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Sofoklis Venizelos

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Sofoklis Venizelos
Σοφοκλής Βενιζέλος
Prime Minister of Greece
In office
21 August 1950 – 27 October 1951
MonarchPaul
Preceded byNikolaos Plastiras
Succeeded byNikolaos Plastiras
In office
23 March 1950 – 15 April 1950
MonarchPaul
Preceded byIoannis Theotokis
Succeeded byNikolaos Plastiras
In office
14 April 1944 – 26 April 1944
MonarchGeorge II
Preceded byEmmanouil Tsouderos
Succeeded byGeorgios Papandreou
Deputy Prime Minister of Greece
In office
8 November – 30 December 1963
MonarchPaul
Prime MinisterGeorgios Papandreou
Preceded byPanagiotis Kanellopoulos
Succeeded byStefanos Stefanopoulos
In office
27 October 1951 – 11 October 1952
MonarchPaul
Prime MinisterNikolaos Plastiras
Preceded byEmmanouil Tsouderos
Succeeded byPanagiotis Kanellopoulos
In office
30 June 1949 – 6 January 1950
MonarchPaul
Prime MinisterAlexandros Diomidis
Preceded byKonstantinos Tsaldaris
Succeeded byPanagiotis Kanellopoulos
In office
24 January – 29 August 1947
MonarchPaul
Prime MinisterDimitrios Maximos
Preceded byKonstantinos Tsaldaris
Succeeded byKonstantinos Tsaldaris
In office
24 May – 30 August 1944
MonarchGeorge II
Prime MinisterGeorgios Papandreou
Preceded byGeorgios Rousos
Succeeded byKyriakos Varvaresos
Minister of National Defense
In office
21 August – 9 September 1950
MonarchPaul
Prime MinisterHimself
Preceded byPhilippos Manoulidis
Succeeded byKonstantinos Rendis
In office
10 April – 24 July 1952
MonarchPaul
Prime MinisterNikolaos Plastiras
Preceded byAlexandros Sakellariou
Succeeded byGeorgios Mavros
Personal details
Born3 November 1894
Chania, Vilayet of Crete, Ottoman Empire (present-day Greece)
Died7 February 1964 (aged 69)
on board SS Hellas, Aegean Sea
Political partyLiberal Party
Centre Union
SpouseKathleen Zervudachi
RelationsKyriakos Venizelos (brother)
Nikitas Venizelos (nephew)
Konstantinos Mitsotakis (nephew)
Dora Bakoyannis (great-niece)
Alexandra Mitsotaki (great-niece)
Kyriakos Mitsotakis (great-nephew)
ChildrenDespina Venizelou-Laskari
Parent(s)Eleftherios Venizelos
Maria Katelouzou
Alma materHellenic Army Academy
Signature
Military service
AllegianceGreece Kingdom of Greece
Branch/service Hellenic Army
Years of service1911-1920
Rank Captain
Battles/wars

Sofoklis[a] Venizelos (Greek: Σοφοκλής Βενιζέλος; 3 November 1894 – 7 February 1964) was a Greek politician who served three times as Prime Minister of Greece: in 1944 (in exile), 1950 and 1950–1951.

Life and career

[edit]

Venizelos was born on 3 November 1894 in Chania, in Crete (then a part of the Ottoman Empire; became an autonomous state under Ottoman suzerainty and the protection of Russia, Britain, France and Italy in 1898). He was the second-born son of the politician Eleftherios Venizelos.

Sophoklis Venizelos with his father Eleftherios and his brother Kyriakos [el] in 1905, during the Theriso revolt.

During World War I he served with distinction in the Hellenic Army and in the initial phases of the Asia Minor campaign, reaching the rank of Captain of Infantry.

Sofoklis with his father, Eleftherios Venizelos, c. 1916

He resigned from the Army and was elected as an MP with his father's Liberal Party in the 1920 elections.

Venizelos (standing right) with his father and Ms. Kathleen Zervudachi, a few days after their wedding, Nice, 1921.

In 1941, after the Axis occupation of Greece, he became ambassador to the United States, representing the Greek government in exile based in Cairo. He became a minister of that government in 1943 under Prime Minister Emmanuel Tsuderos, and briefly its prime minister in 1944 (April 13–26).

After the end of the war, he returned to Greece; where he became Vice President of the Liberal Party (led by Themistoklis Sofoulis) and a minister in the first post-war government led by Georgios Papandreou.

In 1948 he assumed the leadership of the party and became a minister in a number of short-lived liberal governments led by Papandreou and Nikolaos Plastiras; he was also the Prime Minister of three such governments.

In 1954 his longtime friendship with Georgios Papandreou was shaken, and he formed the rival Liberal Democratic Union [el] coalition.

The rift was bridged in 1958, and in 1961 he became a founding member of Papandreou's Center Union party, which he served until his death in 1964.

