Athanasios N. Miaoulis (, 1868–1932) was a

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 ...

naval officer and politician, serving several times as Navy Minister and briefly as the

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Piraeus Piraeus ( ; ; , Ancient: , Katharevousa: ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens city centre along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf in the Ath ...

. He was the great-grandson of admiral

Andreas Miaoulis Andreas Vokos, better known by his nickname Miaoulis (; 1765 – 24 June 1835), was a Greek revolutionary, admiral, and politician who commanded Greek naval forces during the Greek War of Independence (1821–1829). Biography Miaoulis was ...

, the chief Greek naval leader 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. In 1826, the Greeks were assisted ...

Biography

Miaoulis was born in

in 1868, to the Hydriot family of Miaoulis. Together with his cousin Andreas D. Miaoulis, he enrolled in the

Hellenic Naval Academy The Hellenic Naval Cadets Academy (, abbr. ΣΝΔ, lit. "School of Naval Cadets") is a military university that is responsible for educating and training competent naval officers for the Hellenic Navy. Founded in 1845, the academy is one of the o ...

in 1884, the year of its re-establishment. He graduated in 1888 as an ensign, and took part in the

Greco-Turkish War of 1897 The Greco-Turkish War of 1897 or the Ottoman-Greek War of 1897 ( or ), also called the Thirty Days' War and known in Greece as the Black '97 (, ''Mauro '97'') or the Unfortunate War (), was a war fought between the Kingdom of Greece and the O ...

as captain of a

torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of ...

, with the rank of sub-lieutenant. He retired as a

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

in 1911 in order to run for public office in Hydra. With the outbreak of the

Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans, Balkan states in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan states of Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg), Greece, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Montenegro, M ...

, he was recalled to service, and was assigned as captain of the destroyer , from its delivery in Britain to the signing of the peace treaties, whereupon he returned to reserve status. In 1909, he served as Minister of Naval Affairs, a post he held again in 1914, 1915 and 1919. As a diehard

Venizelist Venizelism () was one of the major political movements in Greece beginning from the 1910s. The movement first formed under Eleftherios Venizelos in the 1910s and saw a resurgence of support in the 1960s when Georgios Papandreou united a coaliti ...

, he was persuaded in 1932 to run for the mayoralty of Piraeus, despite his own reluctance. He accepted on the condition that he could resign following a possible victory of the

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. For example, while the political systems ...

in the forthcoming

legislative elections A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...

. Indeed, the Venizelists won the elections, opening the prospect of his retirement from the mayor's office and politics in general. This filled Miaoulis with such joy, that he suffered a heart attack, to which he succumbed. Four years later, on 16 June 1936, his wife, Maria Lykoudis, also died as a result of an illness caused by her grief.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miaoulis, Athanasios N. 1868 births 1936 deaths Military personnel from Piraeus Greek people of the Balkan Wars Ministers of naval affairs of Greece Hellenic Navy officers

Athanasios Athanasios (), also transliterated as Athnasious, Athanase or Atanacio, is a Greek male name which means "immortal". In modern Greek everyday use, it is commonly shortened to Thanasis (Θανάσης), Thanos (Θάνος), Sakis (Σάκης), and ...

Mayors of Piraeus Politicians from Piraeus