) was a Greek army officer who served in both the Hellenic Army and the Imperial Russian ...
' suggestion, he was sent, along with the rest of the army, to Patra. Soon, due to his injury, he was only active in the political part of the revolution. On 25 May 1822, in a unanimous decision, the "Executive Body" passed an act by which Metaxas was naturalized as a Greek Peloponnese citizen for his service to his country. He was appointed Minister of Police in 1822, and Minister of War in April 1826. He took part in, and also organized the defense during, the
Battle of the Lerna Mills The Battle of the Lerna Mills was fought on June 24, 1825, in Lerna, Greece between the Egyptian forces of Ibrahim Pasha and Greek forces led by General Yannis Makriyannis, Demetrios Ypsilantis, Andreas Metaxas and Konstantinos Mavromichalis.F ...
. He was a member of the National Assembly of Argos and member of the Provisional Government. Along with Georgios Mavromichalis and Germanos III of Old Patras, he was sent by the Government to Verona in search for financial resources but also to persuade the Great Powers to not act against Greece, in which he succeeded with the help of his friend
Ioannis Kapodistrias Count Ioannis Antonios Kapodistrias (10 or 11 February 1776 – 9 October 1831), sometimes anglicized as John Capodistrias ( el, Κόμης Ιωάννης Αντώνιος Καποδίστριας, Komis Ioannis Antonios Kapodistrias; russian: ...
.


Kapodistrian period

Andreas Metaxas was the prime mover behind Ioannis Kapodistrias' election. He was a devout supporter of Kapodistrias and remained his faithful ally to the end. In return Kapodistrias honored him by promoting him to high dignities. On his own initiative, he joined the ''
Panellinion The ''Panellinion'' ( el, Πανελλήνιον) was the name given to the advisory body created on 23 April 1828 by Ioannis Kapodistrias, replacing the Legislative Body, as one of the terms he set to assume the governorship of the new country. T ...
'', was appointed head of the army and Emergency Commissioner of the Peloponnese. From this position Metaxas mainly helped organizing the tactical army. After the assassination of Kapodistrias in 1831, although pro-Russian, Metaxas opposed the election of Augustine Kapodistrias which he found disastrous. Nevertheless, he kept away from
Ioannis Kolettis Ioannis Kolettis (; died 17 September 1847) was a Greek politician who played a significant role in Greek affairs from the Greek War of Independence through the early years of the Greek Kingdom, including as Minister to France and serving twic ...
' disruptive tendencies. Despite that, he remained a member of the provisional government until the arrival of King Otto.


Period of king Otto

During the Regency he was appointed Prefect of
Laconia Laconia or Lakonia ( el, Λακωνία, , ) is a historical and administrative region of Greece located on the southeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Its administrative capital is Sparta. The word ''laconic''—to speak in a blunt, c ...
, and later, in October 1835, member of the
Council of State A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head o ...
. Soon, however, he was exiled to Marseilles by the Regency for his liberal views. He was later called back and sent to Spain as ambassador of Greece. After his return to Greece in 1839, he was re-appointed to the State Council. He served as Minister for Military Affairs in the government of
Alexandros Mavrokordatos Alexandros Mavrokordatos ( el, Αλέξανδρος Μαυροκορδάτος; 11 February 179118 August 1865) was a Greece, Greek statesman, diplomat, politician and member of the Mavrocordatos family of Phanariotes. Biography In 1812, Mavroko ...
during July and August 1841. He took over the leadership of the
Russian Party The Russian Party ( el, Ρωσικό Κóμμα), presenting itself as the Napist Party ("Dell Party", el, κόμμα των Ναπαίων), one of the Early Greek parties, was an informal grouping of Greek political leaders that formed during t ...
after
Theodoros Kolokotronis Theodoros Kolokotronis ( el, Θεόδωρος Κολοκοτρώνης; 3 April 1770 – 4 February 1843) was a Greek general and the pre-eminent leader of the Greek War of Independence (1821–1829) against the Ottoman Empire. Kolokotronis's g ...
' death. Following the
3 September 1843 Revolution The 3 September 1843 Revolution ( el, Επανάσταση της 3ης Σεπτεμβρίου 1843; N.S. 15 September), was an uprising by the Hellenic Army in Athens, supported by large sections of the people, against the autocratic rule of K ...
, he received a mandate by Otto to form a government to prepare elections for a
constitutional assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...
. A few days later, under the threat that he would resign unless his proposal was accepted, he managed to convince the cabinet to broaden the government with the participation of Alexandros Mavrokordatos and Ioannis Kolettis, leaders of the English and French party respectively.Dimitrios Fotiadis, 1963, p. 342. Metaxas was the first government leader in the political history of Greece who was named "prime minister". During his premiership, Metaxas managed to maintain order and conduct elections in order to form the First National Assembly. He was elected Honorary Vice-President in five regions and participated in its actions. In next year's elections for the First Period (1844–1845), he was elected Attica MP. He was appointed Minister of Finance in Kolettis' government, a position he held from August 1844 until August 1845, when he resigned after Kolettis' effort to overthrow the constitution. He served as a senator during the years 1846 and 1847 and from 1850 until 1859 as an Attica MP. In 1850, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General and was decorated by King Otto with the Grand Cross of the
Order of the Redeemer The Order of the Redeemer ( el, Τάγμα του Σωτήρος, translit=Tágma tou Sotíros), also known as the Order of the Saviour, is an order of merit of Greece. The Order of the Redeemer is the oldest and highest decoration awarded by the ...
. On 15 September of the same year, he was sent to Istanbul as ambassador of Greece. He resigned on 10 March 1854, after the start of the
Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...
, and returned to Athens where he retired from politics. It appears that he secretly supported the revolt movement of Thessaly and Epirus and changed the King's hasty decision to get involved, when he secretly rushed to the palace and convinced him not to go there, thus preventing any suffering for Greece. Shortly before his death, Otto assigned him to form a government but he refused. Andreas Metaxas also served as president of the Society for the Promotion of Education and Learning and many charity foundations. Throughout his life he was brave, honest, patriotic and had a strong character. He died in
Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
in September 1860.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Metaxas, Andreas 1790 births 1860 deaths 19th-century heads of state of Greece 19th-century prime ministers of Greece
Andreas Andreas ( el, Ἀνδρέας) is a name usually given to males in Austria, Greece, Cyprus, Denmark, Armenia, Estonia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Finland, Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of B ...
People from Argostoli Prime Ministers of Greece Ministers of the Interior of Greece Finance ministers of Greece Ministers of Military Affairs of Greece Ambassadors of Greece to the Ottoman Empire Ambassadors of Greece to Spain Russian Party politicians Hellenic Army generals