Charilaos Trikoupis
Charilaos Trikoupis ( Greek : Χαρίλαος Τρικούπης) (born July 11, 1832 in Nafplion ( Argolis ); † March 30, 1896 in Cannes ) was a Greek politician and Prime Minister .
Family, studies and professional career
Trikoupis was the son of Spyridon Trikoupis , who was also Prime Minister from February to October 1833. His mother Ekaterini Mavrokordatou was the sister of the multiple prime minister Alexandros Mavrokordatos .
After attending school, he graduated at the Universities of Athens and Paris studies of law and the literature . After obtaining his doctorate in law, he entered the diplomatic service in 1852 and became an attaché at the embassy in London . In 1863 he was appointed Chargé d'Affaires at the legation in London. After negotiating the cession of the Ionian Islands to Greece with the United Kingdom , he returned to Greece in 1865.
Political career
MP, minister and party founder
Trikoupis began his political career in the same year with the election of the member of the National Assembly (Voulí ton Ellínon) . From June to December 1866 he was foreign minister in the fifth cabinet of Dimitrios Voulgaris .
Trikoupis founded his own party in 1872, the so-called "Fifth Party" (Pempto Comma). On June 29, 1874, he published a political manifesto entitled "Who's the culprit?" (Τις Πταίει?) In the daily newspaper "Kairoi", in which he made King George I responsible for the country's political misery. In particular, he criticized the nominations of prime ministers by the king, which spoke against the election results, and the resulting political instability. He was temporarily detained because of the manifesto.
Seven times Prime Minister (1875 to 1895)
As chairman of a New Reform Party (Νεωτεριστικόν Κομμα) (NK), he was able to form a majority coalition in the National Assembly one year later and was then appointed Prime Minister by King George I reluctantly on May 8, 1875. In this first term of office a reform of the electoral law was passed, which provided that the king had to appoint the chairman of the parliamentary majority faction as prime minister. However, this soon led to a de facto two-party system consisting of the New Reform Party around Trikoupis on the one hand and the conservative Nationalist Party (Κόμμα Εθνικόφρονων) (KE) around Alexandros Koumoundouros on the other. However, the formation of coalitions with smaller parties and the necessary by-elections resulted in twelve governments in office over the next six years.
In the parliamentary elections of October 4, 1875, however, the New Reform Party lost its majority, so that Trikoupis resigned as Prime Minister on October 27.
In the fifth cabinet of Konstantinos Kanaris he was foreign minister again from June to September 1877.
From November 2 to 7, 1878 and from March 22 to October 25, 1880 he was again prime minister of transitional governments. On March 15, 1882 he was again Prime Minister and immediately began to implement his reform policy. He first tried to enforce a more stable budget policy and to use the increasing prosperity of the country by building roads, railways and ports. One of the big projects was the beginning of the construction of the Corinth Canal . Another project, which due to the technical possibilities of the time remained only a vision, was the construction of a bridge over the Gulf of Corinth to connect the cities of Rio and Andirrio . However, construction of this bridge did not begin until 1998 and was completed in 2004. However, this bridge was named in his honor in Charilaos Trikoupis Bridge. Despite these reform approaches, Greece remained a poor and backward country in the late 19th century. His relatively stable government remained in office until his resignation on May 1, 1885 after being defeated in the parliamentary elections.
However, he was able to continue his economic and financial reforms from May 21, 1886 to November 5, 1890 as Prime Minister. During this tenure, he also supported the modernization of the navy through his naval minister Georgios Theotokis .
On June 22, 1892, he became Prime Minister for the sixth time. At this point, the state budget was completely exhausted due to high spending and systematic corruption , often due to campaign promises made by the parties. His government statement summed up the situation at that time with the words "Unfortunately we are bankrupt" ( "Δυστυχώς επτωχεύσαμεν." ). However, since he stopped foreign loans and cut all unnecessary expenses, he had to resign again as Prime Minister on May 15, 1893.
However, after a transitional government by Sotirios Sotiropoulos , Trikoupis was appointed prime minister for the seventh and last time on November 11, 1893. During this tenure, planning began for the Athens Summer Olympics in 1896 . Trikoupis, however, was initially skeptical of this revival of the Olympic Games and particularly feared that Greece would not be able to bear the costs. Eventually, however, he was convinced of the Olympic idea and made the necessary arrangements as the host of the first modern Olympic Games . In his last term of office he also tried in vain to reach agreements with foreign lenders. Finally, the tax increase he had planned led to great hostility and finally to his resignation as Prime Minister on January 24, 1895.
In the elections to the National Assembly that took place shortly afterwards, his New Reform Party suffered a significant loss of votes. Because of his poor health and personal debts, he even failed to be re-elected as MP. Thereupon he withdrew from political life and died on March 30, 1896 in Cannes .
After his body had been transferred, he was buried in Athens.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Götz Aly : Column on Greece: Greek Week . In: Berliner Zeitung , September 10, 2012. Accessed May 7, 2013.
- ^ History Of the Hellenic Navy . hellenicnavy.gr. Archived from the original on May 18, 2013. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved May 7, 2013.
Biographical sources and background information
Biographical sources
Background information
- Evi Koukouraki: From the Greek Wars of Liberation to the Present: History of Young Greece. 2003
- The Introduction to the Parliamentary politics in Hellas
- The Greek Economy 1833-1897
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Dimitrios Voulgaris |
Prime Minister of Greece 1875 |
Alexandros Koumoundouros |
| Alexandros Koumoundouros | Prime Minister of Greece 1878 |
Alexandros Koumoundouros |
| Alexandros Koumoundouros | Prime Minister of Greece 1880 |
Alexandros Koumoundouros |
| Alexandros Koumoundouros | Prime Minister of Greece 1882–1885 |
Theodoros Deligiannis |
| Dimitrios Valvis | Prime Minister of Greece 1886–1890 |
Theodoros Deligiannis |
| Konstantinos Konstantopoulos | Prime Minister of Greece 1892–1893 |
Sotirios Sotiropoulos |
| Sotirios Sotiropoulos | Prime Minister of Greece 1893–1895 |
Nikolaus Deligiannis |
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Trikoupis, Charilaos |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Greek politician and prime minister |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 11, 1832 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Nafplion ( Argolis ) |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 30, 1896 |
| Place of death | Cannes |