Constitutional history of Greece
Encyclopedia
In the modern history of Greece
, starting from the Greek War of Independence
, the Constitution of 1975/1986/2001 is the last in a series of democratically adopted Constitutions (with the exception of the Constitutions of 1968 and 1973 imposed by a dictatorship).
, the national representative political gatherings of the Greek
revolutionaries. These constitutions were influenced by:
A year before the adoption of the Greek Constitution of 1822
, local Assemblies had ratified the so-called Greek local statutes
, such as the Senate Organization of Western Greece, the Legal Order of Eastern Greece and the Peloponnesian Senate Organization.
King Otto
governed for more than 10 years without any constitutional restrictions, since the "hegemonical" Greek Constitution of 1832 was never implemented. On 3 September 1843, the infantry, led by Colonel Dimitrios Kallergis and the Revolutionary captain Ioannis Makriyannis, assembled in the square in front of the palace in Athens. Eventually joined by much of the population of the small capital, the rebellion refused to disperse until the king agreed to grant a constitution. Left with little recourse, King Otto gave in to the pressure and agreed to the demands of the crowd over the objections of his opinionated Queen. This square was renamed to Constitution Square (Syntagma Square
) to commemorate the events of September 1843.
The Greek Constitution of 1844
provided for a regime of constitutional monarchy
, providing for a bicameral parliament, consisting of a Chamber of Deputies
and a Senate
. The Greek Constitution of 1864
was even more liberal and introduced in the Greek constitutional history the main traits of the parliamentarism. In 1874 Charilaos Trikoupis
published a manifesto entitled "Who's to blame?", naming the King as the answer. Specifically, he condemned the king for bypassing parliamentary opinion in his selection of Prime Ministers. The article landed him briefly in jail, but also boosted his popularity significantly. A year later, on 8 May 1874 he mustered a parliamentary plurality and king George I of Greece
reluctantly named him as Prime Minister. Thanks to Trikoupis' article a new constitution principle was recognized and implemented: the first past the post party is assigned by the King to form the government. In 1911 Eleftherios Venizelos
amended 54 of the 110 articles of the Constitution, trying to liberalize the constitutional provisions in accordance with his party
's principles. Nevertheless, the National schism of 1916 caused a huge constitutional crisis, as two governments were formed: one in Athens
and one in Thessaloniki
.
. Nonetheless, on 24 June 1925, officers loyal to Theodoros Pangalos
, fearing that the political instability was putting the country at risk, overthrew the government in a coup and violated the Constitution. On 24 August 1926, a counter-coup deposed him and Pavlos Kountouriotis
returned as President.
Since the previous Constitution was not fully implemented, it was the Constitution of 1927 which established the Second Hellenic Republic and provided for an elected Head of State
.
After the plebiscite of 1935
, King George II
was restored, but the Third Revisionary Parliament of 1936 did not have the time to replace or amend the Constitution of the Republic. The elections of 1936 had produced a political deadlock and, thereby, George II appointed Ioannis Metaxas
to be interim prime minister. Widespread industrial unrest in May allowed Metaxas to declare a state of emergency
. He suspended the parliament indefinitely and suspended various articles of the constitution. By 4 August 1936 Metaxas was effectively dictator and no constitutional amendment was prompted.
was once again restored by virtue of the plebiscite of 1946
. The implications of the Greek Civil War
did not allow the ratification of the liberal Draft Constitution of 1948. A more conservative Constitution was passed in 1952, which imposed restrictions on basic human rights and banned the Greek Communist Party.
. An attempted counter-coup by King Constantine II
in December failed, forcing him to leave the country. Thus, legally, there was no government and no Head of State in Athens. Thereby, the Revolutionary Council of Pattakos
, Papadopoulos
and Makarezos
made a brief appearance to cause a Resolution to be published in the Government Gazette, appointing another member to the military administration, Major General Georgios Zoitakis
, as Regent. Zoitakis then appointed Papadopoulos as Prime Minister. King Constantine was officially retained as Head of State, and Greece remained a Kingdom, as stipulated in the 1968 Constitution
.
Five years later, during Papadopoulos' attempts at controlled democratization, a plebiscite abolished the monarchy on 29 July 1973, and Papadopoulos declared himself President of the Republic. A new Constitution was drafted, providing for an "elected" head of state with wide-ranging powers, effectively establishing a presidential republic. After the hard-liners' coup on 25 November 1973 deposed Papadopoulos, the regime retained the trappings of the Republic, but reverted to exclusively military control until its final collapse in the wake of the Cyprus crisis
in August 1974.
