1. Quotes
  2. Authors
  3. Eleftherios Venizelos

Eleftherios Venizelos Quotes

Eleftherios Kyriakou Venizelos was a Greek statesman and a prominent leader of the Greek national liberation movement. He is noted for his contribution in the expansion of Greece and promotion of liberal-democratic policies. As leader of the Liberal Party, he was elected eight times as Prime Minister of Greece, serving from 1910 to 1920 and from 1928 to 1933. Venizelos had such profound influence on the internal and external affairs of Greece that he is credited with being "the maker of modern Greece", and is still widely known as the "Ethnarch".

His first entry into the international scene was with his significant role in the autonomy of the Cretan State and later in the union of Crete with Greece. Soon, he was invited to Greece to resolve the political deadlock and became the country's Prime Minister. Not only did he initiate constitutional and economic reforms that set the basis for the modernization of Greek society, but also reorganized both army and navy in preparation of future conflicts. Before the Balkan Wars of 1912–1913, Venizelos' catalytic role helped gain Greece entrance to the Balkan League, an alliance of the Balkan states against the Ottoman Empire. Through his diplomatic acumen, Greece doubled its area and population with the liberation of Macedonia, Epirus, and most of the Aegean islands.

In World War I , he brought Greece on the side of the Allies, further expanding the Greek borders. However, his pro-Allied foreign policy brought him into direct conflict with Constantine I of Greece, causing the National Schism. The Schism polarized the population between the royalists and Venizelists and the struggle for power between the two groups affected the political and social life of Greece for decades. Following the Allied victory, Venizelos secured new territorial gains, especially in Anatolia, coming close to realizing the Megali Idea. Despite his achievements, he was defeated in the 1920 General Election, which contributed to the eventual Greek defeat in the Greco-Turkish War . Venizelos, in self-imposed exile, represented Greece in the negotiations that led to the signing of the Treaty of Lausanne, and the agreement of a mutual exchange of populations between Greece and Turkey.

In his subsequent periods in office, Venizelos succeeded in restoring normal relations with Greece's neighbors and expanded his constitutional and economical reforms. In 1935 he resurfaced from retirement to support a military coup. Its failure severely weakened the Second Hellenic Republic.



Wikipedia  

✵ 11. August 1864 – 18. March 1936
Eleftherios Venizelos photo
Eleftherios Venizelos: 11   quotes 0   likes

Famous Eleftherios Venizelos Quotes

“I do not wish to depreciate his great gifts and attainments in a country which unfortunately, if I may say so without offense, is suffering from a temporary lack of leading men.”

Eleftherios Venizelos

Source: Victory of Venizelos, 1920, p. 165; In discussing the responsibility of Zaimes, Venizelos himself remarked in the Greek Chamber.

“Of course the King is mistaken. But is natural that he should be frighten of taking the plunge. We have lost a great opportunity by not intervening at once. But later the King may change his mind, and it may be not too late.”

Eleftherios Venizelos

Source: Victory of Venizelos, 1920, p. 176 ; After one of the many attempts of Venizelos to persuade King Constantine, that Greece should join the Allies in the World War I.

“One cannot kick against geography!”

Eleftherios Venizelos

Source: Victory of Venizelos, 1920, p. 31 ; Part of Venizelos' arguments with king Constantine why Greece should join with the Allies in the World War I.

“Greece expects you not merely to die for her, for that is little, indeed; she expects you to conquer. That is why each one of you, even in dying, should be possessed by one thought alone – how to conserve your strength to the last so that those who survive may conquer.
And you will conquer, I am more than sure of this.”

Eleftherios Venizelos

Venizelos speaking to Greek sailors at the beginning of the First Balkan War.
Source: [Chester, S. M., Life of Venizelos, with a letter from His Excellency M. Venizelos, Constable, 1921, London, http://www.archive.org/download/lifeofvenizelosw00chesuoft/lifeofvenizelosw00chesuoft.pdf], p. 162

“Neutrality is not politics.”

Eleftherios Venizelos

Eleftherios Venizelos in:. Histoire diplomatique de la Grèce de 1821 à nos jours. tome V, Edouard Driault et Michel Lheritier, éd. PUF, 1926, p. 164; Venizelos about the decision of Consantine I to keep Greece neutral during WWI

“All my life with all my heart I wanted the union of Crete and Greece. I wanted it to be sustained by profound mutual affection. I swear that was my only desire.... Greece will never see me again.”

Eleftherios Venizelos

Source: [Farewell to Venizelos, Time magazine, Monday, Mar. 25, 1935, http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,748601-1,00.html] ; Venizelos at the final years of his life.

Eleftherios Venizelos Quotes

“I had to decide [he said later] whether I would be a lawyer by profession and a revolutionary at intervals, or a revolutionary by profession and a lawyer at intervals.”

Eleftherios Venizelos

[Bagger, E. S., Eminent Europeans; studies in continental reality, G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1922, http://www.archive.org/download/eminenteuropeans00bagg/eminenteuropeans00bagg.pdf], p. 61

“England in all her wars has always gained one battle - the last!”

Eleftherios Venizelos

The World Crisis, The Aftermath : Chapter XVIII (Greek Tragedy), Churchill, Butterworth (1929), p. 381.

War

“The European policy is invariably the maintenance of the status quo, and you will do nothing for the subject races unless we, by taking initiative, make you realize that helping us against the Turks is the lesser of the evils.”

Eleftherios Venizelos

[Bagger, E. S., Eminent Europeans; studies in continental reality, G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1922, http://www.archive.org/download/eminenteuropeans00bagg/eminenteuropeans00bagg.pdf], p. 67 and Gibbons, 1920, p. 27
Venizelos' answer to the question "Why don't you trust us implicitly?", made by British naval officer during the Cretan revolt in 1897. After the answer the Englishman replied "Damn it, the beggar is right!" and continued, "and I hope we shan't have to shoot him!"

Evil , Help

“A party should be founded not merely on numbers, but on moral principles, without which it can neither accomplish useful work nor inspire confidence.”

Eleftherios Venizelos

Source: [Gibbons, H. A., Venizelos, Modern Statesmen Series, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1920, http://books.google.com/books?id=DVMlZtkx5bwC], p. 17

Confidence

“I shall fight them!”

Eleftherios Venizelos

Source: Victory of Venizelos, 1920, p. 178 ; In reply to the question, "What if you find German troops barring the way?" from the pro-German Greek MP Theotokis in the House. Later, Venizelos was dismissed from office.

Fight

Similar authors

Giorgos Seferis photo
Giorgos Seferis 2
Greek poet and diplomat
Les Brown photo
Les Brown 24
American politician
Pietro Mennea photo
Pietro Mennea 1
Italian sprinter and politician
Bertil Ohlin photo
Bertil Ohlin 11
Swedish economist and politician
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva photo
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva 10
Brazilian politician, 35th president of Brazil
Salvador Allende photo
Salvador Allende 16
Chilean physician and politician
Margaret Thatcher photo
Margaret Thatcher 348
British stateswoman and politician
Arnold Schwarzenegger photo
Arnold Schwarzenegger 52
actor, businessman and politician of Austrian-American heri…
Antonio Gramsci photo
Antonio Gramsci 22
Italian writer, politician, theorist, sociologist and lingu…
Mario Vargas Llosa photo
Mario Vargas Llosa 30
Peruvian writer, politician, journalist, and essayist