Antonios Kriezis

Antonios Kriezis
10th Prime Minister of Greece
In office 12 December 1849 – 16 May 1854
Monarch	Otto of Greece
Preceded by	Constantine Kanaris
Succeeded by	Alexandros Mavrokordatos
Minister for Naval Affairs
In office 20 May 1835 – 3 September 1843
Preceded by	Wilhelm von Le Suire
Succeeded by	Constantine Kanaris
Personal details
Born	1796 Troezen, Greece
Died	1 April 1865 Athens, Greece
Political party	Independent

Antonios Kriezis (Greek: Αντώνιος Κριεζής, 1796–1865) was a Greek captain of the Hellenic navy during the Greek War of Independence and a Prime Minister of Greece from 1849 to 1854. Kriezis was born in Troezen in 1796 to an Arvanite family. Literally translated from Albanian, his surname means "black head".

In July 1821, he took part to the Greek expedition to Samos and in 1822 to the naval battle of Spetses. In 1825, he and Konstantinos Kanaris took part to a failed attempt to destroy the Egyptian navy inside the port of Alexandria. In 1828, John Capodistria placed him in command of a navy squadron and in 1829, he captured Vonitsa from the Ottomans. Under King Otto in 1836, he became Minister of Naval Affairs and later served as Prime Minister of Greece from December 24, 1849, until May 28, 1854. He was succeeded by Konstantinos Kanaris. He died in Athens in 1865.

His eldest son Dimitrios Kriezis became a naval officer and served as the aide-de-camp to King George I of Greece and as Minister for Naval Affairs, while his younger son Epameinondas Kriezis also became a naval officer and politician.

Honours

Two ships of the Hellenic Navy have been named Kriezis in his honour.

External links

• Biography of Antonios Kriezis (in Greek)