National Council

The National Council was a short-lived Greek legislative assembly created during the Axis occupation of Greece in 1944. It was organized in the political environment created by the National Liberation Front (EAM), the largest resistance coalition in occupied Greece, and the Political Committee of National Liberation (PEEA), the parallel administration established by EAM in areas that had been liberated from Axis control. Although it is sometimes described in institutional terms similar to a parliament, it was not a commercial brand or continuing state institution. It was a wartime political body whose purpose was to provide representative legitimacy to the resistance administration and strengthen EAM's position in negotiations over the reconstruction of the Greek state. EAM's influence had expanded substantially by the end of 1943. Its military arm, the Greek People's Liberation Army (ELAS), was the strongest organized resistance force in the country, while EAM and associated organizations maintained a mass political and social base. In early 1944, EAM established PEEA to administer what it called a liberated or free Greece. PEEA then authorized elections for a National Council as part of an effort to demonstrate that the resistance-controlled territories possessed a representative political order rather than merely a military command structure. The elections took place in late April and early May 1944 under highly difficult conditions. Some districts elected councillors directly, while others used indirect representation through localities, occupations, or social organizations. Because voting occurred during occupation and no comprehensive electoral registers could be maintained, the total electorate cannot be established precisely. Contemporary and later estimates place participation between approximately 1.5 and 1.8 million people. The election was historically significant because Greek women were permitted to vote for the first time in a national political contest, and the voting age was reduced to 18. Several regions did not participate, including areas under especially restrictive Bulgarian occupation and many islands where the electoral order arrived too late. The Council included roughly 208 members, although the exact total varies among accounts. Its membership was intended to reflect a broad section of Greek society. It included representatives associated with the prewar political class as well as clergy, academics, military officers, civil servants, professionals, workers, farmers, journalists, scientists, and teachers. Five women were among its members, another notable departure from the composition of earlier Greek representative institutions. Twenty-four members of the last prewar parliament were also invited to participate, helping PEEA present the body as connected to Greece's constitutional and parliamentary tradition rather than as an entirely revolutionary replacement. The Council met at Koryschades, a mountain village in Evrytania, from 14 to 27 May 1944. Neokosmos Grigoriadis, a liberal general, served as speaker, while Metropolitan Joachim of Kozani was deputy speaker. During its single session, the assembly heard reports from PEEA officials on military affairs, justice, agriculture, education, public finance, and labor rights. It also exchanged messages with Allied governments and adopted a charter for Free Greece. The charter combined commitments to national liberation, popular sovereignty, and the restoration of national unity with provisions that allowed the Council to be dissolved before liberation if its members proposed doing so. That provision became politically important. EAM was simultaneously trying to secure a role in a reconstituted national government led by the Greek government in exile and supported by Britain. The creation of the National Council contributed to tensions within the Greek armed forces in the Middle East, where mutinies were ultimately suppressed by British forces and loyalist Greek officers. At the Lebanon Conference, EAM accepted participation in a government of national unity under Georgios Papandreou, but with less influence than it had sought. After the German withdrawal and the establishment of the Papandreou government in Athens in October 1944, the Council's independent political role ended. It formally dissolved itself on 5 November 1944.

The National Council emerged from the institutional development of the Greek resistance during the Second World War. By the end of 1943, the National Liberation Front had become the dominant political force in the resistance, and the Greek People's Liberation Army controlled or operated across extensive mountainous areas. EAM's political organization included local administrations and social institutions in territories where Axis authority had receded. In early 1944, EAM sought to transform this decentralized resistance administration into a more coherent alternative political authority. It created the Political Committee of National Liberation, commonly known by its Greek initials PEEA, to administer the liberated zones and to press for the reform of the Greek government in exile. The National Council was conceived as the representative component of this alternative authority. Elections were organized across much of Greece in late April and early May 1944. The electoral rules permitted either direct voting for councillors or indirect selection through local and occupational bodies, allowing local conditions to determine the mechanism. The process took place under occupation, without reliable electoral rolls, and participation was therefore estimated rather than officially counted. Available estimates suggest that between 1.5 and 1.8 million people voted. The elections were particularly important in Greek political history because they admitted women to the vote for the first time and used an 18-year voting threshold. Eastern Macedonia and Western Thrace, under Bulgarian occupation, were excluded, as were most islands except Euboea and Lefkada. The resulting assembly contained approximately 208 councillors. Its membership included representatives from a wide range of social and professional groups, including clergy, university teachers, officers, state employees, industrialists, physicians, lawyers, workers, farmers, journalists, scientists, and secondary-school teachers. Five women were elected. Former parliamentarians from the last prewar assembly were also incorporated, reinforcing the claim that the new institution represented a continuation of democratic Greece rather than simply an instrument of one resistance organization. The Council convened at Koryschades in Evrytania on 14 May 1944. The meeting opened with a religious blessing by Metropolitan Joachim of Kozani and the taking of an oath emphasizing national liberation, civic freedoms, and popular rights. Neokosmos Grigoriadis was chosen as speaker, with Joachim serving as deputy speaker. The assembly's only sitting lasted until 27 May. PEEA ministers presented reports covering the war, popular justice, agricultural policy, education, finance, and labor. The Council also sent formal greetings to Allied governments, including those of Yugoslavia and China. Its principal constitutional act was a charter for Free Greece. The document declared the aim of defeating the occupiers and restoring national unity and popular sovereignty. It also allowed the body to end its own existence before liberation if its members concluded that a broader national settlement required dissolution. This clause reflected the unresolved struggle between EAM's parallel government and the royal Greek government in exile based in Cairo. The competing claims contributed to mutinies among Greek forces in the Middle East, which British forces and loyalist Greek officers put down. Negotiations at the Lebanon Conference produced an agreement for a government of national unity led by Georgios Papandreou, with EAM receiving a limited share of ministerial participation. When German forces withdrew and the Papandreou government was established in Athens in October 1944, the National Council no longer had an independent national role. It dissolved on 5 November 1944. Its brief existence nonetheless marked a major experiment in wartime representative government and remains significant for the early participation of Greek women in elections and for the institutional history of the Greek resistance.

• 1944

  PEEA authorizes elections

  [1]National Council (Greece)en.wikipedia.org

  The Political Committee of National Liberation organized elections for a representative council across much of occupied and liberated Greece.

• 1944

  First Greek elections open to women

  [1]National Council (Greece)en.wikipedia.org

  The National Council elections allowed women to vote for the first time in Greek national political history and lowered the voting age to 18.

• 1944

  First session at Koryschades

  [1]National Council (Greece)en.wikipedia.org

  Approximately 208 councillors assembled at Koryschades in Evrytania for the Council's only session, held from 14 to 27 May.

• 1944

  Charter for Free Greece adopted

  [1]National Council (Greece)en.wikipedia.org

  The assembly adopted a charter addressing liberation, national unity, popular sovereignty, and the possibility of dissolution before the end of the occupation.

• 1944

  Dissolution

  [1]National Council (Greece)en.wikipedia.org

  After the establishment of the national unity government in Athens, the National Council dissolved itself on 5 November.

• 1943

  EAM becomes the dominant resistance political force

  [1]National Council (Greece)en.wikipedia.org

  By the end of 1943, EAM and its military arm, ELAS, had developed the organizational strength that enabled the creation of a parallel political administration in liberated areas.

A wartime representative institution intended to legitimize the EAM-PEEA administration and articulate popular sovereignty in occupied Greece.

• 1944

  Adoption of the Free Greece charