Until 1974, the President of Greece had a truly royal authority, since his powers were unlimited. In 1975, a new Constitution was adopted, which reduced the rights of the head of state. In 1986, a reform was carried out, after which the full political power passed into the hands of the Prime Minister. The head of state is elected by parliament for 5 years. Currently, the post of President of Greece is held by Prokopis Pavlopoulos. From 2004 to 2009, he served as Minister of the Interior, and therefore is an experienced politician.
Formation and achievements of the ancient Greek civilization
The very center of the birth of Greek civilization was the Aegean region:
- Balkan coast;
- The coast of Asia Minor;
- Thracian coast;
- Coastal mountainous land;
- Islands of the Aegean Sea.
In these territories lived the tribes of the ancient Greeks, who belonged to different tribal groups, had some differences in language, different customs and rituals.
Greek culture and statehood began to develop vigorously in the archaic period - when the Iron Age came. It was at this time that policies began to develop - city-states, which often fought among themselves. In the 6th century BC, the foundations of democracy began to emerge in Greece, as the common people fought against the rich aristocracy, in whose hands were fertile lands. The end of the archaic period was marked by the widespread spread of slavery.
The next period in the history of Greece is classic. It was then that all the achievements of the ancient Greeks were created:
- Economic system;
- Civil society structure;
- Polis organization and democratic structure of society;
- Greek culture.
Thanks to the conquests of Alexander the Great, who opened the Hellenistic period in the history of Greece, the local culture influenced the development of many ancient states. The main purpose of the development of ancient Greek culture was the development of the concepts of a citizen who had certain legal rights.
The defeat of Macedonia from the troops of ancient Rome in the battle of Kineskefalah in 197 BC marked the beginning of the collapse of the once mighty country. After that, the Romans began to maintain a close relationship with the aristocracy of ancient Greece, helping them fight against democracy. In 148 BC, Greece became a Roman province.
Greece as part of Byzantium and the further development of the state before the Ottoman conquest
In 330 AD, the residence of Constantine the Great was transferred to the city of Byzantium, which was later called Constantinople. In those years, Christianity became the official religion of Rome, and in 395 the empire was divided into Eastern and Western. The western empire was constantly subjected to raids by barbarian tribes and ceased to exist in 476. But the Eastern Roman Empire, which by its ethnic composition was rather a Greek state, existed until 1453.
As a result of wise policy and timely reforms, Byzantium developed and grew rich by trading with all civilized nations of Europe and Asia. In the XI century, Constantinople began to lose control over their lands:
- The Seljuk Turks had captured Asia Minor by this time;
- The Normans gained power over the southern regions of Italy;
- The popes also sought to weaken the power of Byzantium, so they constantly instigated the Vikings to attack the rich lands of their competitors.
The former power of Constantinople was undermined, although the Comnenian dynasty, which rules from 1081 to 1185, was able to negotiate with the Venetians and return some of their territories. Unfortunately for the Byzantines, the Venetians soon betrayed their allies, and, with the support of the Crusaders, who set out on the march for the fourth time, captured the east coast of the Adriatic, which belonged to Constantinople.
In 1204, the crusaders managed to seize Constantinople, and they founded their Latin Empire. Immediately after the fall of the capital, Byzantium split into a number of small independent principalities, which soon came under the rule of various French dynasties. The largest principalities in Greece at that time were:
- Thessalonian principality;
- Duchy of Athens;
- Achaean principality.
The main Greek islands along with the island of Crete came under the authority of Venice.
In 1259, the Nicene Emperor Michael VIII Palaeologus was able to gather a strong enough army to defeat the western knights who were stationed at Peloponnese. Supported by the Greeks, who sought to expel the knights from their lands, in 1261 he was able to seize Constantinople, becoming the Byzantine emperor. Instead of strengthening his power, relying on the principles of Greek democracy, the emperor began to seek support among the nobility, increasing the gap between himself and the common people.
At the end of the XIV century, the Greek state of the Morea despot, which was part of the Byzantine Empire, was able to annex the Achaean principality. Despite this, the Paleologov dynasty could not create a strong and centralized state, so they had to take the following measures:
- Give their provinces the right to autonomy;
- Recognize the power of Venice over certain islands;
- Giving Venice trade privileges.
Thus, the imperial power in Greece weakened from year to year. After some time, the once powerful Byzantium could not resist the Ottoman Turks, whose state grew and strengthened due to looting and seizure. The conquest of the Greek lands by the Ottoman Empire took place as follows:
- In 1331, the Turks conquered Nicaea;
- In 1354 - Gallipoli and Ankara;
- In 1362 - Adrianople;
- In 1430, the Ottomans were able to capture Thessaloniki and Yanina;
- In 1453 Constantinople was captured;
- In 1461, the Turks seized Mystra - the last city of the once mighty Byzantium.
