Emmanuel Benakis
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Emmanouil Benakis (; 1843 in
Ermoupoli Ermoupoli (), also known by the formal older name Ermoupolis or Hermoupolis ( < "Town of Hermes"), is a town and former Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality on the island of Syros, in the Cyclades, Greece. Since the 2011 loca ...
,
Syros Syros ( ), also known as Siros or Syra, is a Greece, Greek island in the Cyclades, in the Aegean Sea. It is south-east of Athens. The area of the island is and at the 2021 census it had 21,124 inhabitants. The largest towns are Ermoupoli, Ano S ...
– June 20, 1929 in
Kifisia Kifisia or Kifissia (also Kephisia or Cephissia; , ) is a municipality and one of the most affluent northern suburbs in the Athens#Athens Urban Area, Athens agglomeration, Attica, Greece, mainly accessed via Kifissias Avenue, running all the way f ...
) was a Greek merchant and politician, considered a national benefactor of Greece.


Biography

After studying in
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, Benakis emigrated to Alexandria, Egypt, where he worked for the Greek cotton industrialist Horemi, and into whose family he married. He had six children, among whom were the writer Penelope Delta and the art collector
Antonis Benakis Antonis Benakis (Greek: Αντώνης Μπενάκης) (1873–1954) was a Greek art collector and the founder of the Benaki Museum in Athens, Greece, the son of politician and magnate Emmanuel Benakis and the brother of author Penelope Del ...
.. The Benakis museum hosts exhibits linked to his father Benakis became the president of the Greek community in
Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...
and ran the largest enterprise of Greek cotton brokers in Egypt. He accumulated a considerable fortune. As a close friend of
Eleftherios Venizelos Eleftherios Kyriakou Venizelos (, ; – 18 March 1936) was a Cretan State, Cretan Greeks, Greek statesman and prominent leader of the Greek national liberation movement. As the leader of the Liberal Party (Greece), Liberal Party, Venizelos ser ...
, he was elected to the Hellenic Parliament and served as Minister of Agriculture and Industry. He was elected
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 ...
of the city of
Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
in 1914. Among other benefactions he contributed to the settlement of refugees in the aftermath of the Greco-Turkish war in Asia Minor. He donated to the
Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...
Nurses' School and the
Athens College Athens College (; formally Hellenic-American Educational Foundation (HAEF), Ελληνο-Αμερικανικό Εκπαιδευτικό Ίδρυμα) is a co-educational private preparatory school in Psychiko, Greece, a suburb of Athens, par ...
. He provided for his fortune to be posthumously placed at the disposal of several charitable foundations, and his funeral was carried out at Greek public expense. The Benaki Phytopathological Institute was one such institution founded through his legacy.


References

1843 births 1929 deaths 19th-century Greek businesspeople People from Ermoupoli Liberal Party (Greece) politicians Greek philanthropists Mayors of Athens 20th-century Greek businesspeople Greek expatriates in the United Kingdom Greek emigrants to Egypt Greek Freemasons {{Greece-mayor-stub