13 Facts About Spyros Markezinis

Spyridon "Spyros" Markezinis was a Greek politician, longtime member of the Hellenic Parliament, and briefly the Prime Minister of Greece during the aborted attempt at metapolitefsi of the Greek military regime in 1973.

Spyros Markezinis earned degrees in Law and Political Science at the University of Athens, and entered private law practice.

The outbreak of World War II and Greece's occupation by Nazi Germany forced the King to flee the country, while Markezinis remained to fight as part of the resistance militias.

Spyros Markezinis was elected in the Parliament during the 1946 elections as a member of the United Nationalist Party from the Cyclades.

In 1949, Spyros Markezinis was appointed Minister Without Portfolio, but was effectively assigned control over the government's economic policy, coordinating the activities of the various economic ministries.

Spyros Markezinis was considered at the time as a possible successor in the party leadership and premiership in the event of Marshal Papagos's retirement.

Spyros Markezinis was succeeded by neither Markezinis nor by other heirs apparent, but by Konstantinos Karamanlis, a junior minister who was appointed by King Paul to form a new government.

Papadopoulos sought support from the old political establishment, and Spyros Markezinis accepted to undertake the mission to help lead the country back to parliamentary rule in a process that was called metapolitefsi.

Spyros Markezinis accepted the task, subject to a commitment by Papadopoulos to curtail any military interference.

Ioannidis arrested Spyros Markezinis, cancelled the elections, and fully reinstated martial law.

Spyros Markezinis's regime crumbled in July 1974, after the coup against Makarios III by the Greek junta of Ioannidis which led to the Turkish invasion of Cyprus.

Spyros Markezinis was involved in the negotiations in July 1974 that led to the return of democratic government under Karamanlis's national unity government.

Spyros Markezinis spent his latter years writing his memoirs and on the political history of contemporary Greece.