Themistoklis Sofoulis or Sophoulis (; 24 November 1860 – 24 June 1949)Profile of Themistoklis Sofoulis
/ref> was a prominent centrist and liberal

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 from

Samos Island Samos (, also ; el, Σάμος ) is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the -wide Mycale Strait. It is also a separate ...

, who served three times as Prime Minister of Greece, with the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

, which he led for many years.

Early life

Sofoulis was born in 1860 in Vathy of

Samos Samos (, also ; el, Σάμος ) is a Greece, Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the -wide Mycale Strait. It is also a se ...

, then an autonomous principality under Ottoman suzerainty. His father was Panagiotis Sofoulis, who had fought for the autonomy of the island. Sofoulis studied in the faculty of philosophy of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and then in Germany, where he specialised in archaeology. As an archaeologist he published certain insightful surveys and he participated actively in various excavations around Greece.

Entering Samian politics

In 1900 he abandoned archaeological excavations and he was elected a deputy for

, being the leader of his own radical faction, which was fighting for the political freedoms of Samos, as stipulated by the Treaty of Autonomy of 1832. Soon, Sofoulis established himself as the head of the Progressives, who favoured reforms and union with the

Kingdom of Greece The Kingdom of Greece ( grc, label= Greek, Βασίλειον τῆς Ἑλλάδος ) was established in 1832 and was the successor state to the First Hellenic Republic. It was internationally recognised by the Treaty of Constantinople, wh ...

. In 1902, he was elected president of the Samian parliament, effectively Prime Minister of the island. Pro-Greek agitation and the reaction of the pro-autonomy faction led to increased tensions, and in May 1908 the Prince, Andreas Kopasis Omoudopoulos, asked for the intervention of the Turkish military. The ensuing riots left several dead and Sofoulis was forced to flee to

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

. With the outbreak of the

First Balkan War The First Balkan War ( sr, Први балкански рат, ''Prvi balkanski rat''; bg, Балканска война; el, Αʹ Βαλκανικός πόλεμος; tr, Birinci Balkan Savaşı) lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and invo ...

, Sofoulis landed on the island with a group of exiled Samians and swiftly took control: the Ottoman garrison withdrew to

Anatolia 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 ...

, and on 11/24 November 1912, the island's parliament officially declared union with Greece.

Entering Greek politics

The unification took place officially on 2 March 1913. Sofoulis remained for a while as the president of the interim government of Samos until April 1914, when he was appointed Governor General of Macedonia. He remained in

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

until February 1915 when he resigned following the resignation of Eleftherios Venizelos as Prime Minister after a bitter dispute with 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 ...

. Sofoulis was first elected a deputy to the Hellenic Parliament in the elections of May 1915. He also served as Interior Minister in Venizelos' National Defence government in Thessaloniki, 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 ...

. After the exile of

, Eleftherios Venizelos and his government returned to

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 Sofoulis was elected speaker of the Parliament. He held his post until 1920.

Leader of the Liberal Party

After Venizelos fled from Greece, Sofoulis became the new leader of the

. He served as prime minister, for the first time, from the 25 July 1924 to the 27 November 1924. In 1926, after the overthrow of Theodoros Pangalos' dictatorship, he served as Speaker of the Parliament, until 1928, when Venizelos achieved a landslide victory in the elections of 1928. He served as Minister of Military Affairs until 1930, when he was re-elected as Speaker of the Parliament. During all these years he was recognised as the deputy leader of the Liberal Party, although such post did not, officially, exist. Sophoulis remained Speaker of the Parliament until the elections of 1933, when the Liberal Party suffered a defeat and the People's Party formed a government under the leadership of

Panagis Tsaldaris Panagis Tsaldaris (also Panagiotis Tsaldaris or Panayotis Tsaldaris; el, Παναγιώτης (Παναγής) Τσαλδάρης; 5 March 1868 – 17 May 1936) was a Greek politician and the 48th Prime Minister of Greece. He was a revered conse ...

. During the dramatic events, which led to the resignation of

and the restoration of the constitutional monarchy, Themistoklis Sofoulis kept a moderate stance, which was appreciated by King

George II George II or 2 may refer to: People * George II of Antioch (seventh century AD) * George II of Armenia (late ninth century) * George II of Abkhazia (916–960) * Patriarch George II of Alexandria (1021–1051) * George II of Georgia (1072–1089) ...

