Ilias Tsirimokos ( el, Ηλίας Τσιριμώκος, 26 April 1907 – 13 July 1968) 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 who served as

Prime Minister of Greece The prime minister of the Hellenic Republic ( el, Πρωθυπουργός της Ελληνικής Δημοκρατίας, Prothypourgós tis Ellinikís Dimokratías), colloquially referred to as the prime minister of Greece ( el, Πρωθυ� ...

for a very brief period (from 20 August 1965 to 17 September 1965).

Life

He was born in

Lamia LaMia Corporation S.R.L., operating as LaMia (short for ''Línea Aérea Mérida Internacional de Aviación''), was a Bolivian charter airline headquartered in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, as an EcoJet subsidiary. It had its origins from the failed ...

in 1907. His father, Ioannis Tsirimokos, was also of a political background. He got involved in politics from a young age and was first elected to parliament in 1936 on 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 ...

's ticket. During the Axis Occupation of Greece, he co-founded a small leftist party, the

Union of People's Democracy The Union of People's Democracy ( el, Ένωση Λαϊκής Δημοκρατίας, ''Énosi Laikís Dimokratías'', abbreviated ELD, ΕΛΔ) was a Greek political party, established in 1941, during the Nazi occupation. It took part in the group o ...

(ELD). He served as its general secretary, while the distinguished law professor

Alexandros Svolos Alexandros Svolos ( el, Αλέξανδρος Σβώλος; 1892, Kruševo, Manastir Vilayet, Ottoman Empire – 22 February 1956, Athens, Greece) was a prominent Greek legal expert, who also served as president of the Political Committee of Natio ...

served as its president. In 1941, ELD joined the National Liberation Front (EAM), and Tsirimokos gained a seat in EAM's central committee. In 1944, Tsirimokos was appointed as Secretary for Justice in the EAM-controlled

Political Committee of National Liberation The Political Committee of National Liberation ( el, Πολιτική Επιτροπή Εθνικής Απελευθέρωσης, ''Politiki Epitropi Ethnikis Apeleftherosis'', PEEA), commonly known as the "Mountain Government" ( el, Κυβέρ ...

. However he resigned from that position on 2 December 1944 alongside 3 other left-wing cabinet members after pressure from the British Government. In the 1950 elections, after the

Greek Civil War The Greek Civil War ( el, ο Eμφύλιος �όλεμος ''o Emfýlios'' 'Pólemos'' "the Civil War") took place from 1946 to 1949. It was mainly fought against the established Kingdom of Greece, which was supported by the United Kingdom ...

, Tsirimokos was elected again into parliament, for Athens, on behalf of the renamed Socialist Party-Union of People's Democracy (SK-ELD). He was re-elected in the 1958 elections for the

United Democratic Left The United Democratic Left (, ''Eniéa Dimokratikí Aristerá'' (EDA)) was a left-wing political party in Greece, active mostly before the Greek military junta of 1967–74. Foundation The party was founded in July 1951 by prominent center-left ...

, and again in

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 ...

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...

and

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

for the

Center Union The Centre Union ( el, Ἕνωσις Κέντρου ''Énōsis Kéntrou'', abbreviated ΕΚ) was a major centrist political party in Greece, created in 1961 by Georgios Papandreou.Clogg, 1987, pp. 39–40 History The Centre Union was a politic ...

. In 1963, he was elected as Speaker of the Parliament. During the period of the " ''Apostasia''" in the summer of 1965, Tsirimokos was chosen by King Constantine II to form a government. He failed to gain a

vote of confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

, and was succeeded by

Stefanos Stefanopoulos Stefanos Stefanopoulos ( el, Στέφανος Στεφανόπουλος, 3 July 1898 – 4 October 1982) was a Greek politician, and served as Prime Minister of Greece from 1965 to 1966. Stefanopoulos was born in Pyrgos, Elis. He was a modera ...

, in whose government he retained ministerial posts. 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 ...

on 13 July 1968 at the age of 61.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tsirimokos, Ilias 1907 births 1968 deaths 20th-century prime ministers of Greece People from Lamia (city) Liberal Party (Greece) politicians Socialist Party of Greece politicians Democratic Alignment politicians United Democratic Left politicians Centre Union politicians Apostasia of 1965 Prime Ministers of Greece Deputy Prime Ministers of Greece Finance ministers of Greece Foreign ministers of Greece Ministers of the Interior of Greece Speakers of the Hellenic Parliament Greek MPs 1936 Greek MPs 1950–1951 Greek MPs 1958–1961 Greek MPs 1961–1963 Greek MPs 1963–1964 Greek MPs 1964–1967 National Liberation Front (Greece) members