Early political career and Center Union (1946–1967) Mitsotakis was elected to the
Greek Parliament for the first time in
1946, standing for the
Liberal Party in his native prefecture of Chania. In February 1951, he assumed the position of Deputy Minister of Finance under the government of
Sofoklis Venizelos for ten months. In 1961, he joined into
Georgios Papandreou's
Center Union, as several members of the Liberal Party did. He took the Ministry of Finance. In the meantime, the son of Georgios Papandreou,
Andreas Papandreou, who had joined Greek politics after 23 years in the United States as a prominent academic, was campaigning by having fierce anti-monarchy and anti-American rhetoric, destabilizing the fragile political equilibrium and becoming the leader of the party's left-wing. However, Papandreou's rapid ascension, orchestrated by his father, created displeasure among Center Union party members. After the death of Sofoklis Venizelos, Mitsotakis became the main antagonist of Andreas for the Center Union leadership. In 1965, Mitsotakis, raised
nepotism concerns in a newspaper interview, "leadership... is neither bestowed nor is it inherited," marking the beginning of long-term political rivalry between the two men with serious national consequences. During the
Iouliana crisis of 1965, Mitsotakis was among 45 MPs who crossed party lines by siding with the king, further intensifying the growing political polarization. Papandreou loyalists branded this group the "
apostates," a label that captured the deep divisions of the period. Although Mitsotakis's political career survived the aftermath of the crisis, he carried the stigma for decades, as opponents repeatedly invoked it to question his credibility and integrity. In the mid-1980s, Andreas revived this memory during election campaigns, portraying Mitsotakis as a traitor and blaming him for Iouliana that led to the
Greek junta.
Exile (1967–1974) He was arrested in 1967 by the
military junta but managed to escape to Turkey with a help of Turkish foreign minister
İhsan Sabri Çağlayangil. He lived in
exile with his family in
Paris, France, until his return to Greece in 1974, following the
restoration of democracy.
Return to Greece (1974–1984) 35th session in 28/9/1980 as the Foreign Minister of Greece In
1974, he campaigned as an independent and failed to be elected to Parliament. He was re-elected in
1977 as founder and leader of
Party of New Liberals. While his party got 1% of the national vote, its votes were concentrated at Chania, an area with strong
Venizelist support, earning two seats. In 1978, he merged his party with
Konstantinos Karamanlis'
New Democracy (ND) as part of Karamanlis' effort to broaden the ND's appeal toward the
political centre. He served as
Minister for Coordination from 1978 to 1980, and as
Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1980 to 1981. Karamanlis became
President of Greece in
1980, leaving a power vacuum in the upcoming elections of 1981.
Georgios Rallis succeeded him as leader, but failed to counter the rising popularity of charismatic Papandreou. The ND government was defeated by Papandreou's
PASOK in
1981. On the same day, ND was also defeated in the first
Greek election to the European Parliament. These setbacks led the party to elect
Evangelos Averoff, former
Minister for National Defence, as the new leader of ND. Papandreou's PASOK started to implemented an ambitious
social,
economic, and
foreign agenda, whose early successes raised concern within ND. In
1984 European Parliament election, ND increased its share of the vote by 7% but still unable to displace PASOK into second place. The defeat prompted Averoff to resign as party leader.
Leading New Democracy party (1984–1989) In September 1984, following the resignation of New Democracy leader
Evangelos Averoff, Mitsotakis was elected as the party's new leader. He launched a series of structural reforms aimed at modernizing the party. However, before these changes could take effect, Mitsotakis, as leader of the opposition, found himself confronting Papandreou in the first constitutional crisis of the republic.
Constitutional crisis (1985) In March 1985, Papandreou provoked a
constitutional crisis by denying Karamanlis a second presidential term and instead supporting
Supreme Court justice
Christos Sartzetakis. At the same time, he proposed constitutional amendments aimed at increasing the power of his position by weakening the presidential powers, which had served as
checks and balances on the
executive branch. Karamanlis resigned two weeks before the termination of his term, and
acting president
Ioannis Alevras of PASOK took over. Mitsotakis was quick to accuse Papandreou of creating a constitutional crisis to remove Karamanlis from office to establish a totalitarian constitution; an observation that was adopted by constitutional scholars in subsequent analysis of the events. The election of the new president took place under a tense and confrontational atmosphere due to Papandreou's dubious constitutional procedures. Mitsotakis accused Papandreou of violating constitutional principle of
secret ballot (Article 32), by forcing his deputies to cast their vote with colored ballots. However, Mitsotakis' concern was dismissed because PASOK controlled the majority in the Parliament. Mitsotakis and Papandreou ended up having a verbal confrontation. Mitsotakis claimed Papandreou had no respect for the Parliament, and Papandreou responded, with Mitsotakis' role in the
Iouliana in mind, that the latter was the last person entitled to speak about respect. Sartzetakis was elected in the third round with Alevras casting the decisive vote. Mitsotakis considered the vote illegal and claimed that if New Democracy won the upcoming elections, Sartzetakis would not be president by bringing the legality of the process to
Council of State (), further deepening the
constitutional crisis.
