Grigoris Lambrakis

Grigoris Lambrakis (Γρηγόρης Λαμπράκης; 3 April 1912 – 27 May 1963) was a Greek politician, physician, athlete, and lecturer. He participated in track and field sports and was a member of the faculty of the School of Medicine at the University of Athens. A member of the Greek resistance to Axis rule during World War II, he later became a prominent anti-war activist. His assassination by right-wing zealots that were covertly supported by the police and military provoked mass protests and led to a political crisis. Lambrakis was born in the village of Kerasitsa in the district of Tegea (Arcadia, the Peloponnese). After finishing high school in his home town, he moved to Athens to enter the School of Medicine at the University of Athens. Lambrakis was a champion athlete throughout his life. He held the Greek record for long jump for twenty-three years (1936–1959). He also earned several gold medals in the Balkan Games, which took place annually, featuring competitors from Greece, Albania, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey. He competed in the men's long jump and the men's triple jump at the 1936 Summer Olympics. During the Axis occupation of Greece during World War II (1941–44), Lambrakis participated actively in the Greek Resistance. In 1943 he set up the Union of Greek Athletes (Ένωση των Ελλήνων Αθλητών, Enosi ton Ellínon Athlitón) and organized regular competitions. He used the revenue from these games to fund public food-banks for the starving population. After World War II, Lambrakis completed his medical studies and worked as a lecturer in the Department of gynaecology. He continued to help the poor by running a small private clinic for patients who were unable to afford medical care. While not a Communist, Lambrakis' political and ideological orientation leaned towards the left. He was actively involved in the pacifist movement of his time, which voiced strong opposition to the First Indochina War and the Second American War in Vietnam.