World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseGeorgios Papandreou was born in Kalentzi, Greece in 1888 to religious leader Andreas Papandreou. He studied law at the University of Athens in Greece, and continued his studies in Berlin, Germany. He was an advocate of German-style social democracy, anti-monarchy, and anti-communist. In the 1910s, he was made the governor of the island of Chios. During the political crisis surrounding Greek entry into WW1, he was one of liberal leader Eleftherios Venizelos' closest supporters against the pro-German King Konstantínos I. When Venizelos was forced to flee Athens, Papandreou accompanied him to the island of Crete, and then went to Lesvos, where he mobilized anti-monarchist supporters in the islands and rallied support for Venizelos' insurgent pro-Allied government in Thessaloniki. In 1920, he unsuccessfully ran as an independent liberal in the Lesvos constituency. In 1921 he narrowly escaped assassination from royalist extremists. Between Jan and Oct 1923, he served as interior minister of Prime Minister Stylianos Gonatas. In Dec 1923, he was elected to the parliament representing Lesvos. In Jun 1925, he had a very short tenure (11 days) as the finance minister. Between 1930 and 1932, he served as the education minister. In 1933, he served as the transport minister. In 1935, he founded the Democratic Socialist Party. In 1936, he was exiled by royalist leader Ioannis Metaxas. Germany occupied Greece in 1941, and in the following year he was found and arrested by the Germans. He escaped in early 1944 and joined the Greek government-in-exile in Egypt in Apr 1944 as its prime minister. In May 1944, during the Lebanon Conference attended by various Greek political and resistance factions, he was appointed the prime minister by King George II. In Oct 1944, he returned to Greece, serving in the prime minister position until his resignation as he failed to halt the escalating political tensions that was heading toward a civil war. Between 1946 and 1952, he served in various ministerial positions. Between 1950 and 1952, he held the concurrent position as the deputy prime minister. In 1961, he founded the progressive Center Union Party. His party won elections in 1963 and 1964, placing him back in the prime minister's office. He was removed from power by King Konstantinos II in 1965. In 1967, a military coup took control of the government, and Papandreou was placed under house arrest for his connections to past regimes. He passed away in Nov 1968. He was interred at the First Cemetery of Athens.

Georgios Papandreou Interactive Map

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Georgios Papandreou Timeline