Spyridon Mercouris ( el, Σπυρίδων Μερκούρης) (1856-1939) 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 long-serving

mayor of Athens The Mayor of Athens is the head of the Municipality of Athens, the largest district of Athens. Kingdom of Greece (1832–1924) Second Hellenic Republic (1924–1935) Kingdom of Greece (1935–1941) Hellenic State (1941–1944) Kingdom ...

in the early 20th century. He was born in

Ermioni Ermioni (Greek , Ancient Greek Hermione ) is a small port town and a former municipality in Argolis, Peloponnese, Greece on the Argolid Peninsula. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Ermionida, of which it is a ...

Argolida Argolis or Argolida ( el, Αργολίδα , ; , in ancient Greek and Katharevousa) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the modern regions of Greece, region of Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, situated in the eastern part of ...

, in 1856 to a prominent and wealthy family that had taken part in the

Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. The Greeks were later assisted by ...

in the 1820s.He was the son of Georgios Mercouris, captain and son of Spyridon Mercouris, and Theodora / Theodota, daughter of the chieftain of the Greek revolution and later MP of Ermionida and authorized representative in national assemblies Stamatis Mitsas, and sister of the military and also MP of Ermionida Antonios Mitsas. Through the Mitsa family, he was a close by marriage relative with the historical Zakynthian family of the Motsenigos. The Mercouri were an

Arvanite Arvanites (; Arvanitika: , or , ; Greek: , ) are a bilingual population group in Greece of Albanian origin. They traditionally speak Arvanitika, an Albanian language variety, along with Greek. Their ancestors were first recorded as settler ...

family, originating in

. Elected as mayor of

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 1899, he held the post continuously until 1914. As a committed conservative royalist, in summer 1917, 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 was exiled to

Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...

by the Venizelists. He was also accused of complicity in the riots of the ''

Noemvriana The ''Noemvriana'' ( el, Νοεμβριανά, "November Events") of , or the Greek Vespers, was a political dispute which led to an armed confrontation in Athens between the royalist government of Greece and the forces of the Allies over th ...

'' of 1916, he had a trial and was sentenced to death in 1919. He was released from prison in 1920 after the win of the antivenizelists. He was elected as a Member of Parliament representing Atticoboeotia in 1928 and re-elected as Mayor of Athens in 1929. He served as mayor until 1932, and died in 1939. His sons Stamatis and

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...

served as members of the Greek Parliament (MP) and cabinet ministers, whilst his granddaughter

Melina Mercouri Maria Amalia "Melina" Mercouri (, 18 October 1920 – 6 March 1994) was a Greek actress, singer, activist, and politician. She came from a political family that was prominent over multiple generations. She received an Academy Award nomination a ...

was an award-winning actress who later was elected an MP and served as the Greek Minister of Culture and Science.

References

1856 births 1939 deaths People from Ermionida Greek MPs 1928–1932 Mayors of Athens Date of birth missing Date of death missing Place of birth missing Place of death missing Greek exiles Prisoners sentenced to death by Greece {{Greece-mayor-stub