Stefanos Dragoumis ( el, Στέφανος Δραγούμης; 1842September 17, 1923) was a judge, writer and the
Prime Minister of Greece
The prime minister of the Hellenic Republic ( el, Πρωθυπουργός της Ελληνικής Δημοκρατίας, Prothypourgós tis Ellinikís Dimokratías), colloquially referred to as the prime minister of Greece ( el, Πρωθυ� ...
from January to October 1910. He was the father of
Ion Dragoumis.
Early years
Dragoumis was born in
Athens. His grandfather,
Markos Dragoumis (1770–1854), who was born in a prominent
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 ...
family from
Vogatsiko
Vogatsiko ( el, Βογατσικό, ''Vogatsikó'') is a village and a community in northern Greece in the region of Western Macedonia, located at the southeast corner of Kastoria regional unit. Between 1997 and 2010, it was the seat of the muni ...
in the present
Kastoria regional unit, had been a member of the 1814–1821 revolutionary
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. (''retri ...
, while his father
Nikolaos Dragoumis was secretary of
Ioannis Kapodistrias
Count Ioannis Antonios Kapodistrias (10 or 11 February 1776 – 9 October 1831), sometimes anglicized as John Capodistrias ( el, Κόμης Ιωάννης Αντώνιος Καποδίστριας, Komis Ioannis Antonios Kapodistrias; russian: � ...
. Born in
Athens in 1842, Dragoumis studied law at the
University of Paris
The University of Paris (french: link=no, Université de Paris), metonymically known as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, active from 1150 to 1970, with the exception between 1793 and 1806 under the French Revolution. ...
and became a judge.
Political career
He became Secretary-General of the Ministry of Justice and was very active politically. He was later elected a member of
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 ...
and served as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Justice and Minister of the Interior. He was also active in 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 ...
. The organization ''Macedonian Committee'' was formed in 1904 by Stephanos Dragoumis in Athens.
1909 reform government
Following the
Goudi Revolt
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 mo ...
by 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 mo ...
in 1909, the political processes in Greece were in a state of turmoil. The issue of
Cretan
Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, an ...
annexation and military reforms loomed large. After
Kiriakoulis Mavromichalis resigned as Prime Minister in January 1910, Dragoumis was appointed as part of a reform government and the Military League dissolved. At the same time,
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 ...
arrived in Athens from Crete. In March, the Greek Parliament decided to convoke a Revisionary Parliament to revise the
Greek Constitution
The Constitution of Greece ( el, Σύνταγμα της Ελλάδας, Syntagma tis Elladas) was created by the Fifth Revisionary Parliament of the Hellenes in 1974, after the fall of the Greek military junta and the start of the Third Hell ...
. The Dragoumis government responded positively to the demands of its dual mission: to secure a smooth path towards the process of reform and to complete its legislative programme.
VenizelosNational Research Foundation
By September, Venizelos had arrived in Athens and by drawing large crowds to rallies had established his political strength. King George King George may refer to:
People Monarchs
;Bohemia
* George of Bohemia (1420-1471, r. 1458-1471), king of Bohemia
;Duala people of Cameroon
* George (Duala king) (late 18th century), king of the Duala people
;Georgia
* George I of Georgia (998 o ...
invited Venizelos to form a government and Dragoumis resigned.
Later career
During 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 def ...
, he served as Governor-General of Crete
Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cypru ...
, and later (June 1913) of Macedonia. 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 foreign ...
, he sided with the anti-Venizelist
Venizelism ( el, Βενιζελισμός) was one of the major political movements in Greece from the 1900s until the mid-1970s.
Main ideas
Named after Eleftherios Venizelos, the key characteristics of Venizelism were:
*Greek irredentism: T ...
, royalist faction. He was elected to Parliament in the December 1915 elections, which the Venizelists boycotted, and served as Finance Minister in the Alexandros Zaimis
Alexandros Zaimis ( el, Αλέξανδρος Ζαΐμης; 9 November 1855 – 15 September 1936) was a Greek politician who served as Greece's Prime Minister, Minister of the Interior, Minister of Justice, and High Commissioner of Crete. He serv ...
and Stephanos Skouloudis
Stefanos Skouloudis ( el, Στέφανος Σκουλούδης; 23 November 1838 – 19 August 1928) was a Greek banker, diplomat and the 34th Prime Minister of Greece.
Early life
He was born in Istanbul (then Constantinople) on 23 November 18 ...
cabinets. Dragoumis was dismissed from his seat in 1917, when Venizelos re-instated the May 1915 Parliament ("Lazarus Parliament"), but was re-elected as an MP in the November 1920 elections. He died in Athens.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dragoumis, Stephanos
1842 births
1923 deaths
20th-century prime ministers of Greece
Eastern Orthodox Christians from Greece
Writers from Athens
Foreign ministers of Greece
Justice ministers of Greece
Prime Ministers of Greece
People of the Macedonian Struggle
Greek Macedonians
Politicians from Athens
Governors-General of Crete
Governors-General of Macedonia
Greek MPs 1915–1917
Greek MPs 1920–1922
Finance ministers of Greece
Ministers of the Interior of Greece
Dragoumis family
Greek MPs 1910 (August–November)
Greek MPs 1910–1912
Greek MPs 1879–1881
Greek MPs 1881–1885
Greek MPs 1885–1887
Greek MPs 1887–1890
Greek MPs 1890–1892
Greek MPs 1892–1895
Greek MPs 1899–1902
Greek MPs 1905–1906
Greek MPs 1906–1910