Stamatis Mercouris

Stamatis Merkouris (Greek: Σταμάτης Μερκούρης, 1895 - 1967) was a Greek Army officer and politician, who served as an MP and a Cabinet Minister. A member of the prominent Merkouris family, he was the son of Spyridon Mercouris, long-serving Mayor of Athens in the early 20th century, and the younger brother of George Mercouris, far-right politician and Cabinet Minister. In contrast to his conservative father and brother, Stamatis would end up becoming a Member of Parliament for the Left; his daughter was the famous actress Melina Mercouri, Minister of Culture in the socialist government of Andreas Papandreou. Biography Stamatis Merkouris was born in Athens in 1895, son of Spyridon Mercouris and younger brother of George Mercouris. He graduated from the Hellenic Military Academy as a second lieutenant of Cavalry, and fought in World War I in 1917-18 and the Greco-Turkish War in 1919-22. The Mercouri were an Arvanite family. He then left the Army and entered politics, taking part in the creation of the People's Party, Greece's main center-right political force at the time. Merkouris later left the People's Party and joined the National Radical Party, founded by the former General Georgios Kondylis. From 1929 until 1932, Stamatis Merkouris served as General Director of the Athens city government, under his father Spyridon Mercouris, who was then serving his last term as Mayor of Athens.