Georgios Stavros ( el, Γεώργιος Σταύρος, 1788–1869) was a banker, benefactor and revolutionary from modern-day

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

. He was one of the founders and the first governor of the

National Bank of Greece The National Bank of Greece (NBG; el, Εθνική Τράπεζα της Ελλάδος) is a global banking and financial services company with its headquarters in Athens, Greece. 85% of the company's pretax preprovision profits are derived ...

Early years

Stavros was born in

Ioannina Ioannina ( el, Ιωάννινα ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus, an administrative region in north-western Greece. According to the 2011 census, the c ...

Epirus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinri ...

, a major intellectual center of the Greek world then under Ottoman rule. He was of Aromanian origin. He studied in renowned schools of his home town, such as the Balaneios and then the Kaplaneios, under

Athanasios Psalidas Athanasios Psalidas ( el, Αθανάσιος Ψαλίδας; 1767–1829), was a Greek author, scholar and one of the most renowned figures of the modern Greek Enlightenment. Life Early years and diaspora Psalidas was born at 1767 in Ioannina, whe ...

. Stavros, later moved to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

in order to take over the commercial business of his father, while studying at the local business school. Because of his profession he had to travel in various European cities. In

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, he met

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: � ...

, that time a diplomat in the service of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...

, that would play a key role in the Greek politics the following years. Stavros soon became a member of the patriotic organization Filiki Eteria.

Greek War of Independence

Shortly after the outbreak of 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 ...

(1821) he supported the uprising by supplying the revolutionaries with firearms, ammunition and food. In 1824 Stavros moved to Greece and the next year he was appointed Chief Cashier of the Executive body of the First Hellenic Republic, under Georgios Kountouriotis. Apart from his financial duties, he joined the armed struggle against the Ottoman Empire by leading an infantry group against Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt. He held the rank of ''Chiliarchos'' and was in charge of 50 men in central Greece, in order to support the defenders of Missolonghi during its Third Siege. Stavros participated in the

Third National Assembly at Troezen The Third Greek National Assembly at Troezen ( el, Γʹ Εθνοσυνέλευση της Τροιζήνας) was convened during the latter stages of the Greek Revolution. Convening of the Assembly The long-delayed Third National Assembly was i ...

(1827) as representative of the regions of

Epirus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinri ...

and

Central Greece Continental Greece ( el, Στερεά Ελλάδα, Stereá Elláda; formerly , ''Chérsos Ellás''), colloquially known as Roúmeli (Ρούμελη), is a traditional geographic region of Greece. In English, the area is usually called Central ...

, as well as in the

Fifth National Assembly at Nafplion The Fifth National Assembly ( el, Εʹ Εθνοσυνέλευση) of the Greeks convened at Argos on 5 December 1831, before relocating to Nafplion in early 1832. The Assembly, the last of a series of similar conventions of the Greek War of In ...

(1831), as representative of Epirus.

After Independence and restoration of the Greek economy

During Kapodistrias' premiership (1828–1831), he participated in the three-member Economic Committee that was responsible for the operation of the first state bank of Greece, the ''National Financial Bank'' ( el, Εθνική Χρηματιστική Τράπεζα), which issued money, the Phoenix, and securities. After the assassination of Kapodistrias, Greece came under the rule of King Otto. During this period Stavros, became a key figure in the establishment of the

and was its first governor, elected in 1842. The National Bank of Greece was the sole institution that would issue banknotes in Greece (

Drachmas The drachma ( el, δραχμή , ; pl. ''drachmae'' or ''drachmas'') was the currency used in Greece during several periods in its history: # An ancient Greek currency unit issued by many Greek city states during a period of ten centuries, fr ...

) for the next 87 years. Until his death, Stavros laid the foundations for the organization and expansion of the Bank, due to experience gained from his business in Vienna as well as the guidance offered by the Swiss banker, Jean-Gabriel Eynard. Stavros remained in this post until his death in 1869. At his own expense, Stavros established an orphanage in his home town of

. His portrait is displayed on various pre-1932 Greek banknotes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stavros, Georgios 1788 births 1869 deaths Greek bankers Greek philanthropists Greek people of the Greek War of Independence Greek people of Aromanian descent People from Ioannina Kaplaneios School alumni