Demetrios (Mitros) Deligiorgis (, 1785/88–1860) 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 ...

revolutionary and politician 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

Before the outbreak of the Greek War of Independence, Deligiorgis worked as a secretary to the powerful

Ali Pasha of Ioannina Ali Pasha (1740 – 24 January 1822), commonly known as Ali Pasha of Yanina or Ali Pasha of Tepelena, was an Albanian ruler who served as Ottoman pasha of the Pashalik of Yanina, a large part of western Rumelia. Under his rule, it acquired a ...

; in documents of the period his also referred to under the name Deligeorgopoulos or Deligiorgopoulos. When the War of Independence broke out in 1821, he was in

Preveza Preveza (, ) is a city in the region of Epirus (region), Epirus, northwestern Greece, located on the northern peninsula of the mouth of the Ambracian Gulf. It is the capital of the Preveza (regional unit), regional unit of Preveza, which is the s ...

, and was soon invited by the

provisional administration {{Polish Underground State sidebar Provisional Administration (Polish language, Polish ''Administracja Zastępcza'') was one of the branches of the Department of Internal Affairs of the Government Delegate’s Office at Home in Poland during Worl ...

to become a member of the new government in

Missolonghi Missolonghi or Mesolongi (, ) is a municipality of 32,048 people (according to the 2021 census) in western Greece. The town is the capital of Aetolia-Acarnania regional unit, and the seat of the municipality of Iera Polis Mesolongiou (). Missolon ...

. Deligiorgis formed his own military body, spending large part of his personal fortune, and served as a battery commander during the First Siege of Missolonghi. He then became garrison commandant of the city. During the final sally of the garrison in the

Third Siege of Missolonghi The third siege of Missolonghi (, often erroneously referred to as the second siege) was fought in the Greek War of Independence, between the Ottoman Empire and the Greek rebels, from 15 April 1825 to 10 April 1826. The Ottomans had already trie ...

, he managed to escape and fled to

Nafplion Nafplio or Nauplio () is a coastal city located in the Peloponnese in Greece. It is the capital of the regional unit of Argolis and an important tourist destination. Founded in antiquity, the city became an important seaport in the Middle Ages du ...

. He then served as garrison commandant of Bourtzi fortress in Nafplion. Following the establishment of the

Kingdom of Greece The Kingdom of Greece (, Romanization, romanized: ''Vasíleion tis Elládos'', pronounced ) was the Greece, Greek Nation state, nation-state established in 1832 and was the successor state to the First Hellenic Republic. It was internationally ...

, Deligiorgis established close links with the new court of King

Otto Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants '' Audo'', '' Odo'', '' Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded fr ...

, who esteemed him highly. In the 1847 elections he was elected to parliament for Missolonghi. He was also a strong candidate for a cabinet position, but for the strongly anti-Ottonian stance of his son,

Epameinondas Deligiorgis Epameinondas Deligiorgis (, ; 10 January 1829 – 14 May 1879) was a Greek freemason, lawyer and politician - the youngest Prime Minister of Greece, taking office at the age of 36. His parliamentary activity numbered 13 years and he served as Prim ...

. Otto also appointed him a colonel in the Phalanx (a body made up of veteran leaders of the War of Independence), and in 1854 he was appointed commander of the

Greek Gendarmerie The Hellenic Gendarmerie (, ''Elliniki Chorofylaki'') was the national gendarmerie and military police (until 1951) force of Greece. History 19th century The Greek Gendarmerie was established after the enthronement of Otto of Greece, King Ot ...

Family

Deligeorgis was married to Chrysaido Benedetou (1785–1860), a daughter of a wealthy family. Her dowry, as well as estates given by the state for his service during the War of Independence, formed the basis of a considerable landed fortune. The couple had five children: * Pinelopi, who married the doctor Athanasios Drosinis of Missolonghi (died 1885), but had no children * Maria * Epameinondas (1829–1879), who became a politician and served six times as Prime Minister of Greece * Themistoklis (born 1836), who took over his father's estates *

Leonidas Leonidas I (; , ''Leōnídas''; born ; died 11 August 480 BC) was king of the Ancient Greek city-state of Sparta. He was the son of king Anaxandridas II and the 17th king of the Agiad dynasty, a Spartan royal house which claimed descent fro ...

(1839–1928), who became a politician and served as Foreign Minister

References

*''This article is translated and is based from the

article Article often refers to: * Article (grammar), a grammatical element used to indicate definiteness or indefiniteness * Article (publishing), a piece of nonfictional prose that is an independent part of a publication Article(s) may also refer to: ...

at the Greek Wikipedia ( el:Main Page)'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Deligeorgis, Dimitrios 1780s births 1860 deaths Greek MPs 1847–1850 Greek people of the Greek War of Independence People from Missolonghi Ali Pasha of Ioannina