Spyridon Mercouris ( el, Σπυρίδων Μερκούρης) (1856-1939) was a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

politician and long-serving mayor of Athens in the early 20th century. He was born in Ermioni, Argolida, in 1856 to a prominent and wealthy family that had taken part in the

Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. The Greeks were later assisted ...

in the 1820s.He was the son of Georgios Mercouris, captain and son of Spyridon Mercouris, and Theodora / Theodota, daughter of the chieftain of the Greek revolution and later MP of Ermionida and authorized representative in national assemblies Stamatis Mitsas, and sister of the military and also MP of Ermionida Antonios Mitsas. Through the Mitsa family, he was a close by marriage relative with the historical Zakynthian family of the Motsenigos. The Mercouri were an

Arvanite Arvanites (; Arvanitika: , or , ; Greek: , ) are a bilingual population group in Greece of Albanian origin. They traditionally speak Arvanitika, an Albanian language variety, along with Greek. Their ancestors were first recorded as sett ...

family, originating in Argolida. Elected as mayor of

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh List ...

in 1899, he held the post continuously until 1914. As a committed conservative royalist, in summer 1917, during the National Schism, he was exiled to Corsica by the

Venizelists Venizelism ( el, Βενιζελισμός) was one of the major political movements in Greece from the 1900s until the mid-1970s. Main ideas Named after Eleftherios Venizelos, the key characteristics of Venizelism were: *Greek irredentism: T ...

. He was also accused of complicity in the riots of the '' Noemvriana'' of 1916, he had a trial and was sentenced to death in 1919. He was released from prison in 1920 after the win of the antivenizelists. He was elected as a Member of Parliament representing

Atticoboeotia Attica and Boeotia Prefecture ( el, Νομὸς Ἀττικοβοιωτίας) was a prefecture of Greece. History Attica and Boeotia Prefecture was first established in 1833, abolished in 1836 and split up into Attica and Boeotia Boeotia ( ) ...

in 1928 and re-elected as Mayor of Athens in 1929. He served as mayor until 1932, and died in 1939. His sons

Stamatis Stamatis ( el, Σταμάτης, links=no) is a given name and surname of Greek origin, a diminutive of Stamatios (Σταμάτιος). Notable people with the name Stamatis include: Given name *Stamatis Benas (born 1985), Greek basketball player ...

and George served as members of the Greek Parliament (MP) and cabinet ministers, whilst his granddaughter Melina Mercouri was an award-winning actress who later was elected an MP and served as the Greek Minister of Culture and Science.

References

1856 births 1939 deaths People from Ermionida Greek MPs 1928–1932 Mayors of Athens Date of birth missing Date of death missing Place of birth missing Place of death missing Greek exiles Prisoners sentenced to death by Greece {{Greece-mayor-stub