Ioannis Grivas (; 23 February 1923 – 27 November 2016) was a Greek judge, who served as President of the

Court of Cassation A court of cassation is a high-instance court that exists in some judicial systems. Courts of cassation do not re-examine the facts of a case; they only interpret the relevant law. In this, they are appellate courts of the highest instance. In ...

and served as the

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 ...

at the head of a non-party

caretaker government A caretaker government, also known as a caretaker regime, is a temporary ''ad hoc'' government that performs some governmental duties and functions in a country until a regular government is elected or formed. Depending on specific practice, it co ...

in 1989.

Life

Grivas was born in

Kato Tithorea Kato Tithorea (, ) is a town in Phthiotis, in central Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Amfikleia-Elateia, of which it is the seat. It has a population 1,841 according to the 2011 Greek census. It is situ ...

Amfikleia-Elateia Amfikleia–Elateia () is a municipality in the Phthiotis regional unit, Central Greece, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the town of Kato Tithorea. The municipality has an area of 533.32 km2. Municipality The municipality of Amfikleia– ...

Phthiotis Phthiotis (, ''Fthiótida'' ; ancient Greek and Katharevousa: Φθιῶτις) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Central Greece (administrative region), Central Greece. The capital is the city of La ...

. He studied law at the

University of Athens The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; , ''Ethnikó kai Kapodistriakó Panepistímio Athinón''), usually referred to simply as the University of Athens (UoA), is a public university in Athens, Greece, with various campuses alo ...

and in 1954 he became a judge. He took part as a judge in the Greek Junta Trials in 1975, and in 1979, he was appointed to the

Supreme Court of Greece The Supreme Civil and Criminal Court of Greece (, ''Areios Pagos'', "Areopagus") is the supreme court of Greece for civil and criminal law. In Greece, the decisions of the Supreme Court are final. However, since Greece is a member state of the C ...

for Civil and Criminal Cases. He became vice-president of the court in 1986 and president in 1989–90. In 1989,

Andreas Papandreou Andreas Georgiou Papandreou (, ; 5 February 1919 – 23 June 1996) was a Greek academic and economist who founded the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) and served three terms as Prime minister of Greece, prime minister of Third Hellenic Repu ...

's government was rocked by the deterioration of the Greek economy and a series of corruption scandals, including

Koskotas scandal Koskotas scandal () was a Greek corruption and financial scandal in 1988–1989 centered on George Koskotas, owner of the Bank of Crete and mass media magnate, implicating the highest-ranking members of the Greek government, including Prime Mini ...

. Papandreou changed the electoral law to prevent the opposition party from gaining a majority, leading to the Greek Parliament being deadlocked following the 18 June 1989 elections. A coalition between conservatives and communists, with a limited mandate, formed a government under

Tzannis Tzannetakis Tzannis Tzannetakis (; 13 September 1927 – 1 April 2010) was a Greek politician who was briefly Prime Minister of Greece during the political crisis of 1989. He also served as a submarine commander in the Hellenic Navy. Biography Tzannetakis ...

to investigate the corruption in Papandreou's government. After the indictment of Papandreou and several of his ministers, the coalition was resolved. The Constitution required the president of one of Greece's Supreme Courts to be appointed interim Prime Minister. Grivas agreed to head a

to preside over fresh elections. He took office on 12 October 1989 to lead the country to new elections, held on 5 November. After the elections produced another deadlocked Parliament, he resigned on 23 November 1989 in favor of

Xenophon Zolotas Xenophon Euthymiou Zolotas (; 26 April 1904 – 10 June 2004) was a Greek economist and served as an interim non-party Prime Minister of Greece. Life and career Born in Athens on 26 April 1904. He graduated from Rizarios Ecclesiastical School ...

, who formed a National Unity government in which all three parliamentary parties participated. In domestic policy, maternity leave was extended to 15 weeks. Grivas retired in 1990. He died on 27 November 2016, aged 93.

References

1923 births 2016 deaths People from Amfikleia-Elateia Presidents of the Supreme Civil and Criminal Court of Greece 20th-century prime ministers of Greece 20th-century Greek judges National and Kapodistrian University of Athens alumni {{Greece-politician-stub