Themistoklis Sofoulis - Leader of The Liberal Party

Leader of The Liberal Party

After Venizelos fled from Greece, Sofoulis became the new leader of the Liberal Party. He served as prime minister, for the first time, from the 25 July 1924 to the 27 November 1924.

In 1926, after the overthrow of Theodoros Pangalos' dictatorship, he served as Speaker of the Parliament, until 1928, when Venizelos achieved a landslide victory in the elections of 1928. He served as Minister of Military Affairs until 1930, when he was re-elected as Speaker of the Parliament. During all these years he was recognised as the deputy leader of the Liberal Party, although such post did not, officially, exist. Sophoulis remained Speaker of the Parliament until the elections of 1933, when the Liberal Party suffered a defeat and the People's Party formed a government under the leadership of Panagis Tsaldaris.

During the dramatic events, which led to the resignation of Panagis Tsaldaris and the restoration of the constitutional monarchy, Themistoklis Sofoulis kept a moderate stance, which was appreciated by King George II. On 16 March 1936 Sofoulis was re-elected Speaker of the Parliament. The same year he signed the notorious Sofoulis-Sklavainas Pact with the KKE.

During Ioannis Metaxas' dictatorship, Sofoulis remained aloof from developments, although the regime's increasing tendency towards Fascism caused him to send a warning letter to King George II in April 1939. During the Axis Occupation of Greece, Sofoulis, like most of the established politicians, remained rather passive, although he maintained contacts to the Allies in the Middle East. He refused an offer to cooperate with the National Liberation Front (EAM), and accused it of plotting to seize power and install a Communist regime after Liberation. On 19 May 1944, the Germans arrested him along with other politicians and imprisoned him in the Haidari concentration camp, where he remained until Liberation in October.

Themistoklis Sofoulis served as head of the Greek government from 1945 to 4 April 1946, but in the legislative elections of 1946 he suffered defeat at the hands of the People's Party of Konstantinos Tsaldaris. His efforts to prevent the outbreak of the Greek Civil War by reaching out to the Communists and offering amnesty were rebuffed by the People's Party, leading Sofoulis to abstain from the government of Dimitrios Maximos. However on 7 September 1947 he became prime minister once again in a government of both the Liberal Party and the People's Party. Sofoulis undertook further efforts to end the conflict, negotiating with EAM for a general amnesty and a possible coalition government between it and the Liberals, provided that EAM's new armed force, known as the "Democratic Army of Greece", disarmed. Under intense US pressure, these proposals were abandoned, and the war took its course.

He died, however, before the end of the civil conflicts, in Kifissia, on the 24 June 1949, at the age of 89.