Stephanos Skouloudis
Encyclopedia
Diplomat
A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...
and prime minister
Prime Minister of Greece
The Prime Minister of Greece , officially the Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic , is the head of government of the Hellenic Republic and the leader of the Greek cabinet. The current interim Prime Minister is Lucas Papademos, a former Vice President of the European Central Bank, following...
.
Early life
He was born in IstanbulIstanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
on November 23, 1838. His parents, John and Zena Skouloudis, were originally from Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
and his father was a businessman in Constantinople, where Skouloudis completed grade school. In 1852, he was sent to Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
to attend high school, after which he completed medical school at the University of Athens. In 1859, Skouloudis joined the famed trading house of Ralli
Ralli Brothers
The five Ralli brothers, Zannis a.k.a. John , Augustus ,Pandia a.k.a. Zeus ,Toumazis , and...
and became a manager of its import/export business, advancing, by 1863, to head of Turkish operations. In 1871, along with Andreas Syngrou, Skouloudis founded the Bank of Constantinople. Skouloudis occasionally assisted the Greek government with diplomatic matters with the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. He earned great wealth, and by 1876, Skouloudis moved permanently to Athens.
Diplomatic and political life
In Athens, Skouloudis became active politically, and the crisis of 1877 provided him an opportunity to serve the government. As the "Eastern Crisis" developed into the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78, Skouloudis was a secret emissary to the AlbaniaAlbania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
n population outside Greece's borders. He also served as a representative of the city of Ioannina
Ioannina
Ioannina , often called Jannena within Greece, is the largest city of Epirus, north-western Greece, with a population of 70,203 . It lies at an elevation of approximately 500 meters above sea level, on the western shore of lake Pamvotis . It is located within the Ioannina municipality, and is the...
in talks leading to the Congress of Berlin
Congress of Berlin
The Congress of Berlin was a meeting of the European Great Powers' and the Ottoman Empire's leading statesmen in Berlin in 1878. In the wake of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78, the meeting's aim was to reorganize the countries of the Balkans...
which readjusted the border between Greece and the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
after that war.
Besides his diplomatic efforts, Skouloudis also involved himself in other public service. He was appointed to the Board of Governors of the Bank of Greece
Bank of Greece
The Bank of Greece is the nationalcentral bank of Greece, located in Athens on Panepistimiou Street, with several branches across the country. Founded in 1927...
in 1880. In 1882, he formed the first company to drain Lake Copais
Lake Copais
Lake Copais, Kopais, or Kopaida used to be in the centre of Boeotia, Greece, west of Thebes until the late 19th century. The area where it was located, though now a plain, is still known as Kopaida.- Drainage :...
, a lake that abutted very productive farmland north of Thebes
Thebes, Greece
Thebes is a city in Greece, situated to the north of the Cithaeron range, which divides Boeotia from Attica, and on the southern edge of the Boeotian plain. It played an important role in Greek myth, as the site of the stories of Cadmus, Oedipus, Dionysus and others...
, and which sometimes flooded.
First elected to the Hellenic Parliament
Hellenic Parliament
The Hellenic Parliament , also the Parliament of the Hellenes, is the Parliament of Greece, located in the Parliament House , overlooking Syntagma Square in Athens, Greece....
in the election of 1881, representing Syros
Syros
Syros , or Siros or Syra is a Greek island in the Cyclades, in the Aegean Sea. It is located south-east of Athens. The area of the island is . The largest towns are Ermoupoli, Ano Syros, and Vari. Ermoupoli is the capital of the island and the Cyclades...
(and later Thebes), Skouloudis was a member of Trikoupis'
Charilaos Trikoupis
Charilaos Trikoupis was a Greek politician who served as a Prime Minister of Greece seven times from 1875 until 1895....
liberal New Party. In 1883, he was appointed Greek Ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
to Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
where he served until 1886. After Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
's unilateral unification with Eastern Rumelia
Eastern Rumelia
Eastern Rumelia or Eastern Roumelia was an administratively autonomous province in the Ottoman Empire and Principality of Bulgaria from 1878 to 1908. It was under full Bulgarian control from 1885 on, when it willingly united with the tributary Principality of Bulgaria after a bloodless revolution...
from the Ottoman Empire, Skouloudis represented the Greek government at peace talks in Constantinople in 1886.
He was again elected to parliament representing Thebes in 1892 and was appointed by Prime Minister Trikoupis as Minister of Religion and Education
Minister for National Education and Religious Affairs (Greece)
The Ministry of Education, Lifelong Learning and Religious Affairs , formerly the Ministry for National Education and Religious Affairs , is a government department of Greece...
and later as Minister for the Navy. He also was called upon by both the liberal Trikoupis and conservative Theodoros Deligiannis
Theodoros Deligiannis
Theodoros Deligiannis, also spelled Delijannis and Deliyannis, , was a Greek statesman.-Life:He was born at Lagkadia, Arcadia. He studied law in Athens, and in 1843 entered the Ministry of the Interior, of which department he became permanent secretary in 1859. In 1862, on the deposition of King...
governments to represent Greece in seeking loans and loan extensions from wealthier governments.
Skouloudis served on the Organizing Committee for the 1896 Summer Olympics
1896 Summer Olympics
The 1896 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the I Olympiad, was a multi-sport event celebrated in Athens, Greece, from April 6 to April 15, 1896. It was the first international Olympic Games held in the Modern era...
