Stephanos Dragoumis (1842, Athens September 17, 1923, Athens) was a judge, writer and Prime Minister of Greece

Prime Minister of Greece

The Prime Minister of Greece , officially the Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic , is the head of government of the Hellenic Republic and the leader of the Greek cabinet. The current interim Prime Minister is Lucas Papademos, a former Vice President of the European Central Bank, following...

 in January-October 1910. He was the father of Ion Dragoumis

Ion Dragoumis

Ion Dragoumis was a Greek diplomat, writer and revolutionary.Born in Athens, Dragoumis was the son of Stephanos Dragoumis who was foreign minister under Charilaos Trikoupis. The family originated in Vogatsiko in Kastoria...

.

Early years

His grandfather, Markos Dragoumis (1770-1854) from Vogatsiko

Vogatsiko

Vogatsiko is a village in northern Greece in the periphery of West Macedonia, located at the southeast corner of Kastoria peripheral unit. It was the seat of the municipality of Ion Dragoumis. The village's population is estimated at some 800 people. It is surrounded by mountains on three sides...

 in Kastoria

Kastoria Prefecture

Kastoria is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of West Macedonia. Its capital is the town of Kastoria.-Geography:...

, had been a member of the 1814-1821 revolutionary Filiki Eteria

Filiki Eteria

thumb|right|200px|The flag of the Filiki Eteria.Filiki Eteria or Society of Friends was a secret 19th century organization, whose purpose was to overthrow Ottoman rule over Greece and to establish an independent Greek state. Society members were mainly young Phanariot Greeks from Russia and local...

. Born 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...

 in 1842, Dragoumis studied law and was a judge.

Political career

He became Secretary-General of the Ministry of Justice and was very active politically. He was later elected a member of Parliament

Hellenic Parliament

The Hellenic Parliament , also the Parliament of the Hellenes, is the Parliament of Greece, located in the Parliament House , overlooking Syntagma Square in Athens, Greece....

 and served as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Justice and Minister of the Interior.He was also active in the Macedonian Struggle

Macedonian Struggle

The Macedonian Struggle was a series of social, political, cultural and military conflicts between Greeks and Bulgarians in the region of Ottoman Macedonia between 1904 and 1908...

. The organization Macedonian Committee was formed in 1904 by Stephanos Dragoumis in Athens.

The 1909 reformation government

Following the Goudi Revolt by the Military League in 1909, the political processes in Greece were in a state of turmoil. The issue of Cretan

Crete

Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...

 annexation and military reforms loomed large. After Kiriakoulis Mavromichalis resigned as Prime Minister in January, 1910, Dragoumis was appointed as part of a reformation government and the Military League dissolved. At the same time, 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...

 arrived in Athens from Crete and concluded the unification of Crete with Greece. In March, the Greek Parliament decided to convoke a "Reforming Parliament". The Dragoumis government responded positively to the demands of its dual mission: to secure a smooth path towards the process of reform and to complete its legislative programme. By September, Venizelos had arrived in Athens and by drawing large crowds to rallies had established his political strength. King George

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...

invited Venizelos to form a government and Dragoumis resigned.