Nikolaos Triantafyllakos (; 8 November 1855 - 16 September 1939) was a

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 ...

during a tumultuous time in

Greek history The history of Greece encompasses the history of the territory of the modern nation-state of Greece as well as that of the Greek people and the areas they inhabited and ruled historically. The scope of Greek habitation and rule has varied throu ...

from August to September 1922.

Term as Prime Minister

He represented the prefecture of Arcadia in the

Hellenic Parliament The Parliament of the Hellenes (), commonly known as the Hellenic Parliament (), is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Greece, located in the Old Royal Palace, overlooking Syntagma Square in Athens. The parliament is the supreme demo ...

. As the

Greek Army The Hellenic Army (, 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 the largest of the three branches of the Hellenic Armed F ...

was losing battles and ceding territory to the

Turkish National Movement The Turkish National Movement (), also known as the Anatolian Movement (), the Nationalist Movement (), and the Kemalists (, ''Kemalciler'' or ''Kemalistler''), included political and military activities of the Turkish revolutionaries that resu ...

in 1922, during the

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

, the political situation in

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 ...

began to deteriorate. The cabinet of

Petros Protopapadakis Petros Protopapadakis (; 31 December 1854 – 28 November 1922) was a politician and Prime Minister of Greece from May to September 1922. Life and work Born in 1860 in Apeiranthos, Naxos, Protopapadakis studied mathematics and engineering in P ...

resigned on 28 August, and

Nikolaos Kalogeropoulos Nikolaos Kalogeropoulos (; 23 July 1851 – 7 January 1927) was a Greek politician and briefly Prime Minister of Greece. Biography Kalogeropoulos was born in Chalkida, Euboea, and studied law in Athens and Paris. He was elected a member of the ...

was entrusted by

King Constantine King Constantine may refer to: * Constantine (Briton) (520–523), a king of Dumnonia in sub-Roman Britain * Constantine I of Georgia (d. 1412), King of Georgia from 1405 or 1407 until his death * Constantine II of Georgia (ca. 1447–1505), of the ...

with the formation of a new ministry. After two days spent in negotiations he failed in his task, and Nikolaos Triantafyllakos, the ex-high commissioner of Greece at

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

, was summoned, and succeeded with difficulty in forming a makeshift government. In the meantime, excitement and dissatisfaction were steadily growing among the population, and strict measures were necessary for the maintenance of order. On 11 September,

martial law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...

was proclaimed, following the revolt of 8,000 troops and their officers in

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

, who sent word to Athens demanding the abdication of King Constantine and the imprisonment of two former prime ministers,

Dimitrios Gounaris Dimitrios Gounaris (; 5 January 1867 – 28 November 1922) was a Greek politician who served as the prime minister of Greece from 25 February to 10 August 1915 and 26 March 1921 to 3 May 1922. The leader of the People's Party, he was the ma ...

and

Nikolaos Stratos Nikolaos Stratos (; 16 May 1872 – 28 November 1922 (15 November Old Style dating)) was a Prime Minister of Greece for a few days in May 1922. He was later tried and executed for his role in the Catastrophe of 1922. Early political career Born ...

. This revolt was followed by a widespread rebellion of troops evacuated from Asia Minor to the islands of

Mytilene Mytilene (; ) is the capital city, capital of the Greece, Greek island of Lesbos, and its port. It is also the capital and administrative center of the North Aegean Region, and hosts the headquarters of the University of the Aegean. It was fo ...

Chios Chios (; , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greece, Greek list of islands of Greece, island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, tenth largest island in the Medi ...

, and

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

. The army contingents in Mytilene formed a Revolutionary Committee headed by Colonel

Stylianos Gonatas Stylianos Gonatas (; 15 August 1876 – 29 March 1966) was an officer of the Hellenic Army, Venizelist politician, and Prime Minister of Greece from 1922 to 1924. Early life and military career Gonatas was born in Patras. He entered the Hellenic ...

, which despatched by aeroplane the following demands to Athens: the dismissal of the government, the dissolution of the parliament, the holding of new elections, and the abdication of King Constantine in favour of the Crown Prince, Crown Prince George. The revolutionary movement swiftly spread to other centres of Greece and to the Greek gunboats stationed at Mytilene and in and about the port of

Piraeus Piraeus ( ; ; , Ancient: , Katharevousa: ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens city centre along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf in the Ath ...

. The Cabinet and Prime Minister Triantafyllakos immediately resigned on 16 September. That same day, King Constantine abdicated for the second time in the course of his career, and the king's eldest son succeeded to the throne of Greece as King George II.

Death

Triantafyllakos died in 1939.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Triantafyllakos, Nikolaos 1855 births 1939 deaths 20th-century prime ministers of Greece People from Tripoli, Greece Members of the Greek Senate Justice ministers of Greece Ministers of the interior of Greece