Athanasios Kanakaris ( el, Αθανάσιος Κανακάρης; 1760 in Patras – 14 January 1823 in

Ermioni Ermioni (Greek , Ancient Greek Hermione ) is a small port town and a former municipality in Argolis, Peloponnese, Greece on the Argolid Peninsula. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Ermionida, of which it is ...

) was a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece 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 ...

politician. He fought in the Greek War of Independence against the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. He was born in Patras in 1760. His father was Benizelos Roufos (elder), who belonged to a wealthy family of Sicilian descent, that had settled in Patras during the 1600s. His mother was Angeliki Kanakaris, who was a member of a Greek family that originated from

Livadeia Livadeia ( el, Λιβαδειά ''Livadiá'', ; grc, Λεβάδεια, Lebadeia or , ''Lebadia'') is a town in central Greece. It is the capital of the Boeotia regional district. Livadeia lies north-west of Athens, west of Chalkida, south-ea ...

, and had settled in Patras at approximately the 1600s. Kanakaris was elected as a headsman of Patras in 1785, and became one of the most influential Greek magnates in the

Morea The Morea ( el, Μορέας or ) was the name of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The name was used for the Byzantine province known as the Despotate of the Morea, by the Ottom ...

. While serving as the province's representative to the

Porte Porte may refer to: *Sublime Porte, the central government of the Ottoman empire *Porte, Piedmont, a municipality in the Piedmont region of Italy *John Cyril Porte, British/Irish aviator *Richie Porte, Australian professional cyclist who competes ...

, he became a member of the

Filiki Eteria Filiki Eteria or Society of Friends ( el, Φιλικὴ Ἑταιρεία ''or'' ) was a secret organization founded in 1814 in Odessa, whose purpose was to overthrow the Ottoman rule of Greece and establish an independent Greek state. (''ret ...

. During the Greek War of Independence, he served as a member of the

Peloponnesian Senate The Senate of the entire People of the Peloponnese provinces ( el, Γερουσία όλου του Δήμου των επαρχιών της Πελοποννήσου), commonly known as the Peloponnesian Senate (), was a provisional regime that ...

and of the First National Assembly at Epidaurus, and contributed from his personal fortune to the Greek cause. From 13 January 1822 until his death due to illness, in 1823, he served as deputy president of the Executive Corps of the Greek provisional government, under Alexandros Mavrokordatos. His son, was also named

Benizelos Roufos Benizelos Roufos (; 1795–1868) was a Greek politician and Prime Minister of Greece. Biography Early life Roufos was born in Patras in 1795, a scion of the wealthy Roufos-Kanakaris family. He was the son of Athanasios Kanakaris who fought d ...

and served as Prime Minister of Greece later on. Other members of the family served as mayors, members of parliament and ministers. He married Paraskevi Kostaki, and in addition to the aforementioned son, they also had a daughter named Angeliki.

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