Stamatis Merkouris (

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

: Σταμάτης Μερκούρης; 1895–1967) was a Greek Army officer and politician, who served as an MP and a Cabinet Minister. A member of the prominent Merkouris family, he was the son of Spyridon Mercouris, long-serving Mayor of

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

in the early 20th century, and the younger brother of George Mercouris, far-right politician and Cabinet Minister. In contrast to his conservative father and brother, Stamatis would end up becoming a Member of Parliament for the Left; his daughter was the famous actress Melina Mercouri, Minister of Culture in the socialist government of

Andreas Papandreou Andreas Georgiou Papandreou (, ; 5 February 1919 – 23 June 1996) was a Greek academic and economist who founded the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) and served three terms as Prime minister of Greece, prime minister of Third Hellenic Repu ...

Biography

Stamatis Merkouris was born in

in 1895, son of Spyridon Mercouris and younger brother of George Mercouris. He graduated from the

Hellenic Military Academy The Hellenic Army Academy (, ΣΣΕ), commonly known as the Evelpidon, is a military academy. It is the Officer cadet school of the Greek Army and the oldest third-level educational institution in Greece. It was founded in 1828 in Nafplio by Io ...

as a second lieutenant of Cavalry, and fought in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in 1917-18 and the Greco-Turkish War in 1919-22. The Mercouri were an Arvanite family.Indiana University. Indiana University Russian and East European Series. Vol. 45. Indiana University, 1995. pg 123 He then left the Army and entered politics, taking part in the creation of the People's Party, Greece's main center-right political force at the time. Merkouris later left the People's Party and joined the National Radical Party, founded by the former General Georgios Kondylis. From 1929 until 1932, Stamatis Merkouris served as General Director of the Athens city government, under his father Spyridon Mercouris, who was then serving his last term as Mayor of Athens. In 1935 he served as Undersecretary to the Prime Minister's Office, during Kondylis's brief premiership. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and after the Nazis had occupied Greece, he founded a resistance organization, the ''Rizospastiki Organosis'' (literally "Radical Organization") which, though small in size, helped many Greek officers and soldiers escape to the Middle East, where they joined the Allied war effort. After the liberation of Greece from the Nazis in 1944, Merkouris resumed his political career and became a government Minister, serving as Minister of Public Order (1945 - 1946), and Minister of Public Works (1946). He founded his own party, the ''Democratic Progressive Party'' which was eventually disbanded, and later he ended up collaborating with the Greek United Democratic Left, serving as a Member of Parliament for them representing Athens, from 1958 until 1961, and from 1963 until his death in 1967.

Personal life

His daughter was actress and political activist Melina Mercouri, Minister of Culture in the socialist government of

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mercouris, Stamatis 1895 births 1967 deaths Arvanites Politicians from Athens People's Party (Greece) politicians National Radical Party (Greece) politicians National Progressive Centre Union politicians Greek Rally politicians United Democratic Left politicians Greek MPs 1935–1936 Greek MPs 1950–1951 Greek MPs 1952–1956 Greek MPs 1958–1961 Greek MPs 1963–1964 Greek MPs 1964–1967 Hellenic Army officers Greek military personnel of World War I Greek military personnel of the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) Greek Resistance members Panathinaikos A.O. Panathinaikos F.C. non-playing staff Military personnel from Athens