Mihail Melas ( el, Μιχαήλ Μελάς, 1833– 17 June 1897) 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 and merchant, who served as Mayor of Athens from 1 October 1891 – 31 October 1894.

Biography

He was born in

Syros Syros ( el, Σύρος ), also known as Siros or Syra, is a Greek island in the Cyclades, in the Aegean Sea. It is south-east of Athens. The area of the island is and it has 21,507 inhabitants (2011 census). The largest towns are Ermoupoli, An ...

, the son of Georgios Melas, a member of the ''

Filiki Eteria Filiki Eteria or Society of Friends ( el, Φιλικὴ Ἑταιρεία ''or'' ) was a secret organization founded in 1814 in Odessa, whose purpose was to overthrow the Ottoman rule of Greece and establish an independent Greek state. (''ret ...

'' and the scion of a distinguished

Epirote Epirus (; el, Ήπειρος, translit=Ípiros, ) is a traditional geographic regions of Greece, geographic and modern administrative regions of Greece, administrative region in northwestern Greece.Π.Δ. 51/87 “Καθορισμός των � ...

family. He studied law in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 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), ma ...

and became involved with commerce at an early age, importing Russian wheat to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and Marseilles. From these activities he amassed a large fortune. In 1874, Melas settled permanently 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 ...

, where he soon achieved a distinguished place among Athenian high society. He played a crucial role in the foundation of the Athens Club in 1875, the Greek capital's oldest and most exclusive gentlemen's club, and served as its president in 1882–1886 and 1888–1897. In 1890, he was elected to 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 He ...

for

Attica Attica ( el, Αττική, Ancient Greek ''Attikḗ'' or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the city of Athens, the capital of Greece and its countryside. It is a peninsula projecting into the Aegean S ...

. He became mayor of Athens in 1891, holding the office until 1894, after an unsuccessful first attempt in 1883, when he lost to Dimitrios Soutsos. Melas also served in the founding board of the

Hellenic Red Cross The Hellenic Red Cross ( el, Ελληνικός Ερυθρός Σταυρός, ΕΕΣ) is the Greek national Red Cross Society, founded on 10 June 1877. External links *Official Hellenic Red Cross website 1877 establishments in Greece Greece ...

, and as chairman of the '' Ethniki Etaireia'', a secret nationalist society, which played a major role in the outbreak of the disastrous

Greco-Turkish War of 1897 The Greco-Turkish War of 1897 or the Ottoman-Greek War of 1897 ( or ), also called the Thirty Days' War and known in Greece as the Black '97 (, ''Mauro '97'') or the Unfortunate War ( el, Ατυχής πόλεμος, Atychis polemos), was a w ...

. Melas is also notable as one of the first Athenians to build a house in Kifissia, then a suburban summer resort for the capital's wealthy families. He was also an avid art collector, and during his stay in Marseilles, he chaired the local French Cultural Club for several years. In 1886–88 he served as president of the '' Filekpaideftiki Etaireia'' ("Learned Society", a charitable educational society founded in 1836).

Family

He was married with Eleni Voutsina and had seven children: Maria, wife of Ektoras Romanos, chamberlain of

Prince Nicholas of Greece Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark ( el, Νικόλαος; 22 January 1872 – 8 February 1938), of the Glücksburg branch of the House of Oldenburg, was the fourth child and third son of King George I of Greece, and of Queen Olga. He was kn ...

;

Anna Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th century) * Anna (Anisia) (fl. 1218 to 12 ...

, wife of the landowner Apostolos Papadopoulos; Georgios (1866–1931) a judge and private secretary of King

Constantine I Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to Constantine the Great and Christianity, convert to Christiani ...

;

Pavlos Pavlos () or Pávlos () is a masculine given name. It is a Greek form of Paul. It may refer to: * Pavlos Bakoyannis (1935–1989), a liberal Greek politician *Pavlos Carrer (1829–1896), a Greek composer * Pavlos, Crown Prince of Greece ( ...

(1870–1904), an

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

officer and hero of the

Macedonian Struggle The Macedonian Struggle ( bg, Македонска борба; el, Μακεδονικός Αγώνας; mk, Борба за Македонија; sr, Борба за Македонију; tr, Makedonya Mücadelesi) was a series of social, po ...

;

Leon Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again f ...

(1872–1905), a lawyer and politician; Konstantinos Melas (1874–1953), a

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

officer and politician; and

Vassilios Vassilios or Vassileios, also transliterated Vasileios, Vasilios, Vassilis or Vasilis ( el, Βασίλειος or Βασίλης), is a Greek given name, the origin of Basil (name), Basil. In ancient/medieval/Byzantine context, it is also transliter ...

(1879–1956), a General and also president of the Athens Club.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Melas, Michail 1833 births 1897 deaths Mayors of Athens Greek MPs 1890–1892 People from Syros Greek businesspeople