History of modern GreeceThe history of modern Greece covers the history of Greece from the recognition by the Great Powers — Britain, France and Russia — of its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1828 to the present day. FrankokratiaOttoman GreeceModern Greek Enlightenment and Greek War of Independence The Byzantine Empire had ruled most of the Greek-speaking world since late Antiquity, but experienced a decline as a result of Muslim Arab and Seljuk Turkish invasions and was fatally weakened by the sacking of Constantinople by the Latin Crusaders in 1204.
Constantine II of GreeceConstantine II (Konstantínos II, ˌkonstaˈdinos ðefˈteros; 2 June 1940 – 10 January 2023) was the last king of Greece, reigning from 6 March 1964 until the abolition of the Greek monarchy on 1 June 1973. Constantine was born in Athens as the only son of Crown Prince Paul and Crown Princess Frederica of Greece. Being of Danish descent, he was also born as a prince of Denmark. As his family was forced into exile during the Second World War, he spent the first years of his childhood in Egypt and South Africa.
Greek Civil WarThe Greek Civil War (ο Eμφύλιος [Πόλεμος], o Emfýlios [Pólemos], "the Civil War") took place from 1946 to 1949. The conflict, which erupted shortly after the end of World War II, consisted of a communist-dominated uprising against the established government of the Kingdom of Greece. The opposition declared a people's republic, the Provisional Democratic Government of Greece, which was governed by the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) and its military branch, the Democratic Army of Greece (DSE).
Communist Party of GreeceThe Communist Party of Greece (Κομμουνιστικό Κόμμα Ελλάδας, Kommounistikó Kómma Elládas, KKE) is a Marxist–Leninist political party in Greece. It was founded in 1918 as the Socialist Labour Party of Greece and adopted its current name in November 1924. It is the oldest political party in modern Greek politics. The party was banned in 1936, but played a significant role in the Greek resistance and the Greek Civil War, and its membership peaked in the mid-1940s. Legalization of the KKE was restored following the fall of the Greek junta.
President of GreeceThe president of Greece, officially the President of the Hellenic Republic (Próedros tis Ellinikís Dimokratías), commonly referred to in Greek as the President of the Republic (Próedros tis Dimokratías), is the head of state of Greece. The president is elected by the Hellenic Parliament; the role has been mainly ceremonial since the 1986 constitutional reform. The office was formally established by the Constitution of Greece in 1975, but has antecedents in the Second Hellenic Republic of 1924–1935 and the Greek junta in 1973–1974 which predated the transition to the current Third Hellenic Republic.
Turkish invasion of CyprusThe Turkish invasion of Cyprus began on 20 July 1974 and progressed in two phases over the following month. Taking place upon a background of intercommunal violence between Greek and Turkish Cypriots, and in response to a Greek junta-sponsored Cypriot coup d'état five days earlier, it led to the Turkish capture and occupation of the northern part of the island. The coup was ordered by the military junta in Greece and staged by the Cypriot National Guard in conjunction with EOKA B.
MetapolitefsiThe Metapolitefsi (Metapolítefsi, metapoˈlitefsi, "regime change") was a period in modern Greek history from the fall of the Ioannides military junta of 1973–74 to the transition period shortly after the 1974 legislative elections. The metapolitefsi was ignited by the liberalisation plan of military dictator Georgios Papadopoulos, which was opposed by prominent politicians such as Panagiotis Kanellopoulos and Stephanos Stephanopoulos, and halted by the massive Athens Polytechnic uprising against the military junta.
Constitution of GreeceThe Constitution of Greece (Syntagma tis Elladas) was created by the Fifth Revisionary Parliament of the Hellenes in 1974, after the fall of the Greek military junta and the start of the Third Hellenic Republic. It came into force on 11 June 1975 (adopted two days prior) and has been amended in 1986, 2001, 2008 and 2019. The constitutional history of Greece goes back to the Greek War of Independence (1821–1832), during which the first three Greek constitutions were adopted by the revolutionary national assemblies.
Hellenic ParliamentThe Hellenic Parliament or Greek Parliament (Ellinikó Koinovoúlio), formally known as the Parliament of the Hellenes (Voulí ton Ellínon) and also known as the Hellenic Bouleterion, is the unicameral legislature of Greece, located in the Old Royal Palace, overlooking Syntagma Square in Athens. The parliament is the supreme democratic institution that represents the citizens through an elected body of Members of Parliament (MPs). It is a unicameral legislature of 300 members, elected for a four-year term.
PASOKThe Panhellenic Socialist Movement (Panellínio Sosialistikó Kínima, paneˈlini.o sosi.alistiˈko ˈcinima), known mostly by its acronym PASOK, (pəˈsɒk; ΠΑΣΟΚ, paˈsok) is a social-democratic political party in Greece. Until 2012 it was one of the two major parties in the country, along with New Democracy, its main political rival. Following the collapse of the Greek military dictatorship of 1967–1974, PASOK was founded on 3 September 1974 as a socialist party.
