Sophoklis Venizelos

Sophoklis Venizelos (Greek: , born 1894, died 1964) was a prominent Greek politician who twice served as Prime Minister of Greece.

The second-born son of Eleftherios Venizelos, Sophoklis first became an MP with with father's Liberal Party in 1920. In 1941, after Greece was occupied by German troops, he became ambassador to the United States, representing the Greek government-in-exile based in Cairo. He became a minister of that government in 1943, and its Prime Minister in 1944.

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 leadership of the party, and became a minister in a number of short-lived liberal governments led by Papandreou and Nikolaos Plastiras; he was also the Prime Minister of two such governments.

In 1954 his long time friendship with Georgios Papandreou. was shaken, and he formed the rival Liberal Democratic Union party. The rift was bridged in 1958, and in 1961 he became a founding member of Papandreou's Center Union party, which he served until his death in 1964. His grave lies next to his father's on the island of Crete.


See also

Venizelism

Preceded by:
Emmanouil Tsouderos
Prime Minister of Greece
April 13, 1944 - April 26, 1944 (in exile in Cairo)
Succeeded by:
George Papandreou
Preceded by:
Ioannis Theotokis
Prime Minister of Greece
March 23, 1950 - April 15, 1950
Succeeded by:
Nikolaos Plastiras
Preceded by:
Nikolaos Plastiras
Prime Minister of Greece
August 21, 1950 - November 1, 1951
Succeeded by:
Nikolaos Plastiras


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