Sofoklis Venizelos (; 3 November 1894 – 7 February 1964) was a Greek politician who served three times as

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 ...

: in 1944 (in exile), 1950 and 1950–1951.

Life and career

Venizelos was born on 3 November 1894 in Chania,

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 ...

(then a part of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

; it became an autonomous state under Ottoman suzerainty and the protection of Russia, Britain, France, and Italy in 1898). He was the second-born son of the politician Eleftherios Venizelos. Venizelos Therissos

During World War I, he served with distinction in the

Hellenic Army The Hellenic Army (, sometimes abbreviated as ΕΣ), formed in 1828, is the army, land force of Greece. The term Names of the Greeks, '' Hellenic'' is the endogenous synonym for ''Greek''. The Hellenic Army is the largest of the three branches ...

and the initial phases of the Asia Minor campaign, reaching the rank of Captain of

Infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

. He resigned from the Army and was elected as an MP with his father's

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

in the 1920 elections. In 1941, after the

Axis occupation of Greece The occupation of Greece by the Axis Powers () began in April 1941 after Nazi Germany Battle of Greece, invaded the Kingdom of Greece in order to assist its ally, Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Italy, in their Greco-Italian War, ongoing war that w ...

, he became ambassador to the United States, representing the Greek government in exile based in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

. He became a minister of that government in 1943 under Prime Minister Emmanuel Tsuderos and briefly became its prime minister in 1944 (April 13–26). After the end of the war, he returned to Greece, where he became Vice President of the Liberal Party (led by Themistoklis Sofoulis) and a minister in the first post-war government led by Georgios Papandreou. In 1948, he assumed the party's leadership and became a minister in several short-lived liberal governments led by Papandreou and Nikolaos Plastiras; he was also the Prime Minister of three such governments. In 1954, his longtime friendship with Georgios Papandreou was shaken, and he formed the rival coalition. The rift was bridged in 1958, and in 1961, he became a founding member of Papandreou's Center Union party, which he served until he died in 1964. On 6th February 1964, in the evening, he gave a pre-election speech in Chania. There, he had felt unwell, which he overcame. Later, he boarded the passenger ship '' Hellas'' in the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...

, en route from Chania to Piraeus or Syros. In the cabin, he felt discomfort and had shortness of breath. His attending physician diagnosed acute pulmonary edema. Venizelos died at 01:05 on 7 February. The ship returned to Souda. His funeral took place on Sunday February 9, in Chania, in the presence of Crown Prince Constantine (who represented the ailing King Paul), Prime Minister Ioannis Paraskevopoulos, Georgios Papandreou, Panagiotis Kanellopoulos, Spyros Markezinis, and Nicolas Kitsikis. Venizelos was buried next to his father, Eleftherios Venizelos. His wife Kathleen died in 1983, aged 86. In his honor, the shipping company ANEK Lines named one of its ferries after him.

Bridge

Venizelos was a

contract bridge Contract bridge, or simply bridge, is a trick-taking game, trick-taking card game using a standard 52-card deck. In its basic format, it is played by four players in two Team game, competing partnerships, with partners sitting opposite each othe ...

player "of international stature" during the 1930s as a voluntary exile in France. He played for France in the European IBL Championships (later incorporated into the history of present-day European Bridge League championships). France won the 1935 tournament and a version of the team traveled to New York City late that year for a match against the Four Aces, which was "an unofficial world championship match" that the Aces won. Venizelos was second in skill to Pierre Albarran among contemporary French players, according to Alan Truscott. Besides the national teams at contract bridge, they both played on a 1933 team that hosted an American foursome led by Ely Culbertson in a long match at "plafond, the French parent of contract bridge, which differed only in the scoring details." The two teams played 102 deals to a draw; Albarran and Venizelos cooperated on a book reporting and analysing the match: * ''Les 102 donnes d'un grand match'', by Pierre Albarran, Adrien Aron, and Venizelos, preface by Ely Culbertson ( Éditions Grasset, 1933), 188 pp., Albarran, Aron, and Venizelos were three of six players on the 1935 European champion team."Team Members"
(France open team). 4th European Team Championships: Brussels, Belgium, 1935. EBL. Retrieved 2014-11-14.

Venizelos/Mitsotakis family tree

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Venizelos, Sofoklis 1894 births 1964 deaths Politicians from Chania People from Ottoman Crete Sofoklis Liberal Party (Greece) politicians National Political Union (1946) politicians Liberal Democratic Union (Greece) politicians Centre Union politicians Foreign ministers of Greece Ministers of national defence of Greece Greek MPs 1920–1922 Greek MPs 1946–1950 Greek MPs 1950–1951 Greek MPs 1951–1952 Greek MPs 1952–1956 Greek MPs 1956–1958 Ambassadors of Greece to the United States 20th-century prime ministers of Greece Greek anti-communists French contract bridge players 1950s in Greek politics Children of prime ministers of Greece Sofoklis Military personnel from Chania Greek people of World War II Greek military personnel of the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) Greek military personnel of World War I People of the Korean War People who died at sea Greek military attachés