Christos Sartzetakis

Christos Sartzetakis
Christos Sartzetakis
Χρήστος Σαρτζετάκης
Standard of the President of Greece.svg
4th President of the Third Hellenic Republic
In office
March 30, 1985 – May 4, 1990
Preceded by Ioannis Alevras
Succeeded by Constantine Karamanlis
Personal details
Born April 6, 1929 (1929-04-06) (age 82)
Thessaloniki, Greece
Nationality Greek
Political party Independent

Christos Sartzetakis (Greek: Χρήστος Σαρτζετάκης; born 6 April 1929) is a Greek jurist and former supreme justice of the Court of Cassation (Greece), who served as the fourth President of the Third Hellenic Republic from 1985 to 1990. He was born in Neapoli, Thessaloniki in 1929. His father who was serving as a police officer in Thessaloniki - where he met his mother - was Cretan, having born in Kandanos, Chania, while his mother who was born in Sklithro, Florina was Macedonian, i.e. Greek.

He entered the Law Faculty of the University of Thessaloniki in 1946, and received his degree in 1950, after which he practiced law in Thessaloniki. In 1954 he received his license to practice law after successfully completing the Bar examination. In November 1955, he was named Justice of the Peace. A year later, he became a magistrate of the Court of First Instance.

He was the unyielding prosecutor in the sensational case of the assassination of the left-wing member of parliament (and ‘doctor of the poor’) Grigoris Lambrakis, committed on 22 May 1963 in Thessaloniki by right-wing extremists. Lambrakis had called for Greece to disarm and withdraw from NATO. Over half a million people attended his funeral. In spite of obstruction of justice by his superiors, Sartzetakis doggedly pursued his investigation to the end. He succeeded in convicting the police officers involved in the murder; they were later rehabilitated by the military junta.

The circumstances of the Lambrakis investigation was the theme of the well-known 1966 novel Z, by Vassilis Vassilikos and portrayed in the 1969 Costas Gavras film Z.

After the Lambrakis prosecution, Sartzetakis left for Paris on a state-sponsored educational leave to study comparative law at the Faculté de Droit et des Sciences Économiques de Paris and Centre Universitaire des Études des Communautés Européennes. Immediately following the coup d'état of 21 April 1967 by George Papadopoulos, he was called back to Athens by the military junta. Along with 29 other magistrates, he was discharged by a "Constitutional Act" from all his legal functions on 29 May 1968.

He was twice arrested, and imprisoned for almost a year until he was released on 19 November 1971 under mounting international pressure. He was tortured by the Greek military police.

In September 1974, after the toppling of the dictatorship and the restoration of the democracy in Greece (metapolitefsi), Sartzetakis was completely rehabilitated.

In the following years he became chairman of the Court of Appeal and finally, in October 1982, a member of the Court of Cassation (Greece). Sartzetakis became a fellow of several international legal societies. He also wrote several legal and political studies.

In March 1985, the government headed by prime minister Andreas Papandreou announced plans to reduce the powers of the presidency, and the governing party PASOK refused to renew the term of Konstantinos Karamanlis. Karamanlis resigned, and Sartzetakis was elected by the parliament to a 5-year term as the fourth President of the Hellenic Republic (or fifth, including President pro tem Alevras). Holding no official political affiliation, Sartzetakis was the president of metapolitefsi from 30 March 1985 to 4 May 1990.

Although Sartzetakis was viewed as a hero of the democracy and is thought highly by the Greek Left, he was actually always a conservative right-wing royalist. His zeal to uncover the facts behind the Lambrakis assassination was not based on his political views, but on his professionalism. He still attends many ceremonial events in Greece, including patriotic celebrations. Sartzetakis has been honored several times as doctor honoris causa and been given the highest decorations of many states. He is still widely known and respected for his integrity as a judge, and as a fighter for democracy.

External links

Political offices
Preceded by
Ioannis Alevras
President of Greece
1985 - 1990
Succeeded by
Constantine Karamanlis

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Christos Sartzetakis — Christos Antoniou Sartzetakis (né le 6 avril 1929 à Thessalonique) est un homme politique grec. Juge d instruction dans l affaire Gregoris Lambrakis (qui inspira le film Z), il fut président de la République grecque. Après avoir suivi… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Christos Sartzetakis — (griechisch Χρήστος Σαρτζετάκης; * 6. April 1929 in Thessaloniki) war Präsident Griechenlands von 1985 bis 1990. Er ist verheiratet mit Efi Argyriou und hat mit ihr eine Tochter. Laufbahn Sein Vater stammte aus Kreta, seine Mutter aus… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Christos Sartzetakis — Christos Antoniou Sartzetakis (Χρήστος Αντωνίου Σαρτζετάκης) (Tesalónica, 6 de abril de 1929 ) jurista y estadista griego. Recibió su título de abogado en la Universidad Aristóteles de Tesalónica en 1954, ejerciendo la abogacía en Tesalónica… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Sartzetakis — Christos Sartzetakis (griechisch Χρήστος Σαρτζετάκης; * 6. April 1929 in Thessaloniki) war Präsident Griechenlands von 1985 bis 1990. Er ist verheiratet mit Efi Argyriou und hat mit ihr eine Tochter. Laufbahn Sein Vater stammte aus Kreta, seine… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Christos — steht entweder für: Christós (Χριστός (griechisch), latinisiert Christus) „der Gesalbte“ und den Namensträgern: Messias, biblischer Hoheitstitel Jesus Christus, christliche Bezeichnung für Jesus von Nazaret Petrus Christus (um 1410/1420 – um… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Khristos Sartzetákis — Khrístos Sartzetákis Χρήστος Σαρτζετάκης Mandats 6e président de la République hellénique 19&# …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Sarzetakis — Christos Sartzetakis Christos Antoniou Sartzetakis (né le 6 avril 1929 à Thessalonique) est un homme politique grec. Juge d instruction dans l affaire Gregoris Lambrakis (qui inspira le film Z), il fut président de la République grecque …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Konstantin Karamanlis — Karamanlis (links) beim Besuch der Agora in Athen. Rechts: Stefanos Natsinas. Konstantin[os] Karamanlis (griechisch Κωνσταντίνος Καραμανλής, * 8. März 1907 in Küpköy, heute Proti; † 23. April 1998 in Athen) war ein griechischer Jurist und… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Constantinos Karamanlís — Constantinos Karamanlís …   Wikipedia Español

  • Upcoming amendment of the Greek Constitution — At the outset of 2006, prime minister Kostas Karamanlis announced ND s initiative for a new amendment of the Constitution of 1975/1986/2001 and clarified his propositions speaking to the deputies of his party the 11th of May 2006. Propositions of …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”