Polarized 1985 elections Both parties continued their confrontations over the constitutional crisis in their election campaigns, where the political polarization reached new heights. On one hand, Mitsotakis declared, "In voting, the Greek people will also be voting for a president" and warned the danger of sliding towards an authoritarian one-party state. One the other hand, Papandreou characterized the upcoming elections as a fight between
light and darkness in his rallies, implying that PASOK represented the "forces of light" since its logo was a rising sun. He further argued that every vote against PASOK was a vote for the return of the Right with the slogan "Vote PASOK to prevent a return of the Right." The communists, persecuted by the Right in the 1950s, protested against Papandreou's dwelling on the past, pointing out that the 1980s were not the same as the 1950s. Before the elections, Karamanlis cautioned voters that PASOK had brought "confusion and uncertainty," but his statement was withheld from state-controlled media. In the election, New Democracy raised its vote share by 4.98%, reaching 40.84%, however, this gain was insufficient, as PASOK’s losses were minimal—only about 2.3% compared to 1981—allowing PASOK to be re-elected with 45.82% of the vote. Historian,
Richard Clogg argued that the large-scale rally by Mitsotakis on 2 June at
Syntagma Square may have panicked communists to vote for PASOK, effectively erasing any gains by centrists defecting from PASOK. Mitsotakis accepted Sartzetakis as president after his defeat. Papandreou's
constitutional changes were enacted in 1986, consolidating power in the office of the prime minister.
Leadership speculations and fracture Despite ND's increased share of the vote, PASOK's 5% lead, combined with concerns over the party’s two consecutive electoral defeats (in 1981 under
Georgios Rallis and in 1985 under Mitsotakis), sparked doubts among ND's old guard about Mitsotakis's future as party leader. Facing internal dissent, Mitsotakis resigned in 1985 but later stood unopposed for re-election at the party congress, winning the backing of 82 of ND's 126 deputies, 11 more than in 1984. His former rival for the leadership,
Konstantinos Stephanopoulos, abstained from the vote and subsequently left ND to establish a new political party,
Democratic Renewal, taking nine MPs with him. Stephanopoulos criticized the ND leadership for its weak campaign performance in 1985 and for appearing to prioritize the interests of employers over those of workers.
Unholy alliance The dominance of Papandreou in the elections of 1985 caused frustration in the communist parties,
Communist Party of Greece (KKE) and
Eurocommunists, who lost significant electoral share. Moreover, there was growing resentment towards PASOK for its
authoritarian practices and
monopoly of power, while at the same time utilized the Left's ideology and voting power. In the
local elections of October 1986, KKE party chose not to support candidates of PASOK in the three major municipalities (
Athens,
Piraeus, and
Thessaloniki), which provided an opportunity for ND to obtain a new power basis to challenge PASOK. PASOK described this unannounced collaboration as "unholy alliance."
Catharsis (1989–1990) ,
Charilaos Florakis, Mitsotakis,
Konstantinos Stephanopoulos) discuss a time after the Papandreou indictment for the Koskotas scandal. Papandreou called them the "gang of four." In the
June 1989 election, Mitsotakis defeated Papandreou, owing much to the
Koskotas scandal. However, no single political party formed a government on its own, a consequence of Papandreou's
electoral law change just before the elections that was intended to prevent the opposition from coming to power. The
political gridlock led to an unexpected collaboration between conservative
New Democracy and leftist parties under
Synaspismos, led by
Charilaos Florakis, to form a government with a limited mandate to carry out the investigations into PASOK's scandals that became known as "
catharsis." This collaboration was extraordinary for Greek society since they were on opposite sides in the
Greek Civil War (1946–1949) and signaled the end of military interference in politics. The decision by Mitsotakis and Florakis carried additional responsibility because if charges weren't filed against Papandreou during this term, future prosecutions would be impossible according to the constitution. The transitional collaborative government was led by
Tzannis Tzannetakis (2 July–12 October) and initiated parliamentary investigations that led to the indictment of Papandreou and four of his ministers in connection to the Koskotas scandal (29 September 1989). It also granted the first private television
broadcast licenses to publishers critical of PASOK as a counterbalance to state media to avoid future political exploitation from any future
omnipotent prime minister. The government was soon dissolved after the indictments.
