
Georgios Theotokis

A statue of Georgios Theotokis in
Corfu.
'Georgios Theotokis' (
Greek: 'Γεώργιος Θεοτόκης') (
1844 –
1916) born in
Corfu,
Greece was a Greek politician and four times prime minister of Greece. He represented the
New Party or ''Neoteristikon Komma'' (NK).
He was the third child of Corfiote Nikolaos Andreas Theotokis. After graduating from the Ionian high school, he enrolled at the Law School of the
Ionian University. In 1861 he received his law degree from the Ionian University with a scholarship and continued his studies at the
Sorbonne in
Paris.
Upon his return to Corfu he worked as a lawyer. In 1879 he took part in the municipal elections and was elected mayor with a percentage of 65%. In 1883 he was re-elected mayor only to leave in 1885 at the invitation of
Charilaos Trikoupis, to become a member of the
Hellenic Parliament for the Trikoupis party.
[ Georgios Theotokis article from Greek Wikipedia]
In May 1886 Trikoupis appointed him minister of the
Navy. As a minister Theotokis ordered the
frigates
Spetsai,
Hydra and
Psara. He also improved drastically the condition of the Navy by promoting better training and establishing many naval academies and schools. Later Trikoupis appointed him Minister of Ecclesiastical Affairs and Public Education.
With the aid of professor Papamarkos, Theotokis prepared and submitted to Parliament progressive legislation for the improvement of Education in Greece. However the legislation was never passed due to the Deliyannis opposition.
From mid 1903 to 1909 Theotokis became three more times Prime Minister of Greece, the the third time being the longest at the Prime Minister's post. Among his achievements are the organisation and strengthening of the army. He was the one who established the modern army and navy uniforms. He provided assistance for the Macedonian struggle and is noted for his calm and deliberate foreign policy just prior to the
Balkan wars.
His nephew
Georgios Rallis has criticised him for two, in his opinion, important mistakes. Namely because in the days leading to the 1897 war he did not oppose sending the
Hellenic army to
Crete and that led to Greece's involvement and eventual defeat in the ensuing war. The second mistake according to Rallis was Theotokis' refusal to mediate between
Prince George of Greece and
Eleftherios Venizelos during their disagreement, an event that eventually grew to become the national schism.
Georgios Theotokis, however, is considered by many to be a politician distiguished for his high ethics, calm demeanour and controlled temper, qualities not often found among politicians of his era.
===First Cabinet,
April 14,
1899 –
November 25,
1901===
★
Prime Minister: Georgios Theotokis
★
Minister for Foreign Affairs:
Athos Romanos
★
Minister for the Interior: Georgios Theotokis
★
Minister for War:
Konstantinos Koumoundouros
★
★ replaced on
January 11 1900 by
Nikolaos Tsamandos
★
Minister for Finance:
Anargiros Simopoulos
===Second Cabinet,
June 27,
1903 –
July 11, 1903===
★
Prime Minister: Georgios Theotokis
★
Minister for Foreign Affairs: Georgios Theotokis
★
Minister for the Interior:
Nikolaos Levidis
★
Minister for War:
Alexios Grivas
★
Minister for Finance:
Anargiros Simopoulos
===Third Cabinet,
December 19,
1903 –
December 29 1904===
★
Prime Minister: Georgios Theotokis
★
Minister for Foreign Affairs:
Athos Romanos
★
Minister for the Interior: Giorgios Theotokis
★
Minister for War:
Konstantinos Smolenskis
★
Minister for Finance:
Anargiros Simopoulos
★
★ replaced on
October 10 1904 by
Nikolaos Kalogeropoulos
===Fourth Cabinet,
December 21,
1905 –
July 29,
1909===
★
Prime Minister: Georgios Theotokis
★
Minister for Foreign Affairs:
Alexandros Skouzas (left office on
21 June 1908
★
★ replaced on
July 5 1908 by
Giorgios Baltazzis
★
Minister for the Interior:
Nikolaos Kalogeropoulos
★
Minister for War: Giorgios Theotokis
★
Minister for Finance:
Anargiros Simopoulos
★
★ replaced on
January 8 1908 by Nikolaos Kalogeropoulos
★
★ replaced on
July 5 1908 by
Dimitrios Gounaris
★
★ replaced on
February 28 1909 by Nikolaos Kalogeropoulos
Books
★ Georgios Rallis: "Georgios Theotokis: Politician of the measured response" (In Greek), Ελληνική Ευρωεκδοτική, Αθήνα 1986, 355 p. ISBN 9602410175.
External links
★
«Georgios Theotokis: Politician of the measured response and of calm manners» — Article by Georgios Rallis in the newspaper ''Τα Νέα'', 18 October 1999.
Citations and notes