, the new government, acting under extraordinary circumstances, issued a "Constituting Act" which abolished the dictatorial constitutions of 1968 and 1973 and temporarily restored the constitution of 1952, "except for the articles dealing with the form of the State"; the last phrase referring to whether the monarchy would be restored or not. The matter was settled by plebiscite on 8 December 1974, by which the monarchy was finally abolished. A new Constitution
, adopted by Parliament and promulgated on 11 June 1975, established a presidential, parliamentary democracy. This constitution was revised in 1985, limiting the powers of the President of the Republic
, and again in 2001, and is in force today.
History of modern Greece
The history of modern Greece covers the history of Greece from the recognition of independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1832 after the Greek War of Independence to the present day.- Background :In 1821, the Greeks rose up against the Ottoman Empire...
, starting from the Greek War of Independence
Greek War of Independence
The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution was a successful war of independence waged by the Greek revolutionaries between...
, the Constitution of 1975/1986/2001 is the last in a series of democratically adopted Constitutions (with the exception of the Constitutions of 1968 and 1973 imposed by a dictatorship).
Greek War of Independence
During the Greek War of Independence, three constitutional texts (Constitutions of 1822, 1823 and 1827) were adopted by the Greek National AssembliesGreek National Assembly
The Greek National Assemblies are representative bodies of the Greek people. During and in the direct aftermath of the Greek War of Independence , the name was used for the insurgents' proto-parliamentary assemblies...
, the national representative political gatherings of the Greek
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
revolutionaries. These constitutions were influenced by:
- the French Constitutions of 1793French Constitution of 1793The Constitution of 24 June 1793 , also known as the Constitution of the Year I, or the The Montagnard Constitution , was the constitution instated by the Montagnards and by popular referendum under the First Republic during the French Revolution...
and 1795French Constitution of 1795The Constitution of 22 August 1795 was a national constitution of France ratified by the National Convention on 22 August 1795 during the French Revolution...
, - the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the CitizenDeclaration of the Rights of Man and of the CitizenThe Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen is a fundamental document of the French Revolution, defining the individual and collective rights of all the estates of the realm as universal. Influenced by the doctrine of "natural right", the rights of man are held to be universal: valid...
, - the Draft Constitution of Rigas Velestinlis,
- the three Constitutions of the Ionian IslandsIonian IslandsThe Ionian Islands are a group of islands in Greece. They are traditionally called the Heptanese, i.e...
.
A year before the adoption of the Greek Constitution of 1822
Greek Constitution of 1822
The Greek Constitution of 1822 was a document adopted by the First National Assembly of Epidaurus on January 1, 1822. Formally it was the Provisional Regime of Greece , sometimes translated as Temporary Constitution of Greece...
, local Assemblies had ratified the so-called Greek local statutes
Greek local statutes
The Greek Local Statutes were the local assemblies of Greece during the Greek War of Independence who codified certain 'proto-constitutions' ratified by local assemblies with the aim of eventually establishing a centralized Parliament under a...
, such as the Senate Organization of Western Greece, the Legal Order of Eastern Greece and the Peloponnesian Senate Organization.
From the absolute to the constitutional monarchy (1833–1924)
Otto of Greece
Otto, Prince of Bavaria, then Othon, King of Greece was made the first modern King of Greece in 1832 under the Convention of London, whereby Greece became a new independent kingdom under the protection of the Great Powers .The second son of the philhellene King Ludwig I of Bavaria, Otto ascended...
governed for more than 10 years without any constitutional restrictions, since the "hegemonical" Greek Constitution of 1832 was never implemented. On 3 September 1843, the infantry, led by Colonel Dimitrios Kallergis and the Revolutionary captain Ioannis Makriyannis, assembled in the square in front of the palace in Athens. Eventually joined by much of the population of the small capital, the rebellion refused to disperse until the king agreed to grant a constitution. Left with little recourse, King Otto gave in to the pressure and agreed to the demands of the crowd over the objections of his opinionated Queen. This square was renamed to Constitution Square (Syntagma Square
Syntagma Square
Syntagma Square , is located in central Athens, Greece. The Square is named after the Constitution that King Otto was forced to grant the people after a popular and military uprising, on September 3, 1843....
) to commemorate the events of September 1843.
The Greek Constitution of 1844
Greek Constitution of 1844
The first constitution of the Kingdom of Greece was the Greek Constitution of 1844. On 3 September 1843, the military garrison of Athens, with the help of citizens, rebelled and demanded from King Otto the concession of a Constitution....
provided for a regime of constitutional monarchy
Constitutional monarchy
Constitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a monarch acts as head of state within the parameters of a constitution, whether it be a written, uncodified or blended constitution...
