Lambros Koromilas

Lambros Koromilas (Greek: Λάμπρος Κορομηλάς: 1856 in Athens – 1923 in New York City) was a Greek economist and diplomat, and one of the leading figures in the Macedonian Struggle during his tenure as Greek Consul-General to Thessaloniki in 1904–1907. He also served as Finance Minister in 1910–1912 and Foreign Minister before and during the Balkan Wars of 1912–1913.

Koromilas was born in Athens in 1856, the second son of the publisher Andreas Koromilas. After studies in Physics and Mathematics in Athens, he continued his studies in France and Germany. On his return to Greece, he took up his father's business, but shortly after he was appointed director of the National Printing House. He later succeeded his elder brother Dimitrios (a noted theatrical writer) in running the newspaper Efimerida.

In 1888, he left Greece and went to the Ottoman capital, Constantinople, where he studied the Turkish language and the structure of the Ottoman government. On his return to Greece, he participated in the Cretan Revolt of 1896, as well as in the subsequent Greco-Turkish War of 1897. After the war, he was appointed General Secretary of the Finance Ministry, a post he held until 1899. In January 1904 he was sent as Greek consul to Philippopolis, and in May of the same year he was transferred to the Greek Consulate General in Thessaloniki. From this point he became one of the main figures of the Macedonian Struggle, the Greek effort to compete with the pro-Bulgarian Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO) for the allegiance of the population of Macedonia. Koromilas activity as the central coordinator of the Greek armed bands across Macedonia did not go unnoticed by the Ottoman government, which demanded his recall. In 1906 he was dismissed from his consular post, but appointed instead as Inspector General of the Greek consulates in Macedonia, continuing his work until his final recall under Ottoman pressure in late 1907.

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