VENIZELOS, ELEUTHERIOS Greek statesman, was born in Crete Aug. 23, 1864 of a family which had emigrated from Greece in 1770. Having been educated in the schools of Syra and Athens and having taken a degree in the University of Athens at the age of 23, he practised law in Crete, but soon became a politician, and in the insurrection of 1889 was compelled to flee from the island. After his return and the re establishment of tranquillity, Venizelos was elected a member of the Cretan Assembly, and in 1897 came into prominence as one of the leaders of the Cretan uprising; it was he who received the British, French and Italian admirals when they came to negotiate a settlement between the insurgents and the Turks early in Feb. of that year.
In Dec. 1898 Prince George of Greece landed in Crete as the High Commissioner of the Great Powers, and a few months later Venizelos became head of the Island Executive. But he soon found himself at variance with the Prince's autocracy, and in 1904 a complete rupture occurred. Subsequently the Veni zelists were defeated at the polls, but the Cretan leader organized a revolt, which greatly increased the unpopularity of the High Commissioner who was accused of misruling the people. In Sept. 1906 the Prince left the island, his place being taken by Alex. Zairnis, who was appointed not by the Powers, but by the King of Greece. From that time until 1909 Venizelos was sometimes Chief of the Cretan Government and sometimes Leader of the Opposition. But whilst the Cretans often came into sharp conflict with the Protecting Powers, Venizelos' wisdom and moderation were responsible for the generally friendly relations which existed, and his far-sightedness, particularly after the departure of M. Zaimis in Oct. 1908, and during the crisis of 1909, facilitated the union of Crete with Greece, which ultimately took place as a result of the first Balkan War.
In 1909 the military league headed a bloodless revolution against political corruption and court favouritism in Greece and invited Venizelos to come to Athens. He persuaded King George and the League that the best way out of a dangerous situation would be the revision of the Constitution by a National Assembly. Elections were held in Aug. 191o, and Venizelos, who had remained techni cally a Greek citizen during his Cretan political life, took his seat at Athens for the first time. The Chamber having been opened in
September, a month later Venizelos became Prime Minister.
He was in a position to enforce practically any situation, in cluding a republic, which he wished ; but decided to work loyally with the King and his successors. The Constitution was success fully revised in 1911, reforms in the public services were intro duced, and the reorganization of the army and of the navy were respectively placed in the hands of French and British Missions.
In the spring of 1912 Venizelos was returned to power as the leader of an overwhelming majority in an ordinary Chamber which then replaced the Revisionary Assembly. By that time, too, the Prime Minister was busily occupied with the formation of the Balkan League, and on May 29, 1912, the Greco-Bulgarian Treaty was signed.
Whilst the Balkan Wars and Venizelos' diplomacy led to an un expected Hellenic expansion, the assassination of King George at Salonika on March 18, 1913, removed a man who had always been in favour of moderation, and placed upon the throne his son Constantine, who had not forgiven, and who never really forgave, Venizelos for his attitude towards Prince George in Crete. When the World War broke out, therefore, the position of Greece was greatly complicated by the facts that she was bound to Serbia by a Treaty signed in the summer of 1913 ; that from the first Venizelos was an ardent supporter of the Allied cause; and that the King was in sympathy with the Central Powers. Before the entry of Turkey into the War, Venizelos openly favoured Hellenic assistance for the Entente in case of that entry, and early in 1915 the Prime Minister advocated concessions to Bulgaria, Greek sup port for Serbia, and Greek co-operation at the Dardanelles in ex change for the promise of important future compensations in Western Asia Minor. But though he appears originally to have ap proved of the idea, the King vetoed Venizelos' decision to accept this offer, and he was forced to resign, though he possessed a strong majority in the Chamber. In the election which followed in June the Venizelist party secured the return of 190 deputies out of a total of 316, of which the Chamber was then composed.