Konstantinos Spanoudis ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Σπανούδης; 1871 – 24 April 1941) 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 of 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 ...

, journalist and the first president of

AEK A.E.K ( el, AEK , formally Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople''), known as A.E.K, is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadelf ...

sports club.

Biography

Spanoudis was born in 1871 in Fanari,

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

. A graduate of the

Phanar Greek Orthodox College Phanar Greek Orthodox College or Phanar Roman Orthodox Lyceum ( tr, Özel Fener Rum Lisesi), known in Greek as the Great School of the Nation and Patriarchal Academy of Constantinople ( el, Μεγάλη του Γένους Σχολή, ''Megáli t ...

, he studied

Political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. After completing his studies he returned to

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

and devoted himself to journalism. In 1904 he started publishing the newspaper "Progress", the patriotic character of which cost him persecution and two expulsions. He joined the Greek Liberal Party and became close associate of Prime Minister

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 ...

during the military operations of Greece in 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 ...

and

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. After the

Asia Minor Catastrophe Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

he settled 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 ...

. In 1924 he and other Constantinopolitans founded ''Athletic Union of Constantinople'' (A.E.K.) ''( el, Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως)'' and Spanoudis became the first President of the new club. In

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

he was elected MP with the Liberal Party and at the same time left the administration of AEK to join politics, keeping only a formal position. He died on 24 April 1941 in Athens.

Personal life

In 1910, Spanoudis married a distinguished music critic, Sofia Ioannidis. Together they had one daughter, Athina (1921–1998), who was a radio producer for 35 years at ERT. In October 2008, the Municipality of Athens honored Spanoudis, giving his name to the square located next to the

metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...

station at Kato Patisia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spanoudis, Konstantinos 1871 births 1941 deaths Constantinopolitan Greeks Liberal Party (Greece) politicians Greek journalists Greek football chairmen and investors Turkish people of Greek descent AEK (sports club) AEK Athens F.C. AEK Athens F.C. chairmen Greek MPs 1932–1933 People from Fatih Politicians from Istanbul Journalists from Istanbul