George Papandreou (1888-1968)

George Papandreou pä&180;pendrā´oo , 1888-1968, Greek political leader, father of Andreas Papandreou and grandfather of George Papandreou (1952-). As a young man he became involved in antiroyalist politics, serving as a member of parliament, interior minister (1923), and in several other government posts during the Republic of 1924-35. He was exiled in 1936 by the Greek dictator John Metaxas . Papandreou was active in the Greek resistance in World War II and headed (1944-45) the government-in-exile. A staunch anti-Communist, he served (1946-52) in a number of Social Democratic cabinets and formed (1961) the liberal Center Union party, which won the elections of Nov., 1963. Papandreou's progressive policies as premier aroused much opposition in conservative circles. In July, 1965, he was dismissed by King Constantine II following a dispute over control of the ministry of defense. After the military coup by George Papadopoulos in Apr., 1967, Papandreou was arrested and then placed sporadically under house detention until his death.

Papandreou, Georgios (b. 13 Feb. 1888, d. 1 Nov. 1968). Prime Minister of Greece 1944, 1963, 1964–5 Born in Kalentzi, he graduated in law from the University of Athens, and studied in Germany. He became a lawyer and entered politics as a Liberal. An opponent of Metaxas, he became a prominent politician and held several ministerial appointments, 1923–35. In 1933, he founded the Democratic Party, which in 1935 became the Social Democratic Party. During World War II, he was active in the resistance movement until he was forced to flee, becoming active in the Greek government-in-exile. He returned to Greece in 1944 to head a brief government. He was always, however, unacceptable to the army, and although his new Centre Union Party had a wide following, he never held office for any length of time. He clashed with Constantine II and resigned in 1965. It was to prevent a new electoral victory for his party in 1967 that the Greek colonels seized power.