Benizelos Roufos (; 1795–1868) was a Greek politician and

Prime Minister of Greece The prime minister of the Hellenic Republic (), usually referred to as the prime minister of Greece (), is the head of government of the Greece, Hellenic Republic and the leader of the Cabinet of Greece, Greek Cabinet. The officeholder's of ...

Biography

Early life

Roufos was born in

Patras Patras (; ; Katharevousa and ; ) is Greece's List of cities in Greece, third-largest city and the regional capital and largest city of Western Greece, in the northern Peloponnese, west of Athens. The city is built at the foot of Mount Panachaiko ...

in 1795, a scion of the wealthy Roufos-Kanakaris family. He was the son of

Athanasios Kanakaris Athanasios Kanakaris (; 1760 in Patras – 14 January 1823 in Ermioni) was a Greek politician. He fought in the Greek War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire. He was born in Patras in 1760. His father was Benizelos Roufos (elder), who ...

who fought 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 ...

Career

During the government of

Ioannis Kapodistrias Count Ioannis Antonios Kapodistrias (; February 1776 –27 September 1831), sometimes anglicized as John Capodistrias, was a Greek statesman who was one of the most distinguished politicians and diplomats of 19th-century Europe. Kapodistrias's ...

(1828–1830), Roufos became governor of

Elis Elis also known as Ellis or Ilia (, ''Eleia'') is a historic region in the western part of the Peloponnese peninsula of Greece. It is administered as a regional unit of the modern region of Western Greece. Its capital is Pyrgos. Until 2011 it ...

. Later he would also serve as Foreign Minister. In 1855, Roufos was elected Mayor of

, a post he held for three years. When King Otto was exiled in 1862 as a result of a revolution, Roufos became one of three viceroys - along with

Konstantinos Kanaris Konstantinos Kanaris (, ; c. 1790Dimitrios Voulgaris Dimitrios Voulgaris (; 20 December 1802 – 10 January 1877) was a Greek revolutionary fighter during the Greek War of Independence of 1821 who became a politician after independence. He was nicknamed "Tsoumpes" (" Τσουμπές") after t ...

- that held power from 10 October 1862 until 19 October 1863. Roufos served twice as Prime Minister of Greece, with his first term interrupted for a few days in June 1863.

Death

Roufos died in Patras on 18 March 1868.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roufos, Benizelos 1795 births 1868 deaths 19th-century prime ministers of Greece People from the Ottoman Empire MPs of Patras Members of the Greek Senate Ministers of the interior of Greece People from Patras Benizelos French Party politicians Politicians from Patras Mayors of Patras