Nikolaos Stratos ( el, Νικόλαος Στράτος; 16 May 1872 – 28 November 1922 (15 November Old Style dating)) was a Prime Minister of Greece for a few days in May 1922. He was later tried and executed for his role in the Catastrophe of 1922.

Early political career

Born in 1872 in

Loutro, Aetolia-Acarnania Loutro (Greek: Λουτρό) is a village in northern Aetolia-Acarnania, West Greece. It belongs to the municipality of Amfilochia. Loutro is the birthplace of the fighter of the Greek War of Independence, Ioannis Stratos and Greek Prime Minister ...

, Stratos was first elected to

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

in 1902. He was chosen as Interior Minister in 1909 under

Kiriakoulis Mavromichalis Kyriakoulis Petrou Mavromichalis (, 1850–1916) was a Greeks, Greek politician of the late 19th and early 20th centuries who briefly served as the 30th Prime Minister of Greece. Mavromichalis was born in Athens in 1850 into the renowned Mavro ...

after the

Military League The Goudi coup ( el, κίνημα στο Γουδί) was a military coup d'état that took place in Greece on the night of , starting at the barracks in Goudi, a neighborhood on the eastern outskirts of Athens. The coup was a pivotal event in mod ...

took power. In 1910 he joined the Liberal party of Venizelos and in 1911 he was elected President of the Parliament. However, during the

National Schism The National Schism ( el, Εθνικός Διχασμός, Ethnikós Dichasmós), also sometimes called The Great Division, was a series of disagreements between King Constantine I and Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos regarding the foreig ...

, he disagreed with the liberals and sided with King Constantine. In 1916 he founded the "National Conservative Party" and advocated neutrality during the World War.

Prime minister

In 1922, Greece was in turmoil as the

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

was in a stalemate after the failure of the Greek attempt to capture Ankara the previous year. When Prime Minister

Dimitrios Gounaris Dimitrios Gounaris (; 5 January 1867 – 28 November 1922) was a Greek politician who served as the Prime Minister of Greece from 25 February to 10 August 1915 and 26 March 1921 to 3 May 1922. Leader of the People's Party, he was the main ri ...

almost lost 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 ...

, he resigned on 3 May 1922 (O.S.) and

King Constantine I Constantine I ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Αʹ, ''Konstantínos I''; – 11 January 1923) was King of Greece from 18 March 1913 to 11 June 1917 and from 19 December 1920 to 27 September 1922. He was commander-in-chief of the Hellenic Army ...

asked Stratos to form a government. Stratos ultimately deferred to

Petros Protopapadakis Petros Protopapadakis ( el, Πέτρος Πρωτοπαπαδάκης; 1854–1922) was a Greek politician and Prime Minister of Greece in May–September 1922. Life and work Born in 1854 in Apeiranthos, Naxos, Protopapadakis studied mathemati ...

who successfully formed a government a few days later.

Trial and execution

Later in 1922, Stratos, along with Gounaris, Protopapadakis and others were charged, tried and convicted for the loss of the war in Asia Minor in what was known as the

Trial of the Six The Trial of the Six ( el, Δίκη των Έξι, ''Díki ton Éxi'') or the Execution of the Six was the trial for treason, in late 1922, of the Anti-Venizelist officials held responsible for the Greek military defeat in Asia Minor. The tria ...

. Stratos was executed at

Goudi Goudi (, since 2006; formerly Γουδί ) is a residential neighbourhood of Athens, Greece, on the eastern part of town and on the foothills of Mount Hymettus. History The name of the area derives from the 19th century Goudi (Γουδή) famil ...

on 28 November 1922. His son,

Andreas Stratos Andreas N. Stratos ( el, Ανδρέας Ν. Στράτος; 1905 – 30 August 1981) was a Greek lawyer, politician and historian. The son of Prime Minister of Greece Nikolaos Stratos, he was elected a member of the Hellenic Parliament continuously ...

, became a prominent politician and historian, while his daughter,

Dora Stratou Dora Stratou (born Dorothea Stratou; el, Δωροθέα (Δόρα) Στράτου; 1903–1988) was a significant contributor to Greek Folk Dancing and Greek Folk Music. She issued one of the largest series of folk music in the world with 50 re ...

, became an actress and important promoter of Greek folk music and dances.

Notes

1872 births 1922 deaths 20th-century prime ministers of Greece People from Amfilochia People's Party (Greece) politicians Prime Ministers of Greece Greek people of the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) People executed for treason against Greece Executed prime ministers Speakers of the Hellenic Parliament Ministers of the Interior of Greece Ministers of Naval Affairs of Greece {{Greece-politician-stub