Ioannis Grivas ( el, Ιωάννης Γρίβας; 23 February 1923 – 27 November 2016) was a Greek judge, who served as President of the

Court of Cassation A court of cassation is a high-instance court that exists in some judicial systems. Courts of cassation do not re-examine the facts of a case, they only interpret the relevant law. In this they are appellate courts of the highest instance. In th ...

and served as the

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� ...

at the head of a non-party

caretaker government A caretaker government is a temporary ''ad hoc'' government that performs some governmental duties and functions in a country until a regular government is elected or formed. Depending on specific practice, it usually consists of either randomly se ...

in 1989.

Life

Grivas was born in

Kato Tithorea Kato Tithorea ( el, Κάτω Τιθορέα, ) is a town in Phthiotis, in central Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Amfikleia-Elateia, of which it is the seat. It has a population 1,841 according to the 2 ...

Phthiotis Phthiotis ( el, Φθιώτιδα, ''Fthiótida'', ; ancient Greek and Katharevousa: Φθιῶτις) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Central Greece. The capital is the city of Lamia. It is border ...

. He studied law at the

University of Athens The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; el, Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών, ''Ethnikó ke Kapodistriakó Panepistímio Athinón''), usually referred to simply as the Univers ...

and in 1954 he became a judge. He took part as a judge in the

Greek Junta Trials The Greek junta trials ( el, Οι Δίκες της Χούντας translated as: The Τrials of the Junta) were the trials involving members of the military junta that ruled Greece from 21 April 1967 to 23 July 1974. These trials involved the ins ...

in 1975, and in 1979, he was appointed to the

Supreme Court of Greece The Supreme Civil and Criminal Court of Greece (, ''Areopagus'', i.e. the "Hill of Ares") is the supreme court of Greece for civil and criminal law. In Greece, the decisions of the supreme court are final. However, since Greece is a member state ...

for Civil and Criminal Cases. He became vice-president of the court in 1986 and president in 1989–90. In 1989, when the Greek Parliament was deadlocked between the

PASOK The Panhellenic Socialist Movement ( el, Πανελλήνιο Σοσιαλιστικό Κίνημα, Panellínio Sosialistikó Kínima, ), known mostly by its acronym PASOK, (; , ) is a social-democratic political party in Greece. Until 2012, it ...

and

New Democracy New Democracy, or the New Democratic Revolution, is a concept based on Mao Zedong's Bloc of Four Social Classes theory in Chinese Communist Revolution, post-revolutionary China which argued originally that democracy in China would take a path ...

parties following the 18 June 1989 elections, the Constitution requiring that the president of one of Greece's Supreme Courts be appointed interim Prime Minister, Grivas agreed to head a

to preside over fresh elections. He took office on 12 October 1989 to lead the country to new elections, held on 5 November. After the elections produced another deadlocked Parliament, he resigned on 23 November 1989 in favour of

Xenophon Zolotas Xenophon Euthymiou Zolotas ( el, Ξενοφών Ζολώτας, 26 April 1904 – 10 June 2004) was a Greek economist and served as an interim non-party Prime Minister of Greece. Life and career Born in Athens on 26 April 1904. He graduated fro ...

, who formed a coalition government in which all three parliamentary parties participated. Grivas retired in 1990. He died on 27 November 2016, aged 93.

References

1923 births 2016 deaths 20th-century prime ministers of Greece 20th-century Greek judges National and Kapodistrian University of Athens alumni People from Phthiotis Presidents of the Supreme Civil and Criminal Court of Greece {{Greece-politician-stub