Konstantinos Karamanlis

Konstantinos Karamanlis was an iconic politician who left his mark on the modern history of Greece with a decisive contribution to the economic and political modernization of the country. His greatest achievement is the entry of Greece into the European Economic Community, today the European Union. 

Karamanlis was born on March 8, 1907 in the North of Greece, at the village Kioupkioi — today's Proti — at a time when the region was still under Ottoman rule. His father, Georgios, a public school teacher and farmer, was active in the Macedonian Struggle and was persecuted by both the Ottoman and, later, the Bulgarian occupation authorities, setting a first model of public service for the young Konstantinos. 

His political career began in 1935, at the age of just 28, with the People's Party. However, great recognition came in the 1950s, when he took over the Ministry of Public Works in the Papagos government. There he methodically unfolded his vision for a modern Greece, launching an ambitious program of infrastructure projects: roads, energy networks, water supply, land improvement projects, all with the aim of reconstructing the country after the war. His dynamism and administrative competence made him the natural successor to Papagos as prime minister in 1955. 

From the first day of his premiership, he wanted to put his own stamp on the political life of the country. Karamanlis' primary concern was to design and implement of a program of rapid economic development, in a country that was still experiencing the consequences of a devastating civil war. His vision was a Greece free from hardship and poverty. He increased funding for the social sector by taking institutional measures of a social nature, such as introducing the first social security scheme for farmers in 1961. He also gave women full voting rights.

Karamanlis managed to establish the Third Hellenic Republic, the most solid parliamentary democracy since the establishment of the modern Greek state. He contributed significantly in the breaking down of the tensions and polarization of the post civil-war era, legitimized the communist party and established the most modern, progressive and longest-lasting constitution of the country. In his political thought, development was intertwined with social justice. Karamanlis was an empirical politician, a pragmatist, without dogmatic prejudices. 

In a historic confrontation with German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, Karamanlis famously defended Greece’s European identity, declaring:

“How is it possible, Mr. Chancellor, that Germany — which twice drenched Europe in blood — is included in the Community, while Greece, which gave Europe even its very name, is excluded?”

He counted among his friends major figures of Greek letters and the arts — Manos Hadjidakis, Odysseas Elytis, Karolos Koun, Giannis Moralis — forming a rare bridge between politics and culture. Yet in private, he admitted a personal austerity, telling his friend and biographer Takis Lambrias:
 

“Not only did I have no joys in life, but I did not even allow myself to have desires.”

Karamanlis retired from public life in 1995, at the age of 88, after having served eight years as minister, fourteen years as prime minister, and ten years as President of the Republic. His political career spanned over six decades, leaving a lasting mark on modern Greek history. In recognition of his contribution to democracy and European unity, he was awarded the prestigious Charlemagne Prize in 1978. 

He passed away in 1998, at the age of 91, leaving behind a legacy of leadership, integrity, and European vision. According to his wishes, Konstantinos Karamanlis was buried in the grounds of the Foundation bearing the same name. 

The epitaph he himself had chosen to be written on the tomb monument:

 "To justify my passing from this world, I dedicated my life to the service of the Greek people."