Venizelos, Eleftherios K. - Akrotiri, Crete, Greece

Eleftherios K. Venizelos

Akrotiri, Crete, Greece

N 35° 31.487 E 024° 03.364

The tomb of the leader of the Greek national liberation movement and later the Prime Minister of Greece Eleftherios Kyriákou Venizelos is located in a hilltop park-like setting overlooking his birthplace of Chania. The rectangular stone tomb of Eleftherios K. Venizelos is inlaid with a large bronze Latin Cross and has his name inscribed in Greek letters followed by the years:

1864-1936.

Eleftherios Venizelos was a leader of the Greek independence from occupation by the Ottoman Empire. He then influenced the expansion of Greece. He achieved autonomy of the Cretan State and later achieved the union of Crete with Greece. As a political leader he promoted liberal-democratic policies as was the leader of the Greek Liberal Party.

Eleftherios Venizelos was elected eight times as Prime Minister of Greece. He served two non-consecutive spans from 1910 to 1920 and again from 1928 to 1933. His was the most influential person in developing Greece as a modern country. Because of his initiation of constitutional and economic reforms he is known as the "the maker of modern Greece".

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