Dimitrios Voulgaris ( el, Δημήτριος Βούλγαρης; 20 December 1802 – 10 January 1877) 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 ...

revolutionary fighter during 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 ...

of 1821 who became a politician after independence. He was nicknamed "Tsoumpes" (" Τσουμπές") after the distinctive Ottoman-style robe he wore.

Biography

Voulgaris was an

Arvanite Arvanites (; Arvanitika: , or , ; Greek: , ) are a bilingual population group in Greece of Albanian origin. They traditionally speak Arvanitika, an Albanian language variety, along with Greek. Their ancestors were first recorded as settlers ...

, born on December 20th 1802 on the island of

Hydra Hydra generally refers to: * Lernaean Hydra, a many-headed serpent in Greek mythology * ''Hydra'' (genus), a genus of simple freshwater animals belonging to the phylum Cnidaria Hydra or The Hydra may also refer to: Astronomy * Hydra (constel ...

in the

Saronic Islands The Saronic Islands or Argo-Saronic Islands is an archipelago in Greece, named after the Saronic Gulf in which they are located, just off the Greek mainland. The main inhabited islands of this group are Salamis Island, Salamis, Aegina, Agistri, a ...

. When the War of Independence broke out, he participated in naval operations against the forces of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. After independence was achieved, Voulgaris became involved in politics as a bitter opponent of Governor

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: � ...

. In 1843, Voulgaris was appointed to the newly created Senate and in 1847, he became Minister for the Navy. He became the 11th

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

for the first time in 1855 during 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 ...

. He was elected to the post again in elections marked by widespread corruption and fraud. Voulgaris was involved in the coup against

Otto of Greece Otto (, ; 1 June 181526 July 1867) was a Bavarian prince who ruled as King of Greece from the establishment of the monarchy on 27 May 1832, under the Convention of London, until he was deposed on 23 October 1862. The second son of King Ludw ...

in October 1862 and became Prime Minister once more. In total, he was Prime Minister eight times; however, his terms in office where characterised by corruption. Finally, in 1875,

Charilaos Trikoupis Charilaos Trikoupis ( el, Χαρίλαος Τρικούπης; 11 July 1832 – 30 March 1896) was a Greek politician who served as a Prime Minister of Greece seven times from 1875 until 1895. He is best remembered for introducing the vote of c ...

published his famous article "Who is to blame?" ("Τις πταίει;") in the

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 ...

daily "Times" ("Καιροί") concerning the waste and corruption of the government. After a strong public outcry, King George I dismissed Voulgaris. Many of his associates were indicted on a variety of charges and Voulgaris himself took ill and died in

on 10 January 1878.

References

External links

Δημήτριος Βούλγαρης
{{DEFAULTSORT:Voulgaris, Dimitrios 1802 births 1878 deaths 19th-century prime ministers of Greece Ministers of Naval Affairs of Greece Prime Ministers of Greece People from Hydra (island) French Party politicians Corruption in Greece