Eleftherios Venizelos
Maker of modern Greece
Liberal reform, national ambition.
State LiberalOne of 729 ideologies · enter the State Liberal hall →- Role
- Prime Minister
- Era
- 1864–1936
- Region
- Greece
- Social band
- Centre (no modifier)
- Placement
- +4 · +44 · 0
§ Where Eleftherios Venizelos stands
3 axesVenizelos was a liberal moderniser who sought foreign capital, sound finances and new infrastructure, but he was willing to use state power against entrenched landowners. His governments began breaking up the great estates of Thessaly for distribution to landless peasants in 1917, a land reform greatly extended in the 1920s to settle refugees from Asia Minor. The mix leaves him almost exactly at the centre.
Venizelos was a commanding statesman who combined constitutional reform with hard-edged state power. His 1911 constitutional revision gave civil servants security of tenure and made primary schooling free and compulsory, yet in 1916 he set up a rival government in Thessaloniki against the king, and his 1929 Idionymon law criminalised activity aimed at overthrowing the social order, a measure used against communists and trade unionists.
On social questions Venizelos was a moderniser rather than a radical, balancing reform against national and religious tradition. His government's 1917 education reform introduced demotic Greek into primary schools, and in 1930 literate women over thirty won the right to vote in local elections. At the same time he championed the Megali Idea and signed the compulsory Greek–Turkish population exchange of 1923.
How close are you to Eleftherios Venizelos?
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§ The story
HistoricalEleftherios Kyriakou Venizelos (1864–1936) was the dominant Greek statesman of the early twentieth century and led the government for much of the period between 1910 and 1933. Born in Ottoman-ruled Crete and trained as a lawyer in Athens, he rose as a leader of the Cretan struggle for union with Greece, heading the 1905 Therisso revolt. After the 1909 Goudi coup, the reforming Military League invited him to Athens, where he founded the Liberal Party and became prime minister in 1910.
Venizelos led Greece through the Balkan Wars of 1912–13, bringing Macedonia, Epirus, Crete and the northern Aegean islands into the state, and pursued the Megali Idea of uniting all Greeks. His clash with King Constantine I over joining the First World War on the Allied side produced the National Schism, which split the country in 1916. The 1920 Treaty of Sèvres marked his zenith, but his electoral defeat that year was followed by the Asia Minor catastrophe of 1922. His 1928–32 government made peace with Turkey, yet the feud between Venizelists and royalists scarred Greek politics for decades.
Notable for
- 01Modernised the Greek state
- 02Led national expansion
- 03Liberal constitutional reform
Key works & moments
- 1905Leads the Therisso revolt in Crete against the rule of Prince George.
- 1910Founds the Liberal Party and becomes prime minister of Greece.
- 1912–13Leads Greece through the Balkan Wars, winning Macedonia, Epirus and Crete.
- 1916Forms a rival government in Thessaloniki, splitting Greece in the National Schism.
- 1920Signs the Treaty of Sèvres and survives an assassination attempt in Paris, then loses the election.
- 1930Signs a friendship treaty with Turkey in Ankara, ending decades of hostility.
§ Minds closest to Eleftherios Venizelos
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§ Also in the State Liberal hall
Enter the hall →§ Common questions
4 answersWhat was Eleftherios Venizelos's political ideology?
Eleftherios Venizelos was a liberal nationalist: on the 99ideologies three-axis compass, a State Liberal. Economically he sat almost exactly at the centre (+4), combining market-friendly modernisation with land reform against the great estates. On governance he leaned towards a strong, reforming state (+44), willing to defy the king and to restrict communists, and socially he was balanced (0), pairing educational modernisation with the nationalism of the Megali Idea.
Was Eleftherios Venizelos left-wing or right-wing?
He was a liberal of the centre, more progressive than his royalist rivals but no socialist. In Greek terms Venizelos led the modernising camp, which became largely republican, against the conservative monarchists, and he backed land reform, education reform and constitutional government. Yet he was a firm defender of private property and an expansionist nationalist, and his 1929 Idionymon law targeted the communist left. Liberal nationalist is the most accurate label.
What was the National Schism in Greece?
The National Schism was the deep split between Venizelos and King Constantine I over the First World War. Venizelos wanted Greece to join the Allies, while the king, whose wife was the Kaiser's sister, favoured neutrality. After the king twice forced him from office in 1915, Venizelos set up a rival government in Thessaloniki in 1916; with Allied backing, Constantine was driven out in 1917 and Greece entered the war. The division between Venizelists and royalists shaped Greek politics into the 1930s.
Which minds are closest to Eleftherios Venizelos?
On the 99ideologies three-axis compass, the minds closest to Eleftherios Venizelos are Max Weber (98% alike), Giovanni Giolitti (97% alike) and Plutarco Elías Calles (97% alike). The furthest is Emma Goldman (25% alike).