Antonios Kriezis

Portrait of Antonios Kriezis

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 a Arvanite family. Literally translated from Albanian, his surname means "black head". Kryeziu is also the name of an important clan in North Albania and Kosovo.

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

• Kriezis (D217), a Gearing-class destroyer, in service with the Hellenic Navy between 1980 and 1993, was named after him.

External links

• Biography of Antonios Kriezis (in Greek)