His Excellency Georgios Kountouriotis Γεώργιος Κουντουριώτης |
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Georgios Kountouriotis.
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3rd President of the Provisional Administration of Greece | |
In office December 31, 1823 – April 26, 1826 |
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Preceded by | Petros Mavromichalis |
Succeeded by |
Andreas Zaimis as President of the Governmental Commission |
Prime Minister of Greece | |
In office March 4, 1848 – October 15, 1848 |
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Monarch | Otto |
Preceded by | Kitsos Tzavelas |
Succeeded by | Constantine Kanaris |
Personal details | |
Born | 1782 Hydra, Ottoman Empire |
Died | 1858 (aged 76) Athens, Greece |
Religion | Greek Orthodox |
Georgios Kountouriotis (Greek: Γεώργιος Κουντουριώτης) (1782–1858) was a Greek ship-owner and politician who served as prime minister from March to October 1848. He was born in 1782 on the Saronic island of Hydra to an Arvanite family. He was the brother of Lazaros Kountouriotis, another ship-owner of the Greek War of Independence and grandfather of Pavlos Kountouriotis who fought in the First Balkan War and later served as first President of the Greek Republic.
When the War of Independence broke out, Georgios, along with the rest of the Kountouriotis family, supported the effort with generous donations as well as with their ships. He was often at odds with other Hydriot sea captains, but ultimately was the wealthiest. Georgios Kountouriotis became a member of the executive committee of the Greek Revolution and served as its President from 1823 to 1826 during the crucial time of the siege of Missolonghi.
After independence, he became a member of the cabinet of Ioannis Kapodistrias, the first governor of Greece. He was a semi-independent adherent of the French Party mostly due to his antipathy to the Russian Party and his fellow Hydriots of the English Party. During the period of French Party ascendancy in the reign of King Otto, he served as Prime Minister. He died in 1858.