Konstantinos Mitsotakis
 Konstantinos Mitsotakis    (politician) | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1918-10-18 Halepa, Greece |
| Died | 2017-05-29 (Age 98) Athens, Greece |
| Nationality | Greek |
| Alma mater | University of Athens |
| Children | Alexandra Mitsotaki |
| Spouse | Marika Mitsotakis |
| Member of | US/Department/State/International Visitor Leadership Program |
| Party | Liberal, Centre Union, Independent, New Liberal, New Democracy |
Konstantinos Mitsotakis was a Greek politician who was Prime Minister of Greece from 1990 to 1993. His son, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, was elected as the Prime Minister of Greece following the 2019 Greek legislative election.
Career
Mitsotakis was born on Crete, into an already powerful political family, linked to the distinguished statesman Eleftherios Venizelos on both sides.
Mitsotakis was elected to the Greek Parliament for the first time in 1946, standing for the Liberal Party. He followed most of the old Liberal Party into Georgios Papandreou's Center Union in 1961. But King Constantine II openly opposed Papandreou's progressive government, and in 1965 he engineered a split in the Centre Union. Mitsotakis led a Centre Union faction, known as the "July apostates", who crossed the floor to bring about the fall of Papandreou's s government, which earned him the long-time hatred of Papandreou loyalists as well as a significant part of the Greek left.
Mitsotakis was arrested in 1967 by the military junta but managed to escape to Turkey with a help of Turkish foreign minister İhsan Sabri Çağlayangil and lived in exile with his family in Paris, France, until his return to Greece in 1974, following the restoration of democracy.
When he became PM in 1990 for the New Democracy (ND) party, his government moved swiftly to cut government spending as much as possible, privatize state enterprises and reform the civil service. In foreign policy, Mitsotakis took the initiative to have Greece formally recognize the state of Israel, and moved to reopen talks on American bases in Greece and to restore confidence among Greece's economic and political partners (big banks and the United States/NATO).
In June 1990, Mitsotakis became the first Greek Premier to visit the United States since 1974. He promised to meet Greece's NATO obligations, to prevent use of Greece as a base for terrorism (change the policy away from Palestinians and the Arab countries), and to stop the rhetorical attacks on the United States that had been Papandreou's hallmark. Mitsotakis also supported a new dialogue with Turkey, but made progress on the Cyprus dispute a prerequisite for improvement on other issues.
He resigned after a 1993 premature election.
Event Participated in
| Event | Start | End | Location(s) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bilderberg/1993 | 22 April 1993 | 25 April 1993 | Greece Nafsika Astir Palace Hotel Vouliagmeni | The 41st Bilderberg, held in Greece |