Hellas seen in 1986.

On 6th February 1964 at evening he had given a pre-election speech in Chania. There he had felt unwell which he overcame. Later he boarded the passenger ship Hellas in the Aegean Sea, en route from Chania to Piraeus or Syros. In the cabin he felt discomfort and had shortness of breath. His attending physician diagnosed acute pulmonary edema. Venizelos died at 01:05 on 7 February. The ship returned to Souda. His funeral took place on Sunday February 9 in Chania, in the presence of Crown Prince Constantine (who represented the ailing King Paul), Prime Minister Ioannis Paraskevopoulos, Georgios Papandreou, Panagiotis Kanellopoulos, Spyros Markezinis and Nicolas Kitsikis. Venizelos was buried next to his father, Eleftherios Venizelos.[1] His wife Kathleen died in 1983 aged 86. In his honor, the shipping company ANEK Lines named one of its ferries after him.

Bridge

[edit]

Venizelos was a contract bridge player "of international stature" during the 1930s, as a voluntary exile in France.[2] He played for France in the European IBL Championships (later incorporated in the history of present-day European Bridge League championships).[3] France won the 1935 tournament and a version of the team[b] traveled to New York City late that year for a match against the Four Aces, "an unofficial world championship match" that the Aces won.[2]

Venizelos was second in skill to Pierre Albarran among contemporary French players, according to Alan Truscott. Beside the national teams at contract bridge, they both played on a 1933 team that hosted an American foursome led by Ely Culbertson in a long match at "plafond, the French parent of contract bridge, which differed only in the scoring details."[2] The two teams played 102 deals to a draw;[2] Albarran and Venizelos cooperated on a book reporting and analysing the match:

  • Les 102 donnes d'un grand match, by Pierre Albarran, Adrien Aron, and Venizelos, preface by Ely Culbertson (Éditions Grasset, 1933), 188 pp., LCCN 33-38010

Albarran, Aron, and Venizelos were three of six players on the 1935 European champion team.[4][b]

Venizelos/Mitsotakis family tree

[edit]
Main members of the Venizelos/Mitsotakis family.[6] Prime Ministers of Greece are highlighted in light blue.
Kyriakos Venizelos [la]
(?–1883)		Styliani Ploumidaki
(1830–1897)
Eleftherios Venizelos
(1864–1936)		Katingo Venizelou
(1858–1934)		Constantine "Costis" Mitsotakis [el]
(1845–1898)
Kyriakos Venizelos [el]
(1892–1942)		Sofoklis Venizelos
(1894–1964)		Kyriakos Mitsotakis [el]
(1892–1942)		Stavroula Ploumidaki[7]
(1896–1983)
Nikitas Venizelos
(1930–2020)		Konstantinos Mitsotakis
(1918–2017)		Marika Giannoukou
(1930–2012)
Pavlos Bakoyannis
(1935–1989)		Dora Bakoyannis
née Mitsotaki
(b. 1954)		Kyriakos Mitsotakis
(b. 1968)
Kostas Bakoyannis
(b. 1978)

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Also transliterated as Sophocles or Sophoklis.
  2. ^ a b Aron and Joseph Broutin did not make the trip to New York, and only one substitute replaced them: "Emanuel Tulmaris, retired Trieste banker and a bobsled enthusiast". The American star Oswald Jacoby missed at least the opening night.[5]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Ο θάνατος του Σοφοκλή Βενιζέλου, Ιστορικό Λεύκωμα 1964, σελ. 76-77, Καθημερινή (1997)
  2. ^ a b c d "Bridge: Venizelos's Death Recalls Prowess as Bridge Player". Alan Truscott. The New York Times. 26 February 1964. Page 32.
  3. ^ "European National Teams Championships" Archived 2014-05-02 at the Wayback Machine. European Bridge League (eurobridge.org) [EBL]. Retrieved 2014-11-14.
  4. ^ "Team Members" (France open team). 4th European Team Championships: Brussels, Belgium, 1935. EBL. Retrieved 2014-11-14.
  5. ^ "Jacoby too Ill to Play". The New York Times. 12 December 1935. Page 33.
  6. ^ Constantine Mitsotakis institute. "Biography – Roots". Retrieved 2015-12-23.
  7. ^ Stavroula Ploumidaki is also a first cousin, once removed, of Eleftherios Venizelos
[edit]
Political offices
Preceded by Prime Minister of Greece
April 13, 1944 – April 26, 1944 (in exile in Cairo) 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Prime Minister of Greece
March 23, 1950 – April 15, 1950 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Prime Minister of Greece
August 21, 1950 – November 1, 1951 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister for National Defence of Greece
21 August – 9 September 1950 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister for National Defence of Greece
10 April – 24 July 1952 		Succeeded by
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