Georgios Kafantaris (Greek: Γεώργιος Καφαντάρης; 13 October 1873[1] – 28 August 1946) [2]was a Greek politician, a political personality of the first half of the 20th century and a prominent member of the Venizelist party.
Biography
Georgios Kafantaris was born in Anatoliki Fragkista, Evrytania, on 13 October 1873. He studied law in Athens and practiced law in Missolonghi and Karpenisi. He was first elected as a member of parliament in 1905, and served as Minister of the Interior in Venizelos' short-lived government in 1915. He stood firmly on his side during the National Schism.
In 1924, Kafantaris was appointed Minister of Justice. On 19 February 1924, Eleftherios Venizelos resigned for health reasons and nominated Kafantaris as his successor. Kafantaris served as Prime Minister for almost a month and then resigned himself on 12 March 1924. He was succeeded by Alexandros Papanastasiou.
In 1928 left the Liberal Party and found the Progressive Party. In the governments formed by Alexandros Zaimis in 1926-1928, Kafantaris served as Minister of Finance (during his ministry, in 1928, the Bank of Greece was established). In 1933 he took over the portfolio of the Ministry of Finance in the last Venizelos government.
The last office with which Kafantaris was honoured was that of vice-president in the government formed by Themistoklis Sofoulis in November 1945.
Georgios Kafantaris died on 28 August 1946, a few days before the referendum of 1 September 1946, which led to the restoration of the monarchy and the return of George II to the Greek throne.
References
^Note: Greece officially adopted the Gregorian calendar on 16 February 1923 (which became 1 March). All dates prior to that, unless specifically denoted, are Old Style.
