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Grigoris Lambrakis | |
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Γρηγόρης Λαμπράκης | |
 Grigoris Lambrakis marching alone in the banned Marathon – Athens Peace Rally on Sunday 21 April 1963, one month before his assassination. | |
| Member of the Hellenic Parliament | |
| In office 1961–1963 | |
| Constituency | Piraeus |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1912-04-03)3 April 1912 Kerasitsa,Arcadia, Greece |
| Died | 27 May 1963(1963-05-27) (aged 51) Thessaloniki, Greece |
| Political party | Independent, elected on the list of theUnited Democratic Left |
| Spouse(s) | Maro and Roula |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | University of Athens |
| Occupation | Gynecologist |
Grigoris Lambrakis (Greek:Γρηγόρης Λαμπράκης; 3 April 1912 – 27 May 1963) was aGreekpolitician,physician, athlete, and lecturer. He participated in track and field sports and was a member of the faculty of the School of Medicine at theUniversity of Athens. A member of theGreek resistance toAxis rule duringWorld War II, he later became a prominentanti-war activist. His assassination by right-wing zealots that were covertly supported by the police and military provoked mass protests and led to a political crisis.
Lambrakis was born in the village ofKerasitsa in the district ofTegea (Arcadia, thePeloponnese). After finishing high school in his home town, he moved toAthens to enter the School of Medicine at theUniversity of Athens.
Lambrakis was a champion athlete throughout his life. He held the Greek record forlong jump for twenty-three years (1936–1959). He also earned several gold medals in theBalkan Games, which took place annually, featuring competitors from Greece,Albania,Yugoslavia,Bulgaria,Romania, andTurkey. He competed in themen's long jump and themen's triple jump at the1936 Summer Olympics.[1]
During theAxis occupation of Greece duringWorld War II (1941–44), Lambrakis participated actively in theGreek Resistance. In 1943 he set up the Union of Greek Athletes (Ένωση των Ελλήνων Αθλητών,Enosi ton Ellínon Athlitón) and organized regular competitions. He used the revenue from these games to fund public food-banks for the starving population.
AfterWorld War II, Lambrakis completed his medical studies and worked as a lecturer in the Department ofgynaecology.[2] He continued to help the poor by running a small private clinic for patients who were unable to afford medical care.
While not aCommunist, Lambrakis' political and ideological orientation leaned towards the left. He was actively involved in thepacifist movement of his time, which voiced strong opposition to theFirst Indochina War and theSecond American War in Vietnam.[citation needed] Lambrakis acted politically from within theUnited Democratic Left (Greek:Ενιαία Δημοκρατική Αριστερά,ΕΔΑ/Eniéa Dimokratikí Aristerá,EDA), the only legal left-wing political party in the country after theGreek Civil War of 1946–1949 and until the fall of theGreek military junta of 1967-1974. He was elected to theHellenic Parliament in the1961 Greek legislative election as aPiraeus MP.[3]
That same year (1961), under his initiative, the Commission for International Détente and Peace (Eπιτροπή για την Διεθνή Ύφεση και Ειρήνη —Epitropí gia ti Diethní Ýfesi ke Iríni — EDYE) was established in Greece. In his capacity as Vice President of EDYE, Lambrakis participated in international pacifist meetings and demonstrations despite frequent threats against his life. EDYE was an organization set up by EDA which while not officially aligned to the World Council of Peace broadly supported its anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist position. EDA had ceded Lambrakis full freedom to represent the Commission and he soon emerged as its most articulate and determined leader.[4] On21 April 1963, the pacifist movement in Greece organized the First Pacifist Rally fromMarathon toAthens. The police intervened, banned the rally and arrested many demonstrators (Mikis Theodorakis among them). Lambrakis, protected by his parliamentary immunity, marched alone and arrived at the end of the rally holding the banner with the peace symbol (photo), the one that he had previously held up during theAldermastonrally in theUnited Kingdom while he was protesting near theAtomic Weapons Research Establishment (AWRE). Soon afterward, he too was arrested by the police.
On22 May 1963, shortly after he had delivered the keynote speech at an anti-war meeting inThessaloniki, two far-right extremists, Emannouel Emannouilides and Spyros Gotzamanis, driving a three-wheeled vehicle, struck Lambrakis with a club over the head in plain view of a large number of people and (allegedly) some police officers. He suffered brain injuries and died in the hospital five days later, on27 May. The two men were arrested because of the reaction of a by-stander (Manolis Hatziapostolou, nicknamedTiger) who jumped on their vehicle and fought with them.
The next day, in Athens, his funeral became a massive demonstration. More than 500,000 people rallied to protest against the right-wing government and the Royal Court, seen by many to support the activities of the right-wing extremists. The assassination of Lambrakis initiated an enormous popular reaction, and soon after, investigatorChristos Sartzetakis, district attorneyNikos Athanasopoulos and attorney general P. Delaportas uncovered connections of the police and army, including the Gendarmerie commander for Northern Greece,Konstantinos Mitsou, and various local police officers, like Kapelonis and Katsoulis, to far-right extremists.[5]
The judges lost their jobs during themilitary dictatorship of 1967. Christos Sartzetakis was also imprisoned for a year during the dictatorship. The two murderers were released, while members of the conspiracy were favored.
Sartzetakis, although a royalist himself, became a symbol of integrity for his handling of the investigation.
The events that followed the assassination of Lambrakis led to rapid political developments. Prime MinisterKonstantinos Karamanlis resigned and left forParis in July 1963. Soon thereafter, thousands of Greek youth founded a new political organisation called the Lambrakis Democratic Youth (Δημοκρατική Νεολαία Λαμπράκη,Dimokratikí Neoléa Lambráki).Mikis Theodorakis, one of Lambrakis' friends and fellow activists, was elected its first president. This leftist political organisation played a decisive role in Greece's progressive movement of the 1960s.[citation needed] In 1966 a 'Greek Democratic Youth of Australia Lambrakis' was formed in all capitals of the States of Australia by young Greek workers and students.
The life and death of Grigoris Lambrakis inspired the authorVassilis Vassilikos to write thepolitical novel"Z". The title stands for the first letter of the Greek word "Zi" ("[He] Lives!"), a populargraffito which began to appear on the walls of the buildings of the Greek cities in the 1960s, illustrating the growing protest against the conditions that led to the assassination of Lambrakis. In 1969, the Greek-French film directorCosta-Gavras (Κώστας Γαβράς) made the filmZ, which was a great success.[6]Yves Montand starred as Lambrakis,Jean-Louis Trintignant as investigator Sartzetakis andIrene Papas as Lambrakis' widow.
Mikis Theodorakis in 1962 presented his workÉnas Omiros (A Hostage), a music score for a Greek performance ofThe Hostage byBrendan Behan. The pieceTo Yelasto Pedi (The Smiling Kid) was considered to be a tribute to Lambrakis, and as such was also used in the filmZ.
Lambrakis remained in the hearts of the Greek people as a national symbol of democracy, representing the struggle against political repression, Royal Court scandal, and international dependence. After the fall ofthe military dictatorship in 1974, numerous places, including afootball stadium inKallithea and streets and squares throughout the country, have been named in honor of Grigoris Lambrakis.
The Marathon Peace Rally became an annual event in Lambrakis' memory. Also, theAthens Classic Marathon is run in memory of Grigoris Lambrakis every November.
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