Constantine Karamanlis

This chapter discusses the impact of Constantinos Karamanlis on Greek politics. Karamanlis, leader of the Greek Right, served as prime minister for fourteen years (1955–63 and 1974–80), and as president of the republic for ten (1980–5 and 1990–5). A major (and, at times, dominant) figure from the mid-1950s until the mid-1990s, he was pivotal in the attainment of economic development and the founding of an established democracy in 1974–75, as well as Greece’s association with the EEC (1961) and its eventual succession (1979–81). The chapter discusses his long political career, his popular support base and the evolution of the Greek Right from the early 1950s until the late 1970s. It also evaluates Karamanlis’ political methodology: it disputes the assumptions of older bibliography which focused on his personal impact only, and puts forward the more contemporary thesis that Karamanlis was the leader of a team that expressed a wider ideological trend and the need to adjust to Western governance in the post-war era. Last but not least, Karamanlis’ legacies are discussed, mostly on the European identity of the country; arguably, this legacy allowed the Greek Right to survive the grave economic and social crisis of the 2010s.