Alexandros Zaimis

Αλέξανδρος ΖαΐμηςPresident of GreeceIn office
14 December 1929 – 10 October 1935 ^[1]Prime MinisterEleftherios Venizelos
Alexandros Papanastasiou
Panagis Tsaldaris
Alexandros OthonaiosPreceded byPavlos KountouriotisSucceeded byGeorgios Kondylis (as Regent)Prime Minister of GreeceIn office
4 December 1926 – 4 July 1928PresidentPavlos KountouriotisPreceded byGeorgios KondilisSucceeded byEleftherios VenizelosIn office
21 April – 21 June 1917 (o.s.)MonarchsConstantine I
AlexanderPreceded bySpyridon LambrosSucceeded byEleftherios VenizelosIn office
9 June 1916 – 3 September 1916 (o.s.)MonarchConstantine IPreceded byStephanos SkouloudisSucceeded byNikolaos KalogeropoulosIn office
24 September – 25 October 1915 (o.s.)MonarchConstantine IPreceded byEleftherios VenizelosSucceeded byStephanos SkouloudisIn office
12 November 1901 – 18 November 1902 (o.s.)MonarchGeorge IPreceded byGeorgios TheotokisSucceeded byTheodoros DeligiannisIn office
21 September 1897 – 2 April 1899 (o.s.)MonarchGeorge IPreceded byDimitrios RallisSucceeded byGeorgios TheotokisHigh Commissioner of CreteIn office
18 September 1906 – 24 September 1908 (o.s.)MonarchGeorge IPreceded byPrince George of GreeceSucceeded by(Unification with Greece unilaterally declared) Personal detailsBorn(1855-10-28)28 October 1855^[2]
Athens, Kingdom of GreeceDied15 September 1936(1936-09-15) (aged 80)
Vienna, Federal State of AustriaPolitical partyNational Party^[3]
(1887–1902)
Neohellenic Party (1902–1924)
Independent (1924–1935)Residence(s)Kerpini, Kalavryta, Achaia prefecture, Peloponnese, GreeceOccupationPolitician

Alexandros Zaimis (Greek: Αλέξανδρος Ζαΐμης; 28 October 1855 – 15 September 1936 ^[1]) was a Greek politician who served as Greece's Prime Minister, Minister of the Interior, Minister of Justice, and High Commissioner of Crete. He served as Prime Minister six times. Although he was a leader of the monarchist faction, Zaimis was the third and last President of the Second Hellenic Republic.

Early life and family

Zaimis was born in Athens, a son of Thrasyvoulos Zaimis, a former Prime Minister of Greece, and Eleni Mourouzi.^[4] His brother was Asimakis Zaimis.

On his father's side he was the grandson of Andreas Zaimis, another former Prime Minister of Greece, and related to the great Kalavrytan family with notable participation in the Greek War of Independence from 1821. From his mother's side he was a descendant of an important Fanariote family of the Mourozidon. His family lived in Kerpini, Kalavryta in the Achaia prefecture.

He studied law at the University of Athens and at the University of Heidelberg. He also attended the universities of Leipzig, Paris and Berlin.

Political career

Alexandros became involved in politics after the death of his father who was the elected member of parliament for Kalavryta.

He became a Member of Parliament in 1885. He served as Minister of the Interior and Justice Minister in Theodoros Deligiannis' government (1890–92) and Speaker of the Hellenic Parliament (1895-97). He became Prime Minister for the first time in 1897.

Appointment as High Commissioner

In 1906, he was appointed as High Commissioner of Crete^[5] and presided over a critical period of the island's history up to the de facto union of Crete with Greece in 1908.

Re-election as Prime Minister

Alexandros Zaimis was re-elected as Prime Minister a further five times. He was appointed Prime Minister under King Constantine 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, while Eleftherios Venizelos led a rival government controlling northern Greece. Under Entente pressure, he resigned in favor of Venizelos in June of the same year. During World 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 the Second Hellenic Republic, from 1926 to 1928, in a coalition government of Venizelist and moderate conservatives.

Zaimis was elected the third and last President 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 by Georgios Kondylis, who abolished the Republic and proclaimed himself regent pending the results of a referendum on restoring the monarchy. This referendum resulted in George II being recalled to the throne by almost 98 percent of the vote, an implausibly high total that could have only been obtained through fraud.

Death and legacy

He died on 15 September 1936 in Vienna, Austria and was buried in the First Cemetery of Athens. He was married without children. The political legacy of his family was continued by his siblings and cousins.

References

Sources

• Svolopoulos, Konstantinos (1988). "Η Περίοδος της Αυτονομίας ("The Period of Autonomy")". In Panagiotakis, Nikolaos M. (ed.). Crete, History and Civilization (in Greek). Vol. II. Vikelea Library, Association of Regional Associations of Regional Municipalities. pp. 459–492.
• Rines, George Edwin, ed. (1920). "Zaimis, Alexander" . Encyclopedia Americana.

External links

• Newspaper clippings about Alexandros Zaimis in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW

Political offices
Preceded by Dimitrios Rallis	Prime Minister of Greece 21 September 1897 - 2 April 1899	Succeeded by Georgios Theotokis
Preceded by Georgios Theotokis	Prime Minister of Greece 12 November 1901 - 18 November 1902	Succeeded by Theodoros Deligiannis
Preceded by Prince George of Greece	High Commissioner of Crete 18 September 1906 – 24 September 1908	Succeeded by (Unification with Greece) Antonios Michelidakis1
Preceded by Eleftherios Venizelos	Prime Minister of Greece 24 September - 25 October 1915	Succeeded by Stephanos Skouloudis
Preceded by Stephanos Skouloudis	Prime Minister of Greece 9 June - 3 September 1916	Succeeded by Nikolaos Kalogeropoulos
Preceded by Spyridon Lambros	Prime Minister of Greece 21 April - 21 June 1917	Succeeded by Eleftherios Venizelos
Preceded by Georgios Kondilis	Prime Minister of Greece 4 December 1926 – 4 July 1928	Succeeded by Eleftherios Venizelos
Preceded by Pavlos Kountouriotis	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