This article gives an overview of liberalism in

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 ...

. Liberal parties in Greece are largely committed to

liberalism Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostility to autocracy, cultural distaste for c ...

republicanism Republicanism is a political ideology centered on citizenship in a state organized as a republic. Historically, it emphasises the idea of self-rule and ranges from the rule of a representative minority or oligarchy to popular sovereignty. It ...

and

democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which people, the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation ("direct democracy"), or to choo ...

. It is limited to

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

parties A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature ...

History

Each of the following sections describes an element of Greek liberalism, beginning with the 19th century.

From Modernist Party to the Center Union

*1875: The Modernist Party (''Neoteristikon Komma'') is formed *1910: A resurrected

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

(''Komma Fileleftheron'') is formed under Eleftherios Venizelos *1935: Faction around

Georgios Papandreou Georgios Papandreou ( ''Geórgios Papandréou''; 13 February 1888 – 1 November 1968) was a Greek politician, the founder of the Papandreou political dynasty. He served three terms as prime minister of Greece (1944–1945, 1963, 1964–196 ...

forms the Democratic Socialist Party of Greece *1936: All political parties are banned in Greece under

Ioannis Metaxas Ioannis Metaxas (; el, Ιωάννης Μεταξάς; 12th April 187129th January 1941) was a Greek military officer and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Greece from 1936 until his death in 1941. He governed constitutionally for t ...

' dictatorship, but a liberal movement remained present *1941: The Greek government in exile contains mostly liberal politicians *1946: Start of the

Greek Civil War The Greek Civil War ( el, ο Eμφύλιος �όλεμος}, ''o Emfýlios'' 'Pólemos'' "the Civil War") took place from 1946 to 1949. It was mainly fought against the established Kingdom of Greece, which was supported by the United Kingdom and ...

, lasting until 1949 *1946: Liberal fraction led by

Themistoklis Sophoulis Themistoklis Sofoulis or Sophoulis (; 24 November 1860 – 24 June 1949) was a prominent centrist and liberal Greek politician from Samos Island, who served three times as Prime Minister of Greece, with the Liberal Party, which he led for many y ...

continues under the Liberal Party name *1956: Liberal Party takes part in the elections of 1956 in the Liberal Democratic Union (''Filelefthero Dimokratiko Kentro'') coalition *1961: Liberal Party merges into the

Centre Union The Centre Union ( el, Ἕνωσις Κέντρου ''Énōsis Kéntrou'', abbreviated ΕΚ) was a major centrist political party in Greece, created in 1961 by Georgios Papandreou.Clogg, 1987, pp. 39–40 History The Centre Union was a politica ...

From Democratic Socialist Party to the Center Union

*1935: A faction of the Liberal Party around

forms the Democratic Socialist Party of Greece *1936: All political parties are banned in Greece under

' dictatorship, but a liberal movement remained present *1941: The Greek government in exile contains mostly liberal politicians *1946: Start of the

, lasting until 1949 *1946: Liberal faction led by

is part of the National Political Union alliance *1949: National Progressive Union of the Centre (''Ethniki Proodeutiki Enosis Kentrou'', EPEK) is founded by Nikolaos Plastiras after the Greek Civil War and disappears in 1956. The remains of the party merged into

Center Union The Centre Union ( el, Ἕνωσις Κέντρου ''Énōsis Kéntrou'', abbreviated ΕΚ) was a major centrist political party in Greece, created in 1961 by Georgios Papandreou.Clogg, 1987, pp. 39–40 History The Centre Union was a politic ...

. *1956: Liberal faction led by

is part of the Liberal Democratic Union coalition

From Center Union to Union of the Democratic Center

*1961: Georgios Papandreou forms the Centre Union (''Enosi Kentrou'') *1965: Right-wing faction of the Center Union forms the short-lived Liberal Democratic Center *1967: Start of the

Military Junta A military junta () is a government led by a committee of military leaders. The term ''junta'' means "meeting" or "committee" and originated in the national and local junta organized by the Spanish resistance to Napoleon's invasion of Spain in ...

continuing until 1974 *1968:

Andreas Papandreou Andreas Georgiou Papandreou ( el, Ανδρέας Γεωργίου Παπανδρέου, ; 5 February 1919 – 23 June 1996) was a Greek economist, politician and a dominant figure in Greek politics, known for founding the political party PASOK, ...

, son of Georgios Papandreou, forms the

Panhellenic Liberation Movement The Panhellenic Liberation Movement ( el, Πανελλήνιο Απελευθερωτικό Κίνημα), also known by its acronym PAK (ΠΑΚ), was one of the many anti-dictatorial movement organisations that campaigned against the 1967–197 ...

which eventually becomes

PASOK The Panhellenic Socialist Movement ( el, Πανελλήνιο Σοσιαλιστικό Κίνημα, Panellínio Sosialistikó Kínima, ), known mostly by its acronym PASOK, (; , ) is a social-democratic political party in Greece. Until 2012, it ...

. *1974: Centre Union - New Forces (''Enosi Kentrou-Nees Dynameis'') is formed by George Mavros *1974: Ioannis Zigdis forms the Democratic Center Union which merges into the Union of the Democratic Centre in 1976 *1976: Union of the Democratic Centre is formed as successor of the Centre Union - New Forces *1981: Nikitas Venizelos splits from Union of the Democratic Centre and revives the

of his grandfather, which has participated in elections since. *2012: The Liberal Party vanished.

Party of New Liberals

*1977:

Constantine Mitsotakis Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I *Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine given name ...

forms the Party of New Liberals which merges into

New Democracy New Democracy, or the New Democratic Revolution, is a concept based on Mao Zedong's Bloc of Four Social Classes theory in post-revolutionary China which argued originally that democracy in China would take a path that was decisively distinc ...

in 1978

Union of Centrists

*1990:

Centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics * Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentri ...

(''Κέντρο'') is founded by George G. Papandreou, son of Georgios Papandreou. *1992:

Union of Centrists The Union of Centrists ( el, Ένωση Κεντρώων, Énosi Kentróon, ) is a centrist, liberal political party in Greece. The leader and founder of the party is the veteran anti-corruption activist Vassilis Leventis. It strongly supports G ...

(''Enosi Kentroon'') is founded by Vassilis Leventis and by Centre.

The Liberals

*1999: A short-lived libertarian party is founded by Stefanos Manos, The Liberals espousing a

laissez-faire ''Laissez-faire'' ( ; from french: laissez faire , ) is an economic system in which transactions between private groups of people are free from any form of economic interventionism (such as subsidies) deriving from special interest groups ...

political platform, such as social liberal policies. The party was dissolved in October 2001. The party's founder cooperated with

in 2004, after George Papandreou's invitation to be honorarily elected as member of the Greek parliament under PASOK's flag, and founded yet another party, "Drassi", in 2009, this time refusing to use the term "liberal" and claiming it was based upon "common sense".

Liberal Alliance

*February 2007: Establishment of the Liberal Alliance, advocating economic and social liberal policies.

Liberal leaders

*Liberal Party: Eleftherios Venizelos -

Sophoklis Venizelos Sofoklis Venizelos (, also transliterated as Sophocles Venizelos) (3 November 1894 – 7 February 1964) was a Greek politician, who three times served as Prime Minister of Greece – in 1944 (in exile), 1950 and 1950–1951. Life and career Ve ...

*National Progressive Union of the Centre: Nikolaos Plastiras *Centre Union:

- George Mavros *Union of the Democratic Center: George Mavros - Ioannis Zigdis *Party of New Liberals: