During the revolution (1821–1832) During the
Greek War of Independence, different regions of Greece that were free of
Ottoman control began establishing
democratic systems for self-government, such as the Peloponnesian Senate. Meanwhile, a series of overarching
National Assemblies, such as the
First National Assembly at Epidaurus, met from time to time to provide overall coordination. The First Assembly elected a 5-member executive council, which was headed by
Alexandros Mavrokordatos. The Executive continued to govern Greece until 1828, when
Ioannis Kapodistrias assumed the governance of the state as "Governor of Greece"—simultaneously head of state and of the government.
Constitutional monarchy (1843–1862) King Otto's reign as an absolute monarch ended when agitators for a constitution (as promised when the monarchy was established) rose in the 3 September Revolution in 1843. Otto was forced to grant a
constitution and
Andreas Metaxas took power; he is credited with being the first Greek to formally serve as "Prime Minister." Once the office of prime minister was established, the responsibility for self-government again fell to the Greek people. However, two factors maintained significant power for the crown: the Greek party structure was weak and client-based, and the monarch was free to select any member of parliament to form a government.
Crowned Republic (1863–1910) In 1862,
Otto was deposed and the Greek people chose a new monarch in the person of King
George I of Greece. In the next 15 years, the party structures began to evolve into more modern ideological parties with the
Nationalist Party led by
Alexandros Koumoundouros on the right and the more liberal
New Party led by
Charilaos Trikoupis. Trikoupis was successful after the election of 1874 in forcing the king to accept the "dedilomeni principle" ()--that the leader of the majority in parliament must be selected as prime minister by the king. The Nationalists were later led by
Theodoros Deligiannis who famously said "was against everything Trikoupis was for." This two-party system existed until 1910, even as
Georgios Theotokis took over the New Party after the death of Trikoupis in 1895 and the assassination of Deligiannis in 1905, which led to a splintering of parties on the conservative and nationalist side.
Upheaval, revolts and war (1910–1949) In 1910, military officers sparked the fall of civilian government when they issued the
Goudi Pronunciamento. This event led to the arrival in Greece of the
Cretan politician
Eleftherios Venizelos. His followers gathered in the
Liberal Party, which, despite Venizelos' dominant status, constituted the first true party in the modern sense, in that it was formed around a progressive, liberal and pro-
republican political agenda. The Liberal Party was eventually opposed by the more conservative and pro-
royalist People's Party, initially led by
Dimitrios Gounaris. The antagonism between the two parties, and the supporters of monarchy and republicanism, would dominate the political landscape until after the Second World War.
Stabilization and conflict with the monarchy (1950–1967) The
Constitution of 1952 brought stability in the 1950s since the political institutions of Greece had been significantly weakened by the
Metaxas' dictatorship (1936–1941), followed by the devastation of
Axis occupation of Greece (1941–1945) and by the
Greek Civil War (1946–1949). However, the king maintained considerable powers, such as dissolving the government and parliament and calling new elections. Moreover, article 31 stated that the king hires and fires ministers (). This created confusion as the prime minister was chosen by popular election, but the elected prime minister could not select the government's ministers without the king's approval. Two prime ministers in the 1950s had raised the question as to who governs the state, the king or the prime minister, echoing the disagreements between
Eleftherios Venizelos and
Constantine I during the
National Schism.
Georgios Papandreou and his political party,
Center Union, having a moderate reformist platform, gained considerable traction and rose to power in
elections of 1963 and later in
elections of 1964. However, seeds of resentment towards Papandreou from the military grew as they were excluded from salary increases. He also made a faint attempt to gain control of the military, which alarmed many officers without weakening them. The latter created friction with the
King Constantine II, who wanted to be in command of the army and not the elected government. 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. Andreas Papandreou's militant and uncompromising stance made him a target of
conspiratorial accusations from ultra-rightists who feared that following any new elections, which the nearly 80-year-old Georgios Papandreou would likely win, his son would be the actual focus of power in the party. These incidents caused a dispute between Georgios Papandreou and King Constantine II, leading to the resignation of the former. The king, potentially acting within his constitutional rights but politically dubious approach, tried to bring members of the Center Union party to his side and form a government, leading to
Iouliana of 1965. To end the
political deadlock, Georgios Papandreou attempted a more moderate approach with the king, but Andreas Papandreou publicly rejected his father's effort and attacked the whole establishment, attracting the support of 41 members of the Center Union in an effort designed to gain the party's leadership and preventing any compromise. The prolonged political instability between the politicians and the king in finding a solution led a group of
Colonels to intervene and rule Greece for seven years.
Greek Junta (1967–1974) Third Hellenic Republic (1975–) With the return of civilian rule under
Constantine Karamanlis, the new government, acting under extraordinary circumstances, issued a "Constituting Act" which voided the 1973 constitution. Pending a referendum on a new constitution, the 1952 constitution was temporarily restored, "except for the articles dealing with the form of the State"; the last phrase referred to whether the monarchy would be restored or not. In the meantime, the functions of the king were to be discharged by the incumbent
President of the Republic General Phaedon Gizikis who was appointed by the Ioannides' short-lived regime as a nominal figurehead. The matter was settled by
plebiscite on 8 December 1974, by which the monarchy was definitively abolished. A new
Constitution, adopted by Parliament and promulgated on 11 June 1975, established a
parliamentary democracy with a president as head of state. Karamanlis reinforced the executive branch's power, represented by the prime minister, while the
president would act as the head of state with sufficient
reserve powers, the right to call elections, appoint a government, dissolve Parliament, and call referendums on important national questions. Moreover, the president could
veto any legislation that did not reflect the popular will that could only be overcome with three fifth parliamentary majority. The presidential powers, which overall exceeded those of the monarch under the 1952 Constitution, were drawn inspiration from the recent
Gaullism reforms in the
France where Karamanlis spent time (1963–1974). Papandreou triggered a
constitutional crisis to revise the constitution in 1985 to increase the powers of the prime minister by removing the reserve powers of the president, which were acting as
checks and balances; effectively turning the prime minister into a "parliamentarian autocrat." Papandreou's
constitutional proposals took effect in 1986. Greek constitutional reformers commonly include in their proposals the return of some prerogatives taken back to the president to reduce
majoritarian politics, i.e., 'winner takes all,' while avoiding conflicts between the president and prime minister in the executive branch. The Constitution was amended again in 2001, 2008, and 2019 and is in force today. == See also ==