Georgios Kountouriotis

Georgios Kountouriotis (Greek: Γεώργιος Κουντουριώτης) (1782 – 13 March 1858) was a Greek ship-owner and politician who served as prime minister from March to October 1848. He was born in 1782 on the Saronic island of Hydra to an Arvanite family.[1] He was the brother of Lazaros Kountouriotis, another ship-owner of the Greek War of Independence and grandfather of Pavlos Kountouriotis who fought in the First Balkan War and later served as first (1924-1926) President of the Second Hellenic Republic.

Georgios Kountouriotis
Γεώργιος Κουντουριώτης
Georgios Kountouriotis, lithography by Karl Krazeisen
President of the Provisional Administration of Greece
In office
December 31, 1823  April 26, 1826
Preceded byPetros Mavromichalis
Succeeded byAndreas Zaimis
as President of the Governmental Commission
Prime Minister of Greece
In office
March 4, 1848  October 15, 1848
MonarchOtto
Preceded byKitsos Tzavelas
Succeeded byConstantine Kanaris
Personal details
Born1782
Hydra, Ottoman Empire
Died1858 March, 13 (aged 76)
Athens, Greece

When the War of Independence broke out, Georgios, along with the rest of the Kountouriotis family, supported the effort with generous donations as well as with their ships. He was often at odds with other Hydriot sea captains, but ultimately was the wealthiest. Georgios Kountouriotis became a member of the executive committee of the Greek Revolution and served as its President from 1823 to 1826 during the crucial time of the siege of Missolonghi.

After independence, he became a member of the cabinet of Ioannis Kapodistrias, the first governor of Greece. He was a semi-independent adherent of the French Party mostly due to his antipathy to the Russian Party and his fellow Hydriots of the English Party. During the period of French Party ascendancy in the reign of King Otto, he served as Prime Minister. He died in 1858.

References

  1. Peter Trudgill Sociolinguistic variation and change, Published by Edinburgh University Press, 2002, ISBN 978-0-7486-1515-5
Political offices
Preceded by
Petros Mavromichalis
President of the Executive
December 31, 1823 – April 26, 1826
Succeeded by
Andreas Zaimis
as President of the Governmental Commission
Preceded by
Kitsos Tzavelas
Prime Minister of Greece
March 19, 1848 – October 27, 1848
Succeeded by
Konstantinos Kanaris
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