Paul (Greece)
Paul I of Greece (born December 1 . Jul / 14. December 1901 greg. In Athens , † 6. March 1964 in Tatoi near Athens) was from 1947 to 1964 King of Greece .
family
Paul was the youngest son of Constantine I of Greece and his wife Sophie of Prussia , daughter of Emperor Friedrich III. and his wife Victoria of Great Britain and Ireland .
Crown Prince Paul had been married to Friederike von Hannover since 1938 . From this marriage there were three children:
- Sophia (* 1938); ∞ King Juan Carlos I of Spain
- Constantine (* 1940), later King Constantine II of Greece
- Irene (* 1942), Princess of Greece
Term of Office and Politics
After the end of the German occupation of Greece, Paul returned in 1946 and was sworn in as king a year later - after the death of his brother. Due to the weakening of the country by the World War and the looming East-West conflict , the country got into a civil war . Paul and Friederike tried to fight communism by traveling to the crisis areas. These trips are considered a success and contributed to both the popularity of the monarchy and the western course of Greek politics.
At a time when the international community was still holding back official contacts with Germany (even after the occupation statute ended in May 1955), Paul invited the German Federal President Theodor Heuss to Greece. He had Ernst August von Hannover , his wife's brother, deliver the invitation . The state visit in May 1956 was the first of a German Federal President.
King Paul died of gastric cancer in his summer residence Tatoi and was buried there in the Royal Cemetery. Queen Friederike lived in Spanish exile in Madrid after the collapse of the Greek monarchy (her daughter Sophia was Spanish queen), where she died on February 6, 1981. She was buried next to her husband in the Royal Cemetery in Tatoi.
Awards (selection)
- 1954: Special level of the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
- 1956: Grand Star of the Decoration of Honor for Services to the Republic of Austria
- 1961: Bavarian Order of Merit
Web links
- Newspaper article about Paul in the press kit of the 20th century of the ZBW - Leibniz Information Center for Economics .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Paul I of Greece. In: Second German Television, Mainz, dynastien.zdf.de/. 2019, accessed November 21, 2019 .
- ↑ Frieder Günther: Heuss on trips: the foreign representation of the Federal Republic. P. 84.
- ↑ List of all decorations awarded by the Federal President for services to the Republic of Austria from 1952 (PDF file; 6.59 MB)
predecessor | Office | successor |
---|---|---|
George II |
King of Greece 1947–1964 |
Constantine II |
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Paul |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Paul I of Greece; Paul I. |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | greek king |
DATE OF BIRTH | December 14, 1901 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Athens |
DATE OF DEATH | March 6, 1964 |
Place of death | Tatoi |