, providing for a bicameral parliament, consisting of a Chamber of Deputies
Chamber of Deputies
Chamber of deputies is the name given to a legislative body such as the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or can refer to a unicameral legislature.-Description:...
and a Senate
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a legislature or parliament. There have been many such bodies in history, since senate means the assembly of the eldest and wiser members of the society and ruling class...
. The Greek Constitution of 1864
Greek Constitution of 1864
The Second National Assembly of the Hellenes took place in Athens and dealt both with the election of a new sovereign as well as with the drafting of a new Constitution, thereby implementing the transition from constitutional monarchy to a Crowned Democracy.Following the refusal of Prince Alfred...
was even more liberal and introduced in the Greek constitutional history the main traits of the parliamentarism. In 1874 Charilaos Trikoupis
Charilaos Trikoupis
Charilaos Trikoupis was a Greek politician who served as a Prime Minister of Greece seven times from 1875 until 1895....
published a manifesto entitled "Who's to blame?", naming the King as the answer. Specifically, he condemned the king for bypassing parliamentary opinion in his selection of Prime Ministers. The article landed him briefly in jail, but also boosted his popularity significantly. A year later, on 8 May 1874 he mustered a parliamentary plurality and king George I of Greece
George I of Greece
George I was King of Greece from 1863 to 1913. Originally a Danish prince, George was only 17 years old when he was elected king by the Greek National Assembly, which had deposed the former king Otto. His nomination was both suggested and supported by the Great Powers...
reluctantly named him as Prime Minister. Thanks to Trikoupis' article a new constitution principle was recognized and implemented: the first past the post party is assigned by the King to form the government. In 1911 Eleftherios Venizelos
Eleftherios Venizelos
Eleftherios Venizelos was an eminent Greek revolutionary, a prominent and illustrious statesman as well as a charismatic leader in the early 20th century. Elected several times as Prime Minister of Greece and served from 1910 to 1920 and from 1928 to 1932...
amended 54 of the 110 articles of the Constitution, trying to liberalize the constitutional provisions in accordance with his party
Liberal Party (Greece)
The Liberal Party was one of the major Greek political parties of the early 20th century.- History :Founded as the Xipoliton party in Crete , its early leaders were Kostis Mitsotakis and Eleftherios Venizelos...
's principles. Nevertheless, the National schism of 1916 caused a huge constitutional crisis, as two governments were formed: one in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
and one in Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
.
The Second Hellenic Republic and the Restoration (1925–1941)
The Constitution of 1925 provided for a Republic in accordance with the results of the plebiscite of 1924Greek plebiscite, 1924
The Greek plebiscite of 1924 following the "Catastrophe" of the Asia Minor Campaign in which Greek dreams of recapturing Constantinople were dashed. As a result of the military defeat, King Constantine I was forced to abdicate in favor of his son, King George II. He went into exile in Romania, the...
. Nonetheless, on 24 June 1925, officers loyal to Theodoros Pangalos
Theodoros Pangalos (general)
Major General Theodoros Pangalos was a Greek soldier and politician. A distinguished staff officer and an ardent Venizelist and anti-royalist, Pangalos played a leading role in the September 1922 revolt that deposed King Constantine I and in the establishment of the Second Hellenic Republic...
, fearing that the political instability was putting the country at risk, overthrew the government in a coup and violated the Constitution. On 24 August 1926, a counter-coup deposed him and Pavlos Kountouriotis
Pavlos Kountouriotis
Pavlos Kountouriotis was a Greek admiral and naval hero during the Balkan Wars and the first and third President of the Second Hellenic Republic.-Family Background:The Kountouriotes was a prominent Arvanite family from the island of Hydra...
returned as President.
Since the previous Constitution was not fully implemented, it was the Constitution of 1927 which established the Second Hellenic Republic and provided for an elected Head of State
Head of State
A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...
.
After the plebiscite of 1935
Greek plebiscite, 1935
The Greek plebiscite of 1935 was held to decide whether the monarchy should be restored.In 1935, prime minister Georgios Kondylis, a former pro-Venizelos military officer, became the most powerful political figure in Greece. He compelled Panagis Tsaldaris to resign as prime minister and took over...
