Emmanouil Tsouderos ( el, Εμμανουήλ Τσουδερός, also transliterated as ''Emmanuel Tsouderos''; 19 July 1882 – 10 February 1956) was a political and financial figure of

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 wit ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, he was the internationally recognized Prime Minister of Greece from 1941 to 1944 as head of the Greek government in exile. He resigned in 1944, following a mutiny in the exiled armed forces

Early life and studies

Emmanuel Tsouderos was born in 1882 in

Rethymno Rethymno ( el, Ρέθυμνο, , also ''Rethimno'', ''Rethymnon'', ''Réthymnon'', and ''Rhíthymnos'') is a city in Greece on the island of Crete. It is the capital of Rethymno regional unit, and has a population of more than 30,000 inhabitants ...

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cypru ...

(then part of the Ottoman Empire). He studied law at Athens University, and economics in Paris and London.

Career in politics

He returned to Crete aged 24, and was elected Member of Parliament of the Cretan Legislature (1906–1912), when Crete had autonomous status under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire and was under the protection of Russia, Britain, France and Italy. After the union of Crete with Greece in December 1913, he was elected to the Hellenic Parliament, and served as Minister of Transportation under

Eleftherios Venizelos Eleftherios Kyriakou Venizelos ( el, Ελευθέριος Κυριάκου Βενιζέλος, translit=Elefthérios Kyriákou Venizélos, ; – 18 March 1936) was a Greeks, Greek statesman and a prominent leader of the Greek national liberati ...

, and Minister of Finances under Themistoklis Sophoulis. In 1928, when the Central Bank of Greece was established, Tsouderos was appointed its first vice-Governor, and in 1931 its Governor.Bank of Greece

Prime minister

Following the suicide of Prime Minister Alexandros Koryzis on 18 April 1941, amidst the German invasion of Greece, King

George II of Greece George II ( el, Γεώργιος Βʹ, ''Geórgios II''; 19 July Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/> O.S.: 7 July1890 – 1 April 1947) was List of kings of Greece">King of Greece from September 1922 to March 1924 and from Nov ...

sought for his successor. Several names, such as

Konstantinos Kotzias Konstantinos "Kostas" Kotzias ( el, Κωνσταντίνος (Κώστας) Κοτζιάς; 17 May 1892 – 8 December 1951) was a Greek fencer. He competed at the 1912 and 1924 Summer Olympics. In 1934 he was elected Mayor of Athens. I ...

, the former dictator General

Theodoros Pangalos Lieutenant General Theodoros Pangalos (; 11 January 1878 – 26 February 1952) was a Greek general, politician and dictator. A distinguished staff officer and an ardent Venizelist and anti-royalist, Pangalos played a leading role in the Septemb ...

, and the Venizelist general Alexandros Mazarakis-Ainian were discussed, but either rejected or turned down the offer. As the evacuation of the Greek government to Crete was being prepared, Tsouderos, as a Venizelist and Cretan, as well as a known Anglophile, emerged as a prominent choice for the post during the 20th. On the next day, after attending a

séance A séance or seance (; ) is an attempt to communicate with spirits. The word ''séance'' comes from the French word for "session", from the Old French ''seoir'', "to sit". In French, the word's meaning is quite general: one may, for example, spea ...

in which the spirit of Venizelos urged him to accept, Tsouderos accepted and was sworn in as Prime Minister. On the 20th, the Greek army in Epirus unilaterally surrendered to the Germans, and on the morning of the 23rd, the Greek government left Athens. Tsouderos fled again during the

Battle of Crete The Battle of Crete (german: Luftlandeschlacht um Kreta, el, Μάχη της Κρήτης), codenamed Operation Mercury (german: Unternehmen Merkur), was a major Axis airborne and amphibious operation during World War II to capture the islan ...

. He went to the Middle East and later

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...

. Tsouderos headed the Greek government in exile from 29 April 1941 until 13 April 1944. Although he was the internationally recognized as the Prime Minister of Greece (in opposition to the numerous prime ministers who were the figureheads of the collaborationist Hellenic State), in practice he had little influence inside Greece's borders. This government was initially located in London, but subsequently moved to

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo met ...

. In Spring of 1944, the

Greek Army The Hellenic Army ( el, Ελληνικός Στρατός, Ellinikós Stratós, sometimes abbreviated as ΕΣ), formed in 1828, is the land force of Greece. The term ''Hellenic'' is the endogenous synonym for ''Greek''. The Hellenic Army is th ...

and

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It include ...

mutinied. Among their demands was resignation of the

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the ...

and Tsouderos. He served in the subsequent government in exile under Sofoklis Venizelos.

Post-War Greece

Following the Greek Civil War, Tsouderos would go on to lead the Democratic Progressive Party (''Dimokratikon Proodefitikon Komma)''. During the 1950 Election, Tsouderos formed a coalition government with Nikolaos Plasitiras' Progressive Liberal Center Party (''Komma Proodefitkon Fileleftheron Kentrou)'', to form the

National Progressive Center Union The National Progressive Centre Union ( el, Εθνική Προοδευτική Ένωση Κέντρου (ΕΠΕΚ) , translit=Ethniki Proodeftiki Enosis Kentrou , EPEK) was a Greek Venizelist political party. It was founded in 1950 by Nikolao ...

(''Ethniki Proodetiki Enosis Kentrou)'' After the end of World War II Tsouderos served in different capacities, until his death at the age of 73 in Nervi,

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of t ...

, Italy on 10 February 1956.

Personal life

He was married and had three children: * Ioannes (John) Tsouderos (1923–1997) – Greek Politician in the 1960s and 1970s * Athena Tsouderos * Virginia Tsouderos (1924–2018) – Served as Secretary of the Foreign Minister of Greece (Aug. 1991 – Oct. 1993)

Awards

* Order of George I, ''1941''

References

Sources

* *See Marguarita Dritsas, Hellenic Open University, for her definitive biography of Tsourderos, based on his personal papers in the Bank of Greece Archives. ritsas, Margarita. (2012). Emmanuel Tsouderos, 1882–1956, Central Banker and Politician. Bank of Greece Publications

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tsouderos, Emmanouil 1882 births 1956 deaths 20th-century prime ministers of Greece People from Rethymno People from Ottoman Crete Liberal Party (Greece) politicians National Progressive Centre Union politicians Greek Rally politicians Prime Ministers of Greece Foreign ministers of Greece Finance ministers of Greece Transport ministers Greek MPs 1950–1951 Greek MPs 1952–1956 Members of the Hellenic Parliament Governors of the Bank of Greece Politicians from Crete Greek people of World War II