After more than a century of confrontation, Greece was ruled by the Ottoman Empire.
The period of Ottoman rule and the struggle for independence
During Turkish rule, the position of Greece was not as deplorable as that of other countries captured by the Ottoman Empire. On the one hand, the Turks pursued an aggressive policy of planting Islam and constantly put economic pressure on the region. On the other hand, the decrees of the Turkish rulers brought Greece a lot of benefits:
- The functions and privileges of the Constantinople Patriarchate were expanded;
- The population received the right to self-government on a provincial scale;
- The Turks allowed the Greeks to hold high positions in various government positions;
- The population received a lot of economic advantages, although the aristocracy in this regard has rather lost more.
Thanks to the free development of trade and protection from the encroachments of other countries, the Greek communities located abroad developed well.
In 1821, the struggle for the independence of Greece began, which lasted until 1832. The first major victory of the rebels occurred in 1822. Then they adopted their constitution and elected their first president, who became Mavrokordatos. Despite these achievements, there was no unity among the people, so in 1825, the combined Turkish-Egyptian army began to crowd the Greeks. This caused discontent in Europe, and volunteers began to gather for the aid of Greece. In 1827, John Kapodistrias was elected president of the country, who was in the Russian diplomatic service. In the same year, Russia, France and the United Kingdom concluded a convention in London, insisting that the Turkish sultan give Greece autonomy, in exchange for which she would pay him an annual tribute.
Sultan refused these conditions, as a result of which the combined fleet of the three states inflicted a crushing defeat on the Turkish-Egyptian squadron. A year later, the Russian-Turkish war began, which ended with the victory of Russia. In 1830, at the London Conference, Greece was recognized as a state independent of the Ottoman Empire. Despite this, many of the lands where the Greeks lived were not included in an independent state:
- Macedonia;
- Epirus;
- Thrace;
- Thessaly;
- Crete;
- Dodecanese Islands;
- Ionian Islands;
- West coast of Asia Minor.
The most important task of the young Greek state was the unification of all the above lands.
Free Greece in the middle of XIX - early XX century
In 1831, President John Kapodistia was killed by two conspirators on the threshold of the church. After these events, the power passed to the Bavarian Prince Otto:
- A Bavarian army appeared in Greece;
- The local bourgeoisie was completely removed from government;
- Bavarians became ministers.
All this gave rise to popular discontent, weakened the country's economy and caused a series of large peasant uprisings. In 1843, a major uprising occurred in Athens, as a result of which the king was forced to disband the troops, send his ministers to resign and convene the National Assembly.
The Crimean War, which began in 1853, provoked a popular movement aimed at annexing land to Greece, which remained under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. In 1854, the Greek army entered Thessaly, but France and Great Britain, which had previously supported Greece, forced them to retreat. All of these events, exacerbated by economic problems and a lack of democracy, led to the revolution of 1862, which resulted in Otto being overthrown. Britain again decided to influence the events, promising revolutionaries to transfer the country to the Ionian Islands, she achieved the transfer of power in Greece to Prince William George Glucksburg.
In 1908, the Greek military, who had close ties with the opposition-minded bourgeoisie, created a "military league" that led the uprising of 1909. The government of Venizelos came to power. Thanks to the work of this experienced politician, the economy of Greece quickly stabilized, and the country was well prepared for the Balkan Wars of 1912-1913. The results of these military campaigns were impressive:
- Greece joined Thessaloniki;
- Aegean Macedonia;
- Epirus;
- Crete;
- The area of the country has increased almost 2 times;
- The population increased from 2.7 million to 4.4 million people.
Before the outbreak of the First World War, a number of various reforms were carried out in Greece.
Greece in the first half of the 20th century
The beginning of World War I caught Greece by surprise. A split began in the ruling circles, since King Constantine insisted on the support of Germany, and Venizelos believed that it was necessary to join the Entente. In 1916, the Prime Minister formed a new government in Thessaloniki and forced Greece to side with the Entente. In 1919, the Greek army occupied Smyrna, and in 1920 came to Ankara. Despite the fact that the position of Turkey was deplorable, in 1922 the troops of the young republic under the command of Kemal Ataturk defeated the Greek army.