. On 16 March 1936 Sofoulis was re-elected Speaker of the Parliament. The same year he signed the notorious Sofoulis-Sklavainas Pact with the

KKE The Communist Party of Greece ( el, Κομμουνιστικό Κόμμα Ελλάδας, ''Kommounistikó Kómma Elládas'', KKE) is a political party in Greece. Founded in 1918 as the Socialist Labour Party of Greece and adopted its curren ...

. During

Ioannis Metaxas Ioannis Metaxas (; el, Ιωάννης Μεταξάς; 12th April 187129th January 1941) was a Greek military officer and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Greece from 1936 until his death in 1941. He governed constitutionally for t ...

' dictatorship, Sofoulis remained aloof from developments, although the regime's increasing tendency towards

Fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...

caused him to send a warning letter to King

in April 1939. During the Axis Occupation of Greece, Sofoulis, like most of the established politicians, remained rather passive, although he maintained contacts to the Allies in the Middle East. He refused an offer to cooperate with the National Liberation Front (EAM), and accused it of plotting to seize power and install a Communist regime after Liberation. On 19 May 1944, the Germans arrested him along with other politicians and imprisoned him in the Haidari concentration camp, where he remained until Liberation in October. Themistoklis Sofoulis served as head of the Greek government from 1945 to 4 April 1946, but in the legislative elections of 1946 he suffered defeat at the hands of the People's Party of Konstantinos Tsaldaris. His efforts to prevent the outbreak of the

Greek Civil War The Greek Civil War ( el, ο Eμφύλιος �όλεμος}, ''o Emfýlios'' 'Pólemos'' "the Civil War") took place from 1946 to 1949. It was mainly fought against the established Kingdom of Greece, which was supported by the United Kingdom and ...

by reaching out to the Communists and offering

amnesty Amnesty (from the Ancient Greek ἀμνηστία, ''amnestia'', "forgetfulness, passing over") is defined as "A pardon extended by the government to a group or class of people, usually for a political offense; the act of a sovereign power offici ...

were rebuffed by the People's Party, leading Sofoulis to abstain from the government of

Dimitrios Maximos Dimitrios E. Maximos ( el, Δημήτριος Μάξιμος; 6 July 1873 – 17 October 1955) was a Greek banker and politician. He briefly served as Prime Minister of Greece after World War II. Maximos was born on 6 July 1873 in Patras. He ...

. However, on 7 September 1947 he became prime minister once again in a government of both the Liberal Party and the People's Party. Sofoulis undertook further efforts to end the conflict, negotiating with KKE for a general amnesty and a possible coalition government between it and the Liberals, provided that EAM's new armed force, known as the "

Democratic Army of Greece The Democratic Army of Greece (DAG; el, Δημοκρατικός Στρατός Ελλάδας - ΔΣΕ, Dimokratikós Stratós Elládas - DSE) was the army founded by the Communist Party of Greece during the Greek Civil War (1946–1949). At ...

", disarmed. Under intense US pressure, these proposals were abandoned, and the war took its course. He died, however, before the end of the civil conflicts, in Kifissia, on the 24 June 1949, at the age of 88.

Legacy

Although he belonged to the center, Sofoulis led the government and the royal army during the civil war. He was admired for his lucidity and his courage despite his age and he was revered by all the politicians of the center-left, the center and the right. The main characteristic of his political career was his ability to balance. That is why during 1935-1940 he was not outspoken against the King or against the dictatorship. This ability of his allowed him to lead the country during the Civil War and to convince General

Alexandros Papagos Alexandros Papagos ( el, Αλέξανδρος Παπάγος; 9 December 1883 – 4 October 1955) was a Greek army officer who led the Hellenic Army in World War II and the later stages of the subsequent Greek Civil War. The only Greek caree ...

to return to active service, although the latter belonged to the right wing of the political spectrum.

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sofoulis, Themistoklis 1860 births 1949 deaths 20th-century prime ministers of Greece People from Samos Liberal Party (Greece) politicians Republicanism in Greece Prime Ministers of Greece Ministers of Military Affairs of Greece Speakers of the Hellenic Parliament Greek MPs 1946–1950 People of the Greek Civil War National and Kapodistrian University of Athens alumni