User:Afratoballa/Emmanouil Tsouderos

Emmanouil Tsouderos (Greek: Εμμανουήλ Τσουδερός, also transliterated as Emmanuel Tsuderos; 19 July 1882 – 10 February 1956) was a political and financial figure of Greece. During World War II he served as Prime Minister of Greece from 1941 to 1944, for all but one week; for the rest of that tenure he acted as head of the Greek government in exile. He resigned in 1944, following an mutiny in the exiled armed forces. He would later serve in a coalition government in 1950.

Contents

 * 1 Early life and studies
 * 2 Career in politics
 * 3 Prime minister
 * 4 References
 * 5 Sources
 * 6 External links

Early life and studies
Emmanuel Tsouderos was born in 1882 in Rethymno, Crete (then part of the Ottoman Empire). He studied law at Athens University, and economics in Paris and London.

Career in politics
He returned to Crete aged 24, and was elected Member of Parliament of the Cretan Legislature (1906–1912), when Crete had autonomous status under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire and was under the protection of Russia, Britain, France and Italy.

After the union of Crete with Greece in December 1913, he was elected to the Hellenic Parliament, and served as Minister of Transportation under Eleftherios Venizelos, and Minister of Finances under Themistoklis Sophoulis.

In 1928, when the Central Bank of Greece was established, Tsouderos was appointed its first vice-Governor, and in 1931 its Governor.

Prime minister
Following the suicide of Prime Minister Alexandros Koryzis on 18 April 1941, amidst the German invasion of Greece, King George II of Greece sought for his successor. Several names, such as Konstantinos Kotzias, the former dictator General Theodoros Pangalos, and the Venizelist general Alexandros Mazarakis-Ainian were discussed, but either rejected or turned down the offer. As the evacuation of the Greek government to Crete was being prepared, Tsouderos, as a Venizelist and Cretan, as well as a known Anglophile, emerged as a prominent choice for the post during the 20th. On the next day, after attending a séance in which the spirit of Venizelos urged him to accept, Tsouderos accepted and was sworn in as Prime Minister. On the 20th, the Greek army in Epirus unilaterally surrendered to the Germans, and on the morning of the 23rd, the Greek government left Athens.

Tsouderos fled again during the Battle of Crete. He went to the Middle East and later Egypt. Although he was the internationally recognized Prime Minister of Greece (in opposition to the numerous prime ministers who were the figureheads of the collaborationist Hellenic State), in practice he had little influence inside Greece's borders. This government was initially located in London, but subsequently moved to Cairo. In Spring of 1944, the Greek Army and Navy mutinied. Among their demands was the resignation of the king and Tsouderos. Following the suppression of the mutineers, Tsouderos resigned from office. He served in the subsequent government in exile under Sofoklis Venizelos.

Post-War Greece
Following the Greek Civil War, Tsouderos would go on to lead the Democraftic Progressive Party (Dimokratikon Proodefitikon Komma) . During the 1950 Election, Tsourderos formed an coalition government with Nikolaos Plastiras' Progressive Liberal Centre Party (Komma Proodefitkon Fileleftheron Kentrou), to form the National Progressive Center Union (Ethniki Proodeftiki Enosis Kentrou).

He died at the age of 73 in Nervi, Genoa, Italy on February 10, 1956.

Personal Life
He was married and had three children:


 * John Tsouderos (1923 - 1997) - Later Greek Politician in the 1960s and 1970s
 * Athena Tsouderos
 * Virginia Tsouderos (1924 - 2018) - Served as Secretary of Foreign Minister of Greece (Aug. 1991 - Oct. 1993)

Awards

 * Order of George I, 1941