After this, revolts began in Greece, which led to the overthrow of the cabinet of ministers. After the conclusion of the Peace of Lausanne in 1923, about 1.5 million refugees from Turkey were able to return to the country. After the war, the political situation in Greece was extremely unstable:
- King George II left the country in 1923 after the elections;
- In the same year, Greece was declared a republic;
- In 1925, there was a military coup, after which General Pangalos came to power, who became a dictator;
- In 1926, the big bourgeoisie, unhappy with the dictator’s rule, who distributed concessions to foreign entrepreneurs, staged a coup d'état and overthrew the dictator.
Before the outbreak of World War II, Greece was able to stabilize its economic position.
The role of Greece during the Second World War
The country was not going to participate in the Second World War, therefore, after it began, it immediately declared its neutrality. This was not to the liking of fascist Italy, which in 1940 demanded the following concessions from the Greek government:
- Grant the right to be to your troops in the Greek territories;
- Providing the best strategic points for the deployment of troops;
- Providing marine bases and ports for the Italian Navy.
At its core, it was a requirement to surrender without firing a shot. Greece indignantly rejected this ultimatum, after which Italian troops invaded the country. They were stopped and driven to Albania, but in 1941 German troops approached the Allies for help. Since June 1941, the entire territory of Greece was under the authority of the fascists.
In the occupied country, a partisan movement developed, and it was represented by two forces, which often openly feuded with each other. Despite this, in the fall of 1943 they managed to liberate about 30% of the country. In 1944, the Germans voluntarily left Greece, as they feared the advance of the Red Army. After that, the communists tried to come to power in Greece. In October 1944, the Greek government returned from emigration, it was supported by the British military. The communists refused to lay down their arms, which led to armed clashes in Athens.
In 1946, a civil war with the Communists began in the country. Britain and the United States provided substantial assistance to the government, so in 1949 the Communists were forced to admit their defeat.
Greece after the war and in our time
Thanks to the help of Europe and the country's accession to NATO, by 1952 the country's economy had been practically restored to the pre-war level. In 1967, a military coup occurred in Greece, after which the power was in the hands of the "black colonels". After that, a dictatorship was established, and the following events occurred:
- The constitution was abolished;
- Democratic organizations were banned;
- Freedom of the press was severely restricted;
- A wave of politically motivated arrests swept across the country.
King Constantine tried to overthrow the military junta, but he failed. The dictatorship lasted until 1974, after which it gave up power, since it could no longer cope with the government.
In 1974, Michalis Stasinopoulos was elected to the presidency of the country. After that, the country set its sights on further liberalization of society.
List of presidents of Greece since 1974 and features of the executive
After the military junta resigned, Greece entered a new democratic era of its development. Since 1974, the following political figures were in office:
- Michalis Stasinopoulos (rule 1974-1975);
- 1975-1980 - Konstantinos Tsatsos. He was Minister of Culture in 1974;
- 1980-1985 - Konstantinos Karamanlis. I was able to move from dictatorship to democracy and achieve a significant increase in the level of the economy in the country;
- 1985-1990 - Christ Sardzetakis. His inauguration took place in 1985. He was famous for his principledness;
- 1990-1995 year - Konstantinos Karamanlis. The second time he was elected president after a five-year pause;
- 1995–2005 - Konstantinos Stephanopoulos. Elected two terms in a row. Currently considered the most respected and beloved people by the president in Greece;
- 2005-2015 - Karolos Papoulias. He began his political career as an opponent of the junta.
The current president of Greece is Prokopis Pavlopoulos, who was elected in 2018.
The status of the president is less significant than the status of the country's prime minister. It is the head of government that is the head of the executive branch. He has the right to form a government by appointing ministers and their deputies. As for the duties of the president, they are as follows:
- The ability to formalize the release of the government from its duties. This happens when resigning;
- The president may dissolve parliament;
- If a new parliament is convened, the head of state will not be able to dissolve it earlier than in a year.
At the same time, presidential orders are not legislative acts, since the legislative initiative is in the jurisdiction of the parliament and the government.
Residence of the President of Greece
Currently, the presidential palace is the residence of the head of state. Until 1974, the residence of the kings was located there. The residence is located, in which the president’s reception is located, in the very center of Athens, on Herodes Attica Street. The idea of building a palace appeared in 1868, after the birth of the heir to the throne of King George I. Проект начали создавать только через 21 год, когда принц Константин уже женился. Король Георг I высказал пожелание, чтобы дворец не напоминал помпезные сооружения европейских владык.
В 1924 году дворец превратился в резиденцию президента, так как монархия была временно свёрнута. В 1935 году монархия в Греции была возрождена, и дворец опять стал королевской резиденцией. Начиная с 1974 года, когда диктатура "чёрных полковников" была свёрнута, здание опять стало официальной президентской резиденцией.
