Alexandros Koumoundouros facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Alexandros Koumoundouros
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| Αλέξανδρος Κουμουνδούρος | |
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| Prime Minister of Greece | |
| In office 13 October 1880 – 3 March 1882 |
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| Monarch | George I |
| Preceded by | Charilaos Trikoupis |
| Succeeded by | Charilaos Trikoupis |
| In office 26 October 1878 – 10 March 1880 |
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| Preceded by | Charilaos Trikoupis |
| Succeeded by | Charilaos Trikoupis |
| In office 11 January 1877 – 21 October 1878 |
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| Preceded by | Konstantinos Kanaris |
| Succeeded by | Charilaos Trikoupis |
| In office 19 May 1877 – 26 May 1877 |
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| Preceded by | Epameinondas Deligeorgis |
| Succeeded by | Konstantinos Kanaris |
| In office 1 December 1876 – 26 February 1877 |
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| Preceded by | Epameinondas Deligeorgis |
| Succeeded by | Epameinondas Deligeorgis |
| In office 15 October 1875 – 26 November 1876 |
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| Preceded by | Charilaos Trikoupis |
| Succeeded by | Epameinondas Deligeorgis |
| In office 3 December 1870 – 28 October 1871 |
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| Preceded by | Epameinondas Deligeorgis |
| Succeeded by | Thrasivoulos Zaimis |
| In office 18 December 1866 – 20 December 1867 |
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| Preceded by | Dimitrios Voulgaris |
| Succeeded by | Aristeidis Moraitinis |
| In office 6 November 1865 – 13 November 1865 |
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| Preceded by | Dimitrios Voulgaris |
| Succeeded by | Epameinondas Deligeorgis |
| In office 2 March 1865 – 20 October 1865 |
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| Preceded by | Konstantinos Kanaris |
| Succeeded by | Epameinondas Deligeorgis |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 4 February 1815 Mani, Ottoman Greece |
| Died | 26 February 1883 (aged 68) Athens, Greece |
| Political party | Nationalist Party |
| Spouses | Aikaterini Konstantinou G. Mavromichali Efthimia Georgiou Peroti |
| Children | Konstantinos, Maria, Spyridonas, Olga |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
| Signature | |
Alexandros Koumoundouros (Greek: Αλέξανδρος Κουμουνδούρος, February 4, 1815 – February 26, 1883) was a very important Greek politician. He was born in Kampos, in the Mani Peninsula. His father, Spyridon-Galanis Koumoundouros, was a local leader during the time Greece was part of the Ottoman Empire.
Alexandros Koumoundouros was known for working hard to improve Greece. He was very patriotic and always put his country first. He served during a time when Greece was still quite new and faced many challenges.
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About His Life and Work
After the Greek War of Independence, Alexandros Koumoundouros moved to Nafplion for school. Later, he studied law in Athens. In 1841, he joined a revolution in Crete. Even though he thought it might not succeed, he still wanted to help.
Koumoundouros had a long career in politics, lasting about 50 years. He did many important things for Greece:
- He served in the parliament.
- He helped create new laws.
- He worked to make Greece a stronger democracy.
- He helped rebuild the Greek army.
- He arranged for national lands to be given to farmers who didn't own land.
- He approved major construction projects, like the Corinth Canal.
During his time in politics, he tried to stay neutral and avoid conflicts with powerful countries. He held many different government jobs, serving as a minister eighteen times. He was also the president of the Greek Parliament twice and the Prime Minister of Greece ten times! Even though he faced difficult situations, he helped build a strong foundation for democracy in Greece.
His Start in Politics
Alexandros Koumoundouros first worked as a public prosecutor in Kalamata. But he soon left that job to become a politician. In 1853, he was elected as a representative for the area of Messenia. Two years later, he became the Speaker of Parliament. The next year, he became the Minister of Economics.
He continued to serve as Minister of Economics in new governments in 1857 and 1859. After King Otto was overthrown in 1862, Koumoundouros became the Minister of Justice in the temporary government.
Greece had its first proper elections after King Otto left in 1863. Koumoundouros stayed as Minister of Justice. However, the country was very unstable, so new elections were held the next year. In the government of 1864, Koumoundouros became the Minister of Religion and Education. Later, he moved to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Becoming Prime Minister
On March 25, 1865, Alexandros Koumoundouros became the Prime Minister of Greece for the very first time. He won the elections again in 1866. Four years later, he was Prime Minister and also held the positions of Minister of Army and Internal Affairs.
In 1875, Koumoundouros managed to unite other political parties against another important politician, Charilaos Trikoupis. In August 1875, he became President of the Parliament again. After elections that same year, he became Prime Minister once more.
Elections happened three times in 1876, and Koumoundouros won two of them. He also won the elections in 1878.
His biggest success came in 1881, during his last time as Prime Minister. After important talks with the Ottoman Empire, he successfully added the regions of Thessaly and Arta to Greece. This was a huge achievement for the country.
After this success, he called for new elections. This was so that representatives from the newly added regions could join the Parliament. However, the new members elected someone from the opposition party as President of Parliament. Because of this, Koumoundouros resigned on March 3, 1882. He passed away a few months later, on February 26, 1883, in Athens. He was buried with public honors.
Personal Life
After the revolution in Crete, Alexandros Koumoundouros married Ekaterìni Konstantinou G. Mavromichàli. She came from a famous family from Mani. They had two children: a son named Konstantìnos (born 1846) and a daughter named Marìa (born 1845). Ekaterìni died young. Later, Koumoundouros married Efthimìa Perotì. With her, he had another son, Spirìdonas (born 1858), and a daughter, Olga (born 1867).
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