Alexandros Zaimis | |
|---|---|
| Αλέξανδρος Ζαΐμης | |
 | |
| President of Greece | |
| In office 10 December 1929 – 10 October 1935 | |
| Prime Minister | Eleftherios Venizelos Alexandros Papanastasiou Panagis Tsaldaris Alexandros Othonaios |
| Preceded by | Pavlos Kountouriotis |
| Succeeded by | Georgios Kondylis(as Regent) |
| Prime Minister of Greece | |
| In office 4 December 1926 – 4 July 1928 | |
| President | Pavlos Kountouriotis |
| Preceded by | Georgios Kondylis |
| Succeeded by | Eleftherios Venizelos |
| In office 21 April 1917 – 14 June 1917 | |
| Monarchs | Constantine I Alexander |
| Preceded by | Spyridon Lambros |
| Succeeded by | Eleftherios Venizelos |
| In office 9 June 1916 – 3 September 1916 | |
| Monarch | Constantine I |
| Preceded by | Stefanos Skouloudis |
| Succeeded by | Nikolaos Kalogeropoulos |
| In office 24 September 1915 – 25 October 1915 | |
| Monarch | Constantine I |
| Preceded by | Eleftherios Venizelos |
| Succeeded by | Stefanos Skouloudis |
| In office 12 November 1901 – 18 November 1902 | |
| Monarch | George I |
| Preceded by | Georgios Theotokis |
| Succeeded by | Theodoros Deligiannis |
| In office 21 September 1897 – 2 April 1899 | |
| Monarch | George I |
| Preceded by | Dimitrios Rallis |
| Succeeded by | Georgios Theotokis |
| High Commissioner ofCrete | |
| In office 18 September 1906 – 24 September 1908 | |
| Monarch | George I |
| Preceded by | Prince George of Greece |
| Succeeded by | (Unification with Greece unilaterally declared) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1855-10-28)28 October 1855[1] |
| Died | 15 September 1936(1936-09-15) (aged 80) |
| Party | National Party[2] (1887–1902) Neohellenic Party(1902–1924) Independent(1924–1935) |
| Residence(s) | Kerpini,Kalavryta,Achaia prefecture,Peloponnese,Greece |
| Occupation | Politician |
Alexandros Zaimis (Greek:Αλέξανδρος Ζαΐμης,romanized:Aléxandros Zaḯmis; 28 October 1855 – 15 September 1936[3]) was aGreek politician who served as Greece'sPrime Minister,Minister of the Interior,Minister of Justice, and High Commissioner ofCrete. He served as prime minister six times. Although he was a leader of themonarchist faction, Zaimis was the third and lastPresident of theSecond Hellenic Republic.
Zaimis was born in Athens, a son ofThrasyvoulos Zaimis, a formerPrime Minister of Greece, and EleniMourouzi.[4] His brother was Asimakis Zaimis.
On his father's side he was the grandson ofAndreas Zaimis, another former prime minister of Greece, and related to the great Kalavrytanfamily with notable participation in theGreek War of Independence from 1821. From his mother's side he was a descendant of an importantFanariote family of the Mourozidon. His family lived in Kerpini, Kalavryta in the Achaia prefecture.
He studied law at theUniversity of Athens and at theUniversity of Heidelberg. He also attended the universities ofLeipzig,Paris andBerlin.
Alexandros became involved in politics after the death of his father who was the elected member of parliament for Kalavryta.
He became aMember of Parliament in 1885. He served as Minister of the Interior and Justice Minister inTheodoros Deligiannis' government (1890–92) andSpeaker of the Hellenic Parliament (1895-97). He became prime minister for the first time in 1897.
In 1906, he was appointed asHigh Commissioner ofCrete[5] and presided over a critical period of the island's history up to thede facto union of Crete with Greece in 1908.
Alexandros Zaimis was re-elected as prime minister a further five times. He was appointed prime minister under KingConstantine I to succeed Venizelos in October 1915, but resigned a month later when his government failed to receive a vote of confidence. In 1917, Zaimis served again as prime minister under King Constantine I, whileEleftherios Venizelos led a rival government controlling northern Greece. UnderEntente pressure, he resigned in favor of Venizelos in June of the same year. DuringWorld War I, he was generally supposed to favor neutrality for Greece, but to be personally in favor of the Allies.
A moderate conservative, he served again as prime minister in theSecond Hellenic Republic, from 1926 to 1928, in a coalition government ofVenizelist and moderateconservatives.
Zaimis was elected thethird and lastPresident of the Second Hellenic Republic in 1929. He was reelected in 1934. However, only one year into his second term, he was thrown out of office byGeorgios Kondylis, who abolished the Republic and proclaimed himself regent pending the results of areferendum on restoring the monarchy. This referendum resulted inGeorge II being recalled to the throne by almost 98 percent of the vote, a high total that was obtained because no-monarchist supported the abstension to vote for protest (there was no secrecy of vote).
He died on 15 September 1936 inVienna,Austria and was buried in theFirst Cemetery of Athens. He was married without children. The political legacy of his family was continued by his siblings and cousins.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Greece 21 September 1897 - 2 April 1899 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Greece 12 November 1901 - 18 November 1902 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | High Commissioner ofCrete 18 September 1906 – 24 September 1908 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Greece 24 September - 25 October 1915 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Greece 9 June - 3 September 1916 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Greece 21 April - 21 June 1917 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Greece 4 December 1926 – 4 July 1928 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | President of Greece 1929–1935 | Succeeded by Georgios Kondylis (as Regent) |
| Notes and references | ||
| 1. Kitromilides, Paschalis (2006).Eleftherios Venizelos: The Trials of Statesmanship, p 88,ISBN 0-7486-2478-3 | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
