Venizelos now led a superficially united Greece into the war on the Allied side, but underneath the surface, the division of Greek society into Venizelists and anti-Venizelists, the so-called National Schism, became more entrenched.

Constantine forced Venizelos to resign twice, but in 1917 he left Greece, after threats of the Entente forces to bombard Athens ; his second son, Alexander, became king.

On 14 November 1920, the monarchists won, and Dimitrios Rallis became prime minister ; Venizelos chose to leave in self-exile.

Outstanding Greek public figures in the 20th century include Cretan-born Eleutherios Venizelos, prominent statesman of the interwar period ; Ioannis Metaxas, dictator from 1936 until his death ; Constantine Karamanlis, prime minister ( 1955 – 63, 1974 – 80 ) and president ( 1980 – 85 ) of Greece ; George Papandreou, head of the Center Union Party and prime minister ( 1963 – 65 ); and his son Andreas Papandreou, the PASOK leader who became prime minister in 1981.

The four Great Powers assumed the administration of Crete ; and Prince George of Greece, the second son of King George I of Greece, became High Commissioner, with Venizelos serving as his minister of Justice from 1899 to 1901.

Venizelos became minister of Justice and with the rest of the Committee, they began to organize the State.

Relations between the two men became increasingly soured, and Venizelos repeatedly submitted his resignation.

Chairman of the committee was Antonios Michelidakis and Venizelos became Minister of Justice and Foreign Affairs.

As a young man, he became involved in politics as a supporter of the Liberal leader Eleftherios Venizelos, who made him Governor of Chios after the Balkan War of 1912.

Venizelos was quite prepared to face the issue, and the question of the return of King Constantine immediately became the real issue of the general election.

While there, they became close friends with Eleftherios Venizelos, whom they entertained regularly at their opulent mansion in the northern suburb of Kifisia.

* 1864 – Eleftherios Venizelos, Greek politician, Prime Minister of Greece ( d. 1936 )

In addition, as the Commander-in-chief of the Greek Army during the Balkan Wars, his popularity was enormous, rivalled only by that of Venizelos, his Prime Minister.

* 1924 – Eleftherios Venizelos becomes Prime Minister of Greece for the fourth time.

* 1894 – Sofoklis Venizelos, Greek politician, three times Prime Minister of Greece ( d. 1964 )

* 1910 – Eleftherios Venizelos is elected Prime Minister of Greece for the first time ( 7 times in total ).

When Eleftherios Venizelos, Prime Minister at the time, was asked if the Greek army should move towards Thessaloniki or Monastir ( now Bitola, Republic of Macedonia ), Venizelos replied " Salonique à tout prix!

The Serbian Prime Minister Nikola Pasic told Greece it could have Thrace if Greece helped Serbia keep Bulgaria out of Serbian part of Macedonia and the Greek Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos agreed.

Setting up a press agency in Greece to spread news favorable to the allies led, within a few months, to Constantine ’ s being deposed in favour of Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos.

Eleftherios Venizelos, who hailed from Mournies near Chania, was the leader of the 1896-97 uprising against Ottoman rule and went on to be Prime Minister of Greece and a great statesman.

In its aftermath, Constantine and his brothers were dismissed from the armed forces, only to be reinstated a few months later by the new Prime Minister, Eleftherios Venizelos, who was keen on gaining the trust of King George.

On the initiative of Prime Minister Venizelos, Constantine was also awarded the rank and baton of a Field Marshal.

Constantine offended British and French interests by blocking efforts by Prime Minister Venizelos to bring Greece into the war on the side of the Allies.

In these conditions Alexander's only reassurance was Aspasia, and he took the decision to marry her regardless of his father's recommendations and the opposition of Prime Minister Venizelos.

* A triumvirate was established to head the Theriso revolt of 1905 in autonomous Crete, consisting of Eleftherios Venizelos ( later Prime Minister of Greece ) in charge of organisational matters, Konstantinos Foumis in charge of finances and Konstantinos Manos, the former mayor of Chania, in charge of military affairs.

He was appointed Prime Minister after Venizelos ' first resignation in 1915 by King Constantine I.

After Venizelos ' defeat, he controlled most deputies in the parliament, and was the main driving force of the following royalist governments, but himself only assumed the office of Prime Minister in April 1921.

Invited by Prime Minister Venizelos in 1910, the mission began its work upon its arrival in May 1911.

Constantine I of Greece and Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos at the Greek GHQ during the Second Balkan War

In April 1910 a new assembly was convened and Venizelos was elected chairman and then Prime Minister.

He was also Deputy Prime Minister from 1950 – 1952, in the governments of Nikolaos Plastiras and Sofoklis Venizelos and served numerous times as a Cabinet Minister, starting in 1923, in a political career that spanned more than five decades.

The first president of Turkey Mustafa Kemal Atatürk ( center ) hosting Greek Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos ( at left ) in Ankara October 27, 1930.

Initially during the war, Greece followed a course of neutrality, with the Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos favoring the Entente and pro-German King Constantine I advocating neutrality.

On 20 June 2012, Samaras successfully formed a coalition with PASOK ( now lead by former Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos ) and DIMAR.

When Bulgaria entered the war as a German ally in October 1915, Venizelos invited Entente forces into Greece ( the Salonika Front ), for which he was again dismissed by Constantine.

The Hellenic Parliament demanded the exclusion of Constantine I and Crown Prince George from the line to the throne ( leaving Venizelos to conceal his republican views ), resolving on 29 October 1920 that Alexander's younger brother, Prince Paul, should ascend to the throne.

On 1 October, in a regular session of the Parliament Venizelos announced the declaration of war to Turkey and accepting the Cretan deputies, thus closing the Cretan Question, with the declaration of the union of Crete with Greece.

At the invitation of the Greek Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos he submitted a plan on 20 October 1919 for the creation of a new University at Smyrna in Asia Minor, to be named Ionian University.

The election campaign was already proceeding when the king died, but the date of the elections was postponed, and Venizelos summoned the Chamber to meet for a special session on October 28.

In October 1916 a pro-Entente group formed a separate, provisional government in Thessaloniki, led by Eleftherios Venizelos.

At the time, he deplored Eleftherios Venizelos ' deposition from the office of Prime Minister ( October 1915 ).

In October 1912, Eleutherios Venizelos ordered the entire Cretan gendarmerie to be transported to Thessaloniki.

With Venizelos he participated in the negotiations for the international treaties of Sèvres and Lausanne, and co-signed as Foreign Minister the Greek-Turkish Friendship Convention ( also known as the Treaty of Ankara ) on 30 October 1930.