, King George II
George II of Greece
George II reigned as King of Greece from 1922 to 1924 and from 1935 to 1947.-Early life, first period of kingship and exile:George was born at the royal villa at Tatoi, near Athens, the eldest son of King Constantine I of Greece and his wife, Princess Sophia of Prussia...
was restored, but the Third Revisionary Parliament of 1936 did not have the time to replace or amend the Constitution of the Republic. The elections of 1936 had produced a political deadlock and, thereby, George II appointed Ioannis Metaxas
Ioannis Metaxas
Ioannis Metaxas was a Greek general, politician, and dictator, serving as Prime Minister of Greece from 1936 until his death in 1941...
to be interim prime minister. Widespread industrial unrest in May allowed Metaxas to declare a state of emergency
State of emergency
A state of emergency is a governmental declaration that may suspend some normal functions of the executive, legislative and judicial powers, alert citizens to change their normal behaviours, or order government agencies to implement emergency preparedness plans. It can also be used as a rationale...
. He suspended the parliament indefinitely and suspended various articles of the constitution. By 4 August 1936 Metaxas was effectively dictator and no constitutional amendment was prompted.
The Kingdom of Greece after the Second World War (1942–1967)
After the end of the Second World War, King George IIGeorge II of Greece
George II reigned as King of Greece from 1922 to 1924 and from 1935 to 1947.-Early life, first period of kingship and exile:George was born at the royal villa at Tatoi, near Athens, the eldest son of King Constantine I of Greece and his wife, Princess Sophia of Prussia...
was once again restored by virtue of the plebiscite of 1946
Greek plebiscite, 1946
In 1946, a new plebiscite took place regarding the form of Greece's regime and whether the Greek people would once again decide upon a king or not. For the third time the royal position of George II was at stake. Nonetheless, the final result constituted an expected triumph that cannot be analyzed...
. The implications of the Greek Civil War
Greek Civil War
The Greek Civil War was fought from 1946 to 1949 between the Greek governmental army, backed by the United Kingdom and United States, and the Democratic Army of Greece , the military branch of the Greek Communist Party , backed by Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Albania...
did not allow the ratification of the liberal Draft Constitution of 1948. A more conservative Constitution was passed in 1952, which imposed restrictions on basic human rights and banned the Greek Communist Party.
The Colonels' Regime (1967–1974)
On 21 April 1967, a coup took place by right-wing officers, which established a dictatorship known as the Colonels' RegimeGreek military junta of 1967-1974
The Greek military junta of 1967–1974, alternatively "The Regime of the Colonels" , or in Greece "The Junta", and "The Seven Years" are terms used to refer to a series of right-wing military governments that ruled Greece from 1967 to 1974...
. An attempted counter-coup by King Constantine II
Constantine II of Greece
|align=right|Constantine II was King of Greece from 1964 until the abolition of the monarchy in 1973, the sixth and last monarch of the Greek Royal Family....
in December failed, forcing him to leave the country. Thus, legally, there was no government and no Head of State in Athens. Thereby, the Revolutionary Council of Pattakos
Stylianos Pattakos
Stylianos Pattakos is a Greek military man who was one of the principals of the Greek military junta of 1967-1974 that overthrew the government of Panagiotis Kanellopoulos in a coup d'état on April 21, 1967....
, Papadopoulos
George Papadopoulos
Colonel Georgios Papadopoulos was the head of the military coup d'état that took place in Greece on 21 April 1967 and leader of the military government that ruled the country from 1967 to 1974. Papadopoulos was a Colonel of Artillery...
and Makarezos
Nikolaos Makarezos
Nikolaos Makarezos was a Greek Army officer and one of the masterminds of the Greek military junta of 1967-1974.- Early life and career :He was born in 1919 in the village of Gravia, in the prefecture of Phocis...
made a brief appearance to cause a Resolution to be published in the Government Gazette, appointing another member to the military administration, Major General Georgios Zoitakis
Georgios Zoitakis
Georgios Zoitakis was a Greek Army general and regent of Greece from 13 December 1967 to 21 March 1972, during the period of the military regime of the Colonels.- Life :...
, as Regent. Zoitakis then appointed Papadopoulos as Prime Minister. King Constantine was officially retained as Head of State, and Greece remained a Kingdom, as stipulated in the 1968 Constitution
Greek Constitution of 1968
The Greek Constitution of 1968 was a largely unimplemented constitution of Greece promulgated by the then-ruling military regime in May 1968 and confirmed by a plebiscite in September 1968 following an intensive three-month propaganda campaign by the regime...
.
