Antonios Kriezis ( el, Αντώνιος Κριεζής, 1796–1865) was a captain of the

Hellenic navy The Hellenic Navy (HN; el, Πολεμικό Ναυτικό, Polemikó Naftikó, War Navy, abbreviated ΠΝ) is the naval force of Greece, part of the Hellenic Armed Forces. The modern Greek navy historically hails from the naval forces of var ...

during the

Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. The Greeks were later assisted by ...

and a

Prime Minister of Greece The prime minister of the Hellenic Republic ( el, Πρωθυπουργός της Ελληνικής Δημοκρατίας, Prothypourgós tis Ellinikís Dimokratías), colloquially referred to as the prime minister of Greece ( el, Πρωθυ� ...

from 1849 to 1854. Kriezis was born in

Troezen Troezen (; ancient Greek: Τροιζήν, modern Greek: Τροιζήνα ) is a small town and a former municipality in the northeastern Peloponnese, Greece, on the Argolid Peninsula. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the muni ...

in 1796 to an

Arvanite Arvanites (; Arvanitika: , or , ; Greek: , ) are a bilingual population group in Greece of Albanian origin. They traditionally speak Arvanitika, an Albanian language variety, along with Greek. Their ancestors were first recorded as settler ...

family. Their first known ancestor was a prisoner in Venetian Crete who became involved in shipbuilding in Venetian navies and settled in Hydra in 1650. In July 1821, he took part in the Greek expedition to

Samos Samos (, also ; el, Σάμος ) is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the -wide Mycale Strait. It is also a sepa ...

, and in 1822 participated in the naval battle of Spetses. In 1825, he and

Konstantinos Kanaris Konstantinos Kanaris ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Κανάρης, ; c. 17901877), also anglicised as Constantine Kanaris or Canaris, was a Greek admiral, Prime Minister, and a hero of the Greek War of Independence.Woodhouse, p. 129. Biog ...

failed in their attempt to destroy the

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

ian navy inside the port of

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

. In 1828,

Ioannis Kapodistrias Count Ioannis Antonios Kapodistrias (10 or 11 February 1776 – 9 October 1831), sometimes anglicized as John Capodistrias ( el, Κόμης Ιωάννης Αντώνιος Καποδίστριας, Komis Ioannis Antonios Kapodistrias; russian: � ...

placed him in command of a naval squadron. The following year, he captured

Vonitsa Vonitsa ( el, Βόνιτσα) is a town in the northwestern part of Aetolia-Acarnania in Greece, seat of the municipality of Aktio-Vonitsa. Population 4,916 (2011). The beach town is situated on the south coast of the Ambracian Gulf, and is domina ...

from the

Ottomans The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...

. In 1836, under King Otto , he became Minister of Naval Affairs. He served as

from 24 December 1849, until 28 May 1854. He was succeeded by

. He died in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...

in 1865. His older son, Dimitrios Kriezis, became a naval officer and served as the aide-de-camp to King

George I of Greece George I ( Greek: Γεώργιος Α΄, ''Geórgios I''; 24 December 1845 – 18 March 1913) was King of Greece from 30 March 1863 until his assassination in 1913. Originally a Danish prince, he was born in Copenhagen, and seemed destined for ...

and as Minister for Naval Affairs, while his younger son, Epameinondas Kriezis, also became a naval officer and politician.

Honours

Two ships of the Hellenic Navy have been named

Kriezis Kriezis ( gr, Κριεζής) is a Greek surname. It may refer to: * Antonios Kriezis (1796-1865), Greek military figure and politician * Andreas Kriezis (c.1813-c.1880), Greek painter * Dimitrios Kriezis, Greek naval officer {{surname Greek-la ...

in his honour.

References

External links

Biography of Antonios Kriezis
1796 births 1865 deaths 19th-century prime ministers of Greece Eastern Orthodox Christians from Greece People from Troizinia-Methana Hellenic Navy admirals Greek revolutionaries Ministers of Naval Affairs of Greece Greek military leaders of the Greek War of Independence Prime Ministers of Greece Arvanites {{Greece-politician-stub