Dimitrios Rallis (

Greek Greek may refer to: 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 of all kno ...

: Δημήτριος Ράλλης; 1844–1921) was a Greek

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

, founder and leader of the Neohellenic or "Third Party".

Family

He was born in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

in 1844. He was descended from an old Greek political family. Before Greek independence, his grandfather, Alexander Rallis, was a prominent Phanariote. His father, , was a minister in Andreas Miaoulis's government, and later served as the Chief Justice of the Greek Supreme Court.

Political career

Rallis was elected to Parliament in 1872 and always represented the same

Athenian Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

constituency. He became Minister in several governments and served as Prime Minister five times. He last formed a government after the 1920 election and it was his cabinet that authorised the

plebiscite A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a direct vote by the electorate (rather than their representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either binding (resulting in the adoption of a new policy) or adv ...

that saw King Constantine's return to the throne.

Death and legacy

Dimitrios Rallis died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

in Athens on 5 August 1921 at the age of 77. His son, Ioannis Rallis, was a Quisling Prime Minister during the

Axis occupation of Greece The occupation of Greece by the Axis Powers () began in April 1941 after Nazi Germany Battle of Greece, invaded the Kingdom of Greece in order to assist its ally, Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Italy, in their Greco-Italian War, ongoing war that w ...

. His grandson, George Rallis, served as Prime Minister in the early 1980s.

Notes

* In the family tomb the date of birth is given as 14 April 1842.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rallis, Dimitrios 1844 births 1921 deaths 19th-century prime ministers of Greece 20th-century prime ministers of Greece Deaths from cancer in Greece Finance ministers of Greece Greek people of the Greco-Turkish War (1897) Greek people of the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) Justice ministers of Greece People from Athens Politicians from Athens Dimitrios