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.
Alexandros Zaimis
| |
|---|---|
| Αλέξανδρος Ζαΐμης | |
 | |
| President of Greece | |
| In office 14 December 1929 – 10 October 1935 [1] | |
| Prime Minister | Eleftherios Venizelos Alexandros Papanastasiou Panagis Tsaldaris Alexandros Othonaios |
| Preceded by | Pavlos Kountouriotis |
| Succeeded by | Georgios Kondylis (as Regent) |
| Prime Minister of Greece | |
| In office 4 December 1926 – 4 July 1928 | |
| President | Pavlos Kountouriotis |
| Preceded by | Georgios Kondilis |
| Succeeded by | Eleftherios Venizelos |
| In office 21 April – 21 June 1917 (o.s.) | |
| Monarchs | Constantine I Alexander |
| Preceded by | Spyridon Lambros |
| Succeeded by | Eleftherios Venizelos |
| In office 9 June 1916 – 3 September 1916 (o.s.) | |
| Monarch | Constantine I |
| Preceded by | Stephanos Skouloudis |
| Succeeded by | Nikolaos Kalogeropoulos |
| In office 24 September – 25 October 1915 (o.s.) | |
| Monarch | Constantine I |
| Preceded by | Eleftherios Venizelos |
| Succeeded by | Stephanos Skouloudis |
| In office 12 November 1901 – 18 November 1902 (o.s.) | |
| Monarch | George I |
| Preceded by | Georgios Theotokis |
| Succeeded by | Theodoros Deligiannis |
| In office 21 September 1897 – 2 April 1899 (o.s.) | |
| Monarch | George I |
| Preceded by | Dimitrios Rallis |
| Succeeded by | Georgios Theotokis |
| High CommissionerofCrete | |
| In office 18 September 1906 – 24 September 1908 (o.s.) | |
| Monarch | George I |
| Preceded by | Prince George of Greece |
| Succeeded by | (Unification with Greece unilaterally declared) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1855-10-28)28 October 1855[2] Athens, Kingdom of Greece |
| Died | 15 September 1936(1936-09-15) (aged 80) Vienna, Federal State of Austria |
| Political party | National Party[3] (1887–1902) Neohellenic Party (1902–1924) Independent (1924–1935) |
| Residence(s) | Kerpini, Kalavryta, Achaia prefecture, Peloponnese, Greece |
| Occupation | Politician |
| |
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.
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.
In 1906, he was appointed as High CommissionerofCrete[5] and presided over a critical period of the island's history up to the de facto union of Crete with Greece in 1908.
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.
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.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Greece 21 September 1897 - 2 April 1899 |
Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Greece 12 November 1901 - 18 November 1902 |
Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | High CommissionerofCrete 18 September 1906 – 24 September 1908 |
Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Greece 24 September - 25 October 1915 |
Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Greece 9 June - 3 September 1916 |
Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Greece 21 April - 21 June 1917 |
Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Greece 4 December 1926 – 4 July 1928 |
Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | 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 | ||