Stefanos Dragoumis

Stephanos Dragoumis (Greek: Στέφανος Δραγούμης; * 1842 in Athens, † 1923) was a Greek politician and Prime Minister in 1910.

Family and career

His father Nikolaos Dragoumis was also politicians and at times foreign and Secretary of the Navy. He was father of the famous writer and diplomat Ion Dragoumis and the subsequent Defence and Foreign Minister Philippos Dragoumis. The written documents pertaining to the family is located in the American School of Classical Studies in Athens archive.

Dragoumis holds a degree in law and then worked as a judge. Later he became Secretary General of the Ministry of Justice.

Political career

MP and staunch Macedonians

His political career began in 1879 with the election of deputies of the National Assembly ( Vouli ton Ellinon ). He was first to 1895 and was deputy to the Parliament again from 1899 to 1910 and in 1915 and 1920, re-elected. Even before his parliament membership he sat down in 1878 especially for the interests of Macedonia and was the founder of the Macedonian Committee.

Minister

Dragoumis was a close friend of the seven-time Prime Minister Charilaos Trikoupis, its economic reform plans he supported. In the cabinets he was from 1886 to 1890 and from 1892 to 1893 Minister of Foreign Affairs. Later he was from November 1893 to January 1895 Minister of the Interior in the cabinet of Trikoupis and involved in this function in the planning of the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens, although he thereby showed little enthusiasm and particular state grants declined.

Advance to the Prime Minister

From January 31 to 18 October 1910, he was after the resignation of the government of Prime Minister Kiriakoulis Mavromichalis and at the same time Minister of Finance. At this time, particularly the port of Crete to Greece was driven, especially after the arrival of Eleftherios Venizelos in Athens in September 1910. Though Dragoumis strove for reforms in Parliament, he had to resign soon after King George I. Venizelos with the formation of a government had commissioned.

In the meantime, was Dragoumis 1912-1913 Governor General of Crete and Macedonia, and drove in this function, the creation of the Museum of Byzantine Culture in Thessaloniki ahead, which opened in 1917. The finance minister, he held in the third cabinet of Alexandros Zaimis 7 October and November 7, 1915 and then in the Cabinet of Stephanos SKOULOUDIS to 8 April 1916.