Five years later, during Papadopoulos' attempts at controlled democratization, a plebiscite abolished the monarchy on 29 July 1973, and Papadopoulos declared himself President of the Republic. A new Constitution was drafted, providing for an "elected" head of state with wide-ranging powers, effectively establishing a presidential republic. After the hard-liners' coup on 25 November 1973 deposed Papadopoulos, the regime retained the trappings of the Republic, but reverted to exclusively military control until its final collapse in the wake of the Cyprus crisis
Turkish invasion of Cyprus
The Turkish invasion of Cyprus, launched on 20 July 1974, was a Turkish military invasion in response to a Greek military junta backed coup in Cyprus...
in August 1974.
The Third Hellenic Republic
With the return of civilian rule under Constantine KaramanlisConstantine Karamanlis
Konstantínos G. Karamanlís , commonly anglicised to Constantine Karamanlis or Caramanlis, was a four-time Prime Minister, the 3rd and 5th President of the Third Hellenic Republic and a towering figure of Greek politics whose political career spanned much of the latter half of the 20th century.-...
, the new government, acting under extraordinary circumstances, issued a "Constituting Act" which abolished the dictatorial constitutions of 1968 and 1973 and temporarily restored the constitution of 1952, "except for the articles dealing with the form of the State"; the last phrase referring to whether the monarchy would be restored or not. The matter was settled by plebiscite on 8 December 1974, by which the monarchy was finally abolished. A new Constitution
Constitution of Greece
The Constitution of Greece , was created by the Fifth Revisional Parliament of the Hellenes and entered into force in 1975. It has been revised three times since, most significantly in 1986, and also in 2001 and in 2008. The Constitutional history of Greece goes back to the Greek War of...
, adopted by Parliament and promulgated on 11 June 1975, established a presidential, parliamentary democracy. This constitution was revised in 1985, limiting the powers of the President of the Republic
President of Greece
The President of the Hellenic Republic , colloquially referred to in English as the President of Greece, is the head of state of Greece. The office of the President of the Republic was established after the Greek republic referendum, 1974 and formally by the Constitution of Greece in 1975. The...
, and again in 2001, and is in force today.
List of Greek Constitutions
In a chronological order, the Greek Constitutions are:- Greek Constitution of 1822Greek Constitution of 1822The Greek Constitution of 1822 was a document adopted by the First National Assembly of Epidaurus on January 1, 1822. Formally it was the Provisional Regime of Greece , sometimes translated as Temporary Constitution of Greece...
- Greek Constitution of 1823Greek Constitution of 1823Greek Constitution of 1823 is the second constitutional text adopted during the Greek War of Independence, which started in 1821. In the spring of 1823 took place the 2nd National Assembly, which adopted the new constitution, named "Law of Epidauros"...
- Greek Constitution of 1827Greek Constitution of 1827The Greek Constitution of 1827 was signed and ratified in June 1827 by the Third National Assembly at Troezen during the latter stages of the Greek War of Independence and represented the first major step towards realizing a centralised system of Government pooling together some of the more...
- Greek Constitution of 1832
- Greek Constitution of 1844Greek Constitution of 1844The first constitution of the Kingdom of Greece was the Greek Constitution of 1844. On 3 September 1843, the military garrison of Athens, with the help of citizens, rebelled and demanded from King Otto the concession of a Constitution....
- Greek Constitution of 1864Greek Constitution of 1864The Second National Assembly of the Hellenes took place in Athens and dealt both with the election of a new sovereign as well as with the drafting of a new Constitution, thereby implementing the transition from constitutional monarchy to a Crowned Democracy.Following the refusal of Prince Alfred...
- Greek Constitution of 1911Greek Constitution of 1911The Greek Constitution of 1911 was a major step forward in the constitutional history of Greece. Following the rise to power of Eleftherios Venizelos after the Goudi revolt in 1909, Venizelos set about attempting to reform the state...
- Greek Constitution of 1925
- Greek Constitution of 1927
- Draft Constitution of 1948
- Greek Constitution of 1952
- Greek Constitution of 1968Greek Constitution of 1968The Greek Constitution of 1968 was a largely unimplemented constitution of Greece promulgated by the then-ruling military regime in May 1968 and confirmed by a plebiscite in September 1968 following an intensive three-month propaganda campaign by the regime...
- Greek Constitution of 1973
- Greek Constitution of 1975/1986/2001Constitution of GreeceThe Constitution of Greece , was created by the Fifth Revisional Parliament of the Hellenes and entered into force in 1975. It has been revised three times since, most significantly in 1986, and also in 2001 and in 2008. The Constitutional history of Greece goes back to the Greek War of...