. He noticed that costs for the Games were rising beyond the original estimates given by Pierre de Coubertin
Pierre de Coubertin
Pierre de Frédy, Baron de Coubertin was a French educationalist and historian, founder of the International Olympic Committee, and is considered the father of the modern Olympic Games...
and gave a report to the president of the committee, Crown Prince Constantine
Constantine I of Greece
Constantine I was King of Greece from 1913 to 1917 and from 1920 to 1922. He was commander-in-chief of the Hellenic Army during the unsuccessful Greco-Turkish War of 1897 and led the Greek forces during the successful Balkan Wars of 1912–1913, in which Greece won Thessaloniki and doubled in...
, recommending that Greece withdraw from hosting the Games.
Skouloudis, and a number of others who agreed with him, resigned the committee at that point. However, Constantine decided to allow the Games to continue and the first modern Olympics were widely considered to be highly successful, especially in comparison to the 1900
1900 Summer Olympics
The 1900 Summer Olympics, today officially known as the Games of the II Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1900 in Paris, France. No opening or closing ceremonies were held; competitions began on May 14 and ended on October 28. The Games were held as part of...
and 1904 Summer Olympics
1904 Summer Olympics
The 1904 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the III Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in St. Louis, Missouri, in the United States from 1 July 1904, to November 23, 1904, at what is now known as Francis Field on the campus of Washington University...
.
Due to his extensive diplomatic service, the liberal Skouloudis was appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs
Minister for Foreign Affairs (Greece)
The Minister for Foreign Affairs is the senior minister at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Greece, established on 3 April 1833. The current Minister for Foreign Affairs, since 11 November 2011 is the former European Commissioner Stavros Dimas...
in the conservative government of Dimitrios Rallis
Dimitrios Rallis
Dimitrios Rallis was a Greek politician. Rallis was elected to Parliament in 1872 and always represented the same Athenian constituency. He became Minister in several governments and served as Prime Minister five times...
in 1897. In this position, he found himself overseeing Greece's diplomatic response to its first military defeat in the Greco-Turkish War of 1897
Greco-Turkish War (1897)
The Greco-Turkish War of 1897, also called the Thirty Days' War and known as the Black '97 in Greece, was a war fought between the Kingdom of Greece and Ottoman Empire. Its immediate cause was the question over the status of the Ottoman province of Crete, whose Greek majority long desired union...
, which despite the fairly complete defeat of Greece's army, resulted in a relatively small loss of Greek territory, due, in part, to Skouloudis' diplomatic efforts.
In 1905, Skouloudis was again elected to parliament from Thebes, but he did not serve in the government. After the Goudi Revolt in 1909, Skouloudis' name was heard often as a potential reformer Prime Minister, along with Stephanos Dragoumis
Stephanos Dragoumis
Stephanos Dragoumis was a judge, writer and Prime Minister of Greece in January-October 1910. He was the father of Ion Dragoumis.-Early years:...
, who was ultimately selected as Prime Minister and who paved the way for Eleftherios Venizelos
Eleftherios Venizelos
Eleftherios Venizelos was an eminent Greek revolutionary, a prominent and illustrious statesman as well as a charismatic leader in the early 20th century. Elected several times as Prime Minister of Greece and served from 1910 to 1920 and from 1928 to 1932...
to assume the premiership in 1910 and end the political crisis. Skouloudis was later tapped by Venizelos to be Greece's representative at peace talks in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
after the First Balkan War
First Balkan War
The First Balkan War, which lasted from October 1912 to May 1913, pitted the Balkan League against the Ottoman Empire. The combined armies of the Balkan states overcame the numerically inferior and strategically disadvantaged Ottoman armies and achieved rapid success...
in 1912.
National Schism and prime ministry
Following the death of King George IGeorge I of Greece
George I was King of Greece from 1863 to 1913. Originally a Danish prince, George was only 17 years old when he was elected king by the Greek National Assembly, which had deposed the former king Otto. His nomination was both suggested and supported by the Great Powers...
in 1912, Greece's Prime Minister Venizelos and new king Constantine
Constantine I of Greece
Constantine I was King of Greece from 1913 to 1917 and from 1920 to 1922. He was commander-in-chief of the Hellenic Army during the unsuccessful Greco-Turkish War of 1897 and led the Greek forces during the successful Balkan Wars of 1912–1913, in which Greece won Thessaloniki and doubled in...
were increasingly at odds. As Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
descended into the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, the pro-German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
king and the pro-Allied
Allies of World War I
The Entente Powers were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. The members of the Triple Entente were the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire; Italy entered the war on their side in 1915...
Prime Minister struggled politically over Greece's entry into the war with the king supporting neutrality and Venizelos favoring entry on the side of the Allies. Venizelos resigned and was succeeded by Alexandros Zaimis
Alexandros Zaimis
Alexandros Zaimis was a former Greek Prime Minister, Minister of the Interior, Minister of Justice, and High Commissioner of Crete. He served as Prime Minister six times.-Early Life and Family:...
. In October, 1915, Venizelos left Athens and would later set up a rival government in Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
and Prime Minister Zaimis resigned. At that point, the king asked Skouloudis to form a government of national unity, including representatives of all the parties in parliament in his government. The Skouloudis government focused almost exclusively on the question of Greece's entry into World War I, and attempts to stave off the formation of a rival government in the north. Skouloudis was unsuccessful and Prime Minister Zaimis was reappointed by the king.
Eventually, with the abdication of King Constantine in 1918 and the return of Venizelos triumphant to Athens, Skouloudis found himself investigated for "collaboration" with the former king. He was charged and convicted along with his Cabinet and remained in prison until November 1920. With the electoral defeat of Venizelos, Skouloudis' sentence was commuted in 1921 and he was pardoned. His term as Prime Minister would be his last service to the Greek nation; Skouloudis died in Athens on August 19, 1928.