Emmanouil Repoulis ( el, Εμμανουήλ Ρέπουλης, 1863 - 24 May 1924) was a Greek journalist and Member of Parliament. He was elected three times: 1899 , 1905 (both with the party of

Georgios Theotokis Georgios Theotokis ( el, Γεώργιος Θεοτόκης, 1844 in Corfu – 12 January 1916 in Athens) was a Greek politician and Prime Minister of Greece, serving the post four times. He represented the Modernist Party or ''Neoteristikon Ko ...

), 1923 (with the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

) and was one of the deputies of the so-called '

Japanese Group The Japanese Group ( el, Ὀμάς Ἰαπώνων) was an unofficial name for a political grouping in the Hellenic Parliament in 1906–08. Name Although the group had been created in June 1906 after the parliamentary elections of that year, the ...

' under

Stefanos Dragoumis Stefanos Dragoumis ( el, Στέφανος Δραγούμης; 1842September 17, 1923) was a judge, writer and the Prime Minister of Greece from January to October 1910. He was the father of Ion Dragoumis. Early years Dragoumis was born in Athen ...

. He became deputy leader of the Liberal Party. Appointed Secretary General of the Ministry of Finance, Gevernor-General of Macedonia,

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...

Minister for the Interior Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of governme ...

and

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

Early life

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 ...

origin, and

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

-speaking at home Emmanouil Repoulis was born in 1863 in

Kranidi Kranidi ( el, , Katharevousa: ) is a town and a former municipality in Argolis, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Ermionida, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. The municipal u ...

Argolis Argolis or Argolida ( el, Αργολίδα , ; , in ancient Greek and Katharevousa) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Peloponnese, situated in the eastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula and part of the tri ...

. His family, although not particularly well-to-do, belonged to the most prestigious in the area. His father was Pantelis Repoulis (or Liepouris), a sailor, and his mother was Paraskevi, nee Lambrou. He was their third child, and he had four brothers and two sisters. He then continued his high school studies in

Nafplio Nafplio ( ell, Ναύπλιο) is a coastal city located in the Peloponnese in Greece and it is the capital of the regional unit of Argolis and an important touristic destination. Founded in antiquity, the city became an important seaport in the ...

n and Athens. After attending primary and secondary education, he enrolled in the Law School of the University of Athens and engaged in

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (profes ...

. He worked as a

proofreader Proofreading is the reading of a galley proof or an electronic copy of a publication to find and correct reproduction errors of text or art. Proofreading is the final step in the editorial cycle before publication. Professional Traditional m ...

, since 1889, in the newspaper ''

Kathimerini ''Kathimerini'' (Greek: Η Καθημερινή, pronounced kaθimeriˈni meaning ''The Daily'') is a daily, political and financial morning newspaper published in Athens. Its first edition was printed on September 15, 1919. and it is considered ...

''. After a year, he became the editor-in-chief of the other well-known newspaper, '' Akropolis'' and together with

Vlasis Gavriilidis Vlasis Gavriilidis or Vlassis Gavrielides ( el, Βλάσης Γαβριηλίδης; 1848–1920) was a prominent Greek journalist who in 1883 founded the progressive newspaper '' Akropolis'' in Athens. He played a significant role in the poli ...

they broadened their horizons to the industrial and commercial issues of the country.

Work

Repoulis was the first journalist who criticised through his articles the transactional politics of the day, the 'Old-Party System', the violence of the gendarmes, the militarism, the deviations of the pro-royal officers and in general the problems of the time. Later he also collaborated with the newspapers ''

Estia ''Estia'' ( el, Ἑστία, , hearth) is a Greek national daily broadsheet newspaper published in Athens, Greece. It was founded in 1876 as a literary magazine and then in 1894 has been transformed into a newspaper, making it Greece's oldest dail ...

'', '' Neon Asty'' and '' Skrip''. He also wrote articles in many magazines, such as ''Ellada'' by S. Potamianos. In 1899, he was elected a member of the

Greek Parliament The Hellenic Parliament ( el, Ελληνικό Κοινοβούλιο, Elliniko Kinovoulio; formally titled el, Βουλή των Ελλήνων, Voulí ton Ellínon, Boule of the Hellenes, label=none), also known as the Parliament of the Hel ...

for

Ermionida Ermionida ( el, Ερμιονίδα) is a municipality in the Argolis regional unit, Peloponnese, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the town Kranidi. The municipality has an area of 421 km2. Municipality The municipality Ermionida was forme ...

. The prime minister at the time,

, assigned him the presentation of the state budget. Repoulis proposed innovative proposals. After his electoral failure in Ermionida in 1903, he was appointed Secretary General of the Ministry of Finance. However, he disagreed with the constant interventions in his work and resigned after a short period of time. In 1905, he was again elected a member of parliament, but was almost immediately expelled from the party of Theotokis and joined the so-called '

', which had a reforming program. The reformers, however, do not manage to prevail, despite their militant efforts, and disbanded their group in frustration. Repoulis alone, together with one or two of his other companions, continued to criticise and was active in the movement that led to the Revolution of 1909 . When he approached

Eleftherios Venizelos Eleftherios Kyriakou Venizelos ( el, Ελευθέριος Κυριάκου Βενιζέλος, translit=Elefthérios Kyriákou Venizélos, ; – 18 March 1936) was a Greek statesman and a prominent leader of the Greek national liberation movem ...

in 1910, he agreed with his visions for Greece and lent him his support. He became deputy leader of Venizelos'

. After the

Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars refers to a series of two conflicts that took place in the Balkan States in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan States of Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria declared war upon the Ottoman Empire and defe ...

, while he held the post

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

, he was also appointed as Governor-General of Macedonia. As Minister of the Interior, he introduced the law "On Municipalities and Communities". In 1915 he took over the Ministry of Finance, and from 1917 to 1920, he returned to the Ministry of the Interior. After the assassination attempt against Eleftherios Venizelos on 30 July 1920, riots broke out in Athens and the assassination of prominent anti-Venizelist actors was being plotted. Repoulis, then deputy prime minister, ordered the arrest and imprisonment of all those threatened, while assigning their protection to a strong guard. When the united anti-Venizelist opposition won the November 1920 elections, Repoulis' moderation was blamed by some for the defeat of the Liberals. On 5 November 1920, he left with Venizelos (both self-exiled) for Paris.

Death

In 1923 he was again elected as a Member of Parliament, but this time did not attend Parliament for health reasons. Emmanuel Repoulis died on 24 May 1924, in his hometown of Kranidi, from a heart disease. Ο θάνατος του Εμμ. Ρέπουλη
Μακεδονία, 15 May 1924, ΕΒΕ His contribution to the reforming work of Venizelos was decisive. All bills that became laws of the state, have his own seal. The leader of the Liberals himself designated him as his successor in the leadership of the party.

Bibliography

* Εμμανουήλ Ρέπουλης, «Κείμενα – Επιστολές – Άρθρα – Ομιλίες », Εκδόσεις Δήμου Κρανιδίου, 2001

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Repoulis, Emmanouil 1863 births 1924 deaths Arvanites Finance ministers of Greece Ministers of the Interior of Greece Deputy Prime Ministers of Greece People from Ermionida Greek newspaper editors Greek journalists Liberal Party (Greece) politicians Governors-General of Macedonia Greek MPs 1899–1902 Greek MPs 1905–1906