Zaimis prime minister of Greece again

On 21 June 1916, or 8 June by the Julian calendar used in Greece, King Constantine I once again turned to Alexandros Zaimis. That day the ministers of the three protecting powers, France, Britain and Russia, handed a note in Athens demanding the demobilisation of the army, a government without political colour, the dissolution of the chamber and new elections, and the removal of several senior police officials. Stefanos Skouloudis’s cabinet resigned the same day. Zaimis agreed to form a government on the terms set by the Allies and to carry out all their demands. Greek lists of governments and The American Year Book give the following day, 22 June (9 June by the Julian calendar), as the start of his term of office.

A man for difficult times

The sixty-year-old Zaimis was an exceptional figure in Athens: he belonged neither to the camp of Eleftherios Venizelos nor to that of his sworn enemies, and he was regarded as a friend of the Entente. He had already governed several times, most recently in the autumn of 1915, when after a month his cabinet fell in the chamber. According to Greek studies, this time he was put forward to the king by a meeting of the leaders of the governing parties, among them the former prime ministers Dimitrios Gounaris and Dimitrios Rallis, as the most suitable man to lead the country to elections in accordance with the powers’ demands.

The note required a “business cabinet”, so the party leaders were missing from the new government. Zaimis also took the foreign ministry for himself. The lawyer Antonios Momferatos became minister of justice, Georgios Rallis minister of finance, Petros Kalligas minister of the national economy, Konstantinos Lidorikis minister of education and religious affairs, and Fokion Negris minister of communications, who also temporarily handled internal affairs. The war ministry went to General Konstantinos Kallaris, temporarily responsible for the navy as well. A few days later, according to the Greek list of governments on 24 June, the interior was taken over by Anastasios Charalambis and the navy by Rear-Admiral Ioannis Damianos.

The Entente calls off a demonstration

Athens’ consent came quickly and spared Greece a show of force. The Allies had prepared a demonstration off the capital: a Franco-British squadron with landing parties from Salonika had been waiting since 20 June in the bay of the island of Milos. According to the British writer George F. Abbott, who was sympathetic to the king, French plans even provided for the bombardment and occupation of Athens. The American minister in Athens, Garrett Droppers, cabled Washington at noon on 22 June that the demands had been accepted and that Zaimis would probably give a favourable reply, although the blockade had not yet been lifted. The squadron was dispersed, and according to the British official history of the operations in Macedonia, from 23 June Greek ships were allowed to sail from British ports to all Greek ports except Kavala.

Venizelos welcomed the change. On 24 June the London “Daily Mail” quoted his words that the note had resolved a situation from which there was no other way out, and that the protecting powers had acted “like parents who recover for a son his rights”. The king’s supporters, on the contrary, considered that the country had been subjected to humiliating interference in its internal affairs. The British minister, Sir Francis Elliot, reported at the beginning of July that Zaimis regarded himself as a prime minister for an interim period and would gladly bring about a reconciliation between the king and Venizelos and then make way for him.

What came next

The new government set about carrying out the note. A few days later it announced the demobilisation of the army, replaced the policemen whose removal the Allies wanted, and announced elections. The British official history of the war at sea acknowledges that Zaimis remained on good terms with the Entente ministers, although removing Greek officials at the demand of a foreign power must have been painful for him. The calm lasted until August, when the Bulgarians advanced deep into Greek Eastern Macedonia and a revolt by Venizelos’s supporters broke out in Salonika. In September 1916 Zaimis resigned again, and the National Schism entered its most acute phase.