Nikos Temponeras (1954 – January 8, 1991) was a high school

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

teacher, and a member of the

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

''Labour Antimilitaristic Front'' (EAM). Temponeras was murdered in

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during the student protests of 1990–1991 by Giannis Kalampokas, a municipal councillor and president of the local

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 ...

branch. Temponeras was the first of five fatalities caused by attacks against the protesters.

Assassination

Nikos Temponeras was the first casualty during the students' demonstrations against the bill of Minister of Education Vassilis Kontogiannopoulos. Four more people died during these protests due to a fire in a shop during a demonstration 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 ...

. The murderer was municipal councilor and president of the local branch of Youth Organization of New Democracy (ONNED), Giannis Kalampokas. The murder occurred on January 8, 1991, when Kalampokas hit Temponeras in the head with an iron bar while ONNED was trying to recapture the school complex of 3rd and 7th Patras high schools (where Temponeras was a teacher) that was occupied by the students. In order to take control of the school, the members of ONNED, led by Kalampokas, made an attack with bats, iron bars and cement tiles against the occupiers of the school that were supported by many parents and teachers, including Temponeras.

Aftermath

The assassination, occurring in a period of fierce political confrontation, sparkled a wave of protests throughout Greece. The day after the murder, the Minister of Education Kontogiannopoulos resigned and the most controversial articles of the bill were removed. Kalampokas was tried and sentenced to life in prison for murder but later his sentence was reduced to 17 years and 3 months in prison and finally to 16 years and 9 months. He was released on February 2, 1998. The school complex where the murder occurred was named after Nikos Temponeras.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Temponeras, Nikos 1991 in Greece 1991 murders in Europe January 1991 events in Europe January 1991 crimes Greek educators Assassinations in Greece History of Patras Deaths from head injury Protest-related deaths