Thirteen elections that changed a country

The most important ballots of the last century were those which affected the political position of Greece on the international stage

Eleftherios Venizelos addressing Parliament. The elections of November 28, 1910, which brought him to power, and those of November 1, 1920, that put an end to his political career, were decisive for Greece in the 20th century.

By Giorgos Malouhos - Kathimerini

The Greek elections of November 1, 1920 brought in a new government and changed the political map of Greece. They engendered a diplomatic dilemma that led to a military defeat and finally an international treaty with new alignments among allies, redistribution of territory, enormous population movements and a new regime in a troubled part of the world. The most crucial Greek elections have affected the country's international position rather than domestic politics.

Those elections, which replaced Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos after a series of wars that had doubled the size of Greece as the country spearheaded Western interests alongside the British and the French, were not the only ones to play a decisive role in Greek history. Since 1910 there have been four distinct stages.

1910-1935: Consolidation but also turmoil for the nation and state.

1936-1945: A decade without elections. The years of fascism, war and occupation.

1946-1974: The years of bloody Western integration of Greece, of modernization and development, but also of unstable, failed democracy.

Since 1974: Political stability, robust democracy and European integration.