Ioannis Trikoupis (1750 inMissolonghi – 30 July 1824 in Missolonghi[1]) was aGreek politician of theGreek War of Independence.
Ioannis Trikoupis was born in 1750 inMissolonghi and was the eldest son of the seaman and local notable Matthaios Trikoupis.[2][3] He attended his first general courses in his hometown, where his teacher was the famous scholarPanagiotis Palamas. Later, he studied philosophy inIthaca, where he also learnedItalian. After his studies he settled inPatras to find work. There he met thebishop of Old Patras at the time,Gabriel[2] and in 1771 he became his secretary. In 1780, when Gabriel was electedEcumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, he followed him there.[2][3] In 1785 he returned to Missolonghi due to the desire of his father, who was the chief elder of the city.[4] He married Alexandra Palama and together they had seven sons (Spyridon, Anastasios, Konstantinos, Nikolaos, Manthos, Apostolos and Themistoklis) and two daughters (Eirini and Maria). After his father’s death, he was elected chief elder of Missolonghi in his stead, a position he held for eight years, in part because he managed to gain the favour ofAli Pasha.[5]
He was initiated into theFiliki Eteria, a secret organization whose purpose was to overthrow the Ottoman rule of Greece and establish an independent Greek state, by Bishop Porphyrios ofArta. Because of that, when theGreek Revolution broke out in 1821, he was elected president of the communal council of Missolonghi.[5]
During thefirst siege of Missolonghi in 1822, Ioannis Trikoupis contributed to the defence of the city. On 9 November 1822, when theSenate of Western Continental Greece was established, he was elected senator and later a member of the board of the Directorate General and the three-member committee that worked as temporary substitutes forAlexandros Mavrokordatos during his absence.[6]
Ioannis Trikoupis died on 30 July 1824 in Missolonghi. According to the announcement of his death in the newspaperEllinika Chronika ofJohann Jakob Meyer, he died ofmalaria.[7]