Charilaos Trikoupis

Charilaos Trikoupis was a Greek politician who served as a Prime Minister of Greece seven times from 1875 until 1895. He is best remembered for introducing the vote of confidence in the Greek constitution, proposing and funding such ambitious and modern projects as the construction of the Corinth Canal, but also eventually leading the country to bankruptcy. He is considered one of the greatest Greek Prime Ministers to ever have served. Born in Nauplion in 1832, with family ties to Messolonghi, he was the son of Spiridon Trikoupis, a politician who was Prime Minister of Greece briefly in 1833, and Ekaterini Mavrokordatou, sister of Alexandros Mavrokordatos, who also served as a Prime Minister. After studying law and literature in University of Athens and in Paris, where he obtained his doctorate, he was sent to London in 1852 as an attaché of the Greek legation. By 1863, he had risen to be chargé d'affaires, but he aimed rather at a political not a diplomatic career. Trikoupis' family had been original supporters of the English Party; that and his reserved nature bestowed on him the nickname "Ο Άγγλος, the Englishman." In 1865, after he had concluded the negotiations for the cession by United Kingdom to Greece of the Ionian Islands, he returned to Athens and in 1865 he was elected to the Hellenic Parliament, and in the following year was made Minister for Foreign Affairs, at the young age of thirty-four. In 1872 he created his own party, called the Fifth Party (Πέμπτο Κόμμα) on a reformist agenda. On June 29, 1874 (Julian calendar) he published a manifesto in the Athens daily Kairoi entitled "Who's to blame?" (Greek: Τις Πταίει;) for people's lack of trust in the system, naming George I of Greece as the answer. He accused the King of bypassing the elected leader and the will of the people, and appointing the Prime Minister of his choice, who could not command a majority in the Parliament. He also criticised the King for being essentially a puppet of the Great Powers, who were protecting the Ottoman Empire from Balkan nationalist aspirations. He urged the people to demand the revision of the constitution and the restoration of parliamentary democracy. Trikoupis was a strong believer in the need to create an infrastructure to support the economy, and to attract foreign investment. A progressive program of road and railroad construction significantly improved internal communications. The most important of the works he campaigned for was the digging of the Corinth Canal. He also reduced the tax burden on the rural population by abolishing the duty on basic consumer goods, and introduced progressive taxation on large incomes. He was a supporter of free trade and opposed protectionism. He also reformed the public administration, the judicial system, the education system, and the military. He established the National Bank of Greece, the Athens Stock Exchange, and the Academy of Athens. He was a champion of the rights of ethnic Greeks in the Ottoman Empire, and supported the creation of a Balkan League to counter the Turkish threat. Trikoupis faced many challenges and difficulties during his long political career. He had to deal with the chronic financial problems of the Greek state, which was heavily indebted and dependent on foreign loans. He had to negotiate with the Great Powers, who often intervened in the internal affairs of Greece and imposed harsh conditions on its sovereignty. He had to cope with the rivalry of Theodoros Deligiannis, the leader of the Protectionist Party, who opposed his liberal and modernizing policies and accused him of being unpatriotic and pro-British. He also had to confront the social unrest and the revolutionary movements that erupted in various parts of the country, especially in Crete, Thessaly, and Macedonia. Trikoupis was prime minister for short periods in 1875, 1878, and 1880, but his periods in office were too brief to implement his ideas. He became prime minister for the fourth time in March 1882 and immediately strove to strengthen Greek finances. His party was defeated in the general election of April 1885, and Deligiannis replaced him. In May 1886 Trikoupis was once again appointed prime minister. His development projects were generally successful, but his skill at financial management was not enough, and Greece could not pay the large debts left by the Deligiannis government. Despite these problems, Trikoupis retained the confidence of the people and of King George. Even after his party suffered a defeat in the general election of 1890, the king reappointed him prime minister in 1892, following the dismissal of Deligiannis for alleged incompetence. Trikoupis served from June 1892 to May 1893 and again from November 1893 to January 1895. In the 1890s he fostered a Balkan rapprochement. Trikoupis' last term in office was marked by the outbreak of the Greco-Turkish War of 1897, which he tried to avoid but could not prevent. The war was a disaster for Greece, which suffered a humiliating defeat and had to accept the intervention of the Great Powers, who imposed a heavy indemnity and an international financial control over the country. Trikoupis, who had warned the people that Greece was not ready for war and that the consequences would be catastrophic, was blamed for the debacle and lost his popularity. He resigned in January 1895 and left for France, where he died in Cannes on March 30, 1896. He was buried in Athens.