Political polarization peaked five weeks before the scheduled
elections of November 1989, when the Greek parliament was set to begin deliberations on whether Papandreou and four of his ministers should be indicted. On this day, 26 September 1989, just hours before deliberations were to start,
Pavlos Bakoyannis (son-in-law of Mitsotakis), a prominent conservative member of parliament and the architect of collaboration between the left and right wings for Papandreou's indictment, was shot by
17 November terrorist group outside his office in Athens. Both major political parties, New Democracy and PASOK, blamed each other for the assassination. On 22 October, there was an assassination attempt against Mitsotakis hours before addressing his supporters in
Mytilini on the island of
Lesbos. After the indictments, the collaborative government dissolved on 7 October, and a caretaker government under
Ioannis Grivas took over until the elections on 5 November. In the
November 1989 elections, New Democracy rose to 46% but still could form a government. A
National unity government was then formed by New Democracy, PASOK, and Synaspismos under 85-year-old former banker
Xenophon Zolotas to break the deadlock and restore public trust. Zolotas resigned in April 1990, unable to reverse the economic decline attributed to Papandreou's earlier policies. In the
April 1990 elections, Mitsotakis was able to form government with the support of a single MP from
Democratic Renewal.
Prime Minister (1990–1993) {{multiple image in 1990 with in the
World Economic Forum in Davos, on 1 February 1992.
Economy Mitsotakis' government, after taking office, introduced a series of austerity measures (following the footsteps of
Costas Simitis in 1985–7) to tame the chronic budget deficits and high inflation rates, both necessary to meet the
Euro convergence criteria. His government also repealed the wage price index, which kept people's incomes high while fueling inflation, and it was PASOK's popular law among wage earners since 1982 when it was first introduced. Certain areas, such as banking, were deregulated to attract capital. Mitsotakis' government sold or liquidated 44 companies controlled by the "Industrial Reconstruction Organisation," which was created by PASOK and was designed to assist failed firms in recovery. While the Greek economy started to recover towards meeting the Euro convergence criteria, austerity policies caused significant frustration on the Greek voters. Moreover, Mitsotakis lacked the political capital to impose the necessary fiscal disciple, causing friction with ND populists members, who wished to swell their patronage appointments as Papandreou did.
Social reforms In social policy family benefits were introduced for families with 3 children or more.
Social Insurance Institute pension replacement rates were reduced from 80% to 60%, while the retirement age was raised to 65 for both men and women who entered the workforce in 1993.
Foreign policy Mitsotakis initiated efforts designed to improve relations with the US, which Papandreou's anti-American rhetoric had damaged. In July 1990, a defense cooperation agreement was signed regarding the operation of American bases in Greece for the next eight years. Greece's airspace and naval support during the
Gulf War further improved the relations between U.S. and Greece. Mitsotakis also visited Washington, making him the first Greek prime minister to do so since 1964 by Papandreou's father. Mitsotakis took the initiative for Greece to
formally recognize the State of Israel, making it the last EEC member to do so. In 1992, he visited Israel, making it the first official visit by a Greek Prime Minister while in office. To prevent the use of Greece as a base for terrorism, Mitsotakis reinstated Karamanlis' anti-terror legistation that Papandreou had repealed in 1983 and expelled
PLO members. Mitsotakis also supported a new dialogue with
Turkey, but made progress on the
Cyprus dispute a prerequisite for improvement on other issues.
Opposition and conflicts Papandreou criticized Mitsotakis's government for its economic policies, for not taking a sufficiently strict position over the
naming dispute with the newly independent
Republic of Macedonia (Mitsotakis favored a composite name such as "Nova Macedonia", for which he was accused at the time of being too lenient) as well as over Cyprus, and for being too pro-American. Mitsotakis's government collapsed after
Antonis Samaras left the New Democracy party in June 1993, protesting his dismissal as
Minister for Foreign Affairs in April 1992 due to his moderate handling of the
Macedonia naming dispute with the neighboring country. Samaras created a new political party
Political Spring () that sliced off ND support in the upcoming elections.
Post-leadership era (1993–2004) Papandreou's PASOK obtained a parliamentary majority in
premature 1993 elections, based on the restored pre-1989 electoral system. After the elections, Mitsotakis resigned as ND leader and he was replaced by
Miltiadis Evert, however, he remained the party's honorary chairman.
Retirement and death In January 2004 Mitsotakis announced that he would retire from Parliament at the
7 March election, 58 years after his
first election. Mitsotakis died on 29 May 2017 in
Athens, aged 98 of natural causes. Four days of national mourning were declared. His
state funeral was held on 31 May 2017 and he was buried in Chania. ==Governance approach==