Amalia Fleming

Amalia Koutsouri-Vourekas, Lady Fleming was a Greek doctor, activist and politician.

Fleming was born in Constantinople (Istanbul) in 1909. She moved to Greece and, during the Axis occupation, took part in the National Resistance for which she was jailed by the Italians.

In 1946, she received a scholarship to study in London. There, she met Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of penicillin, whom she married in 1953, becoming Lady Fleming. She was widowed less than two years later, in March 1955.

She returned to Greece in 1963 and was arrested by the junta during the period of the dictatorship (1967-1974) for acts of sabotage. She was released from prison due to health problems in 1971 but was stripped of her Greek citizenship and exiled.

Lady Fleming returned to Greece after the fall of the junta in 1974. She joined PASOK and was elected to the Greek Parliament in 1977, 1981 and 1985. She also was active in several human rights organisations, notably Amnesty International, Democratic Concern, and Human Rights Union.

She died on February 26 1986.

References

* [http://wiki.phantis.com/index.php?title=Amalia_Fleming&printable=yes Amalia Fleming] at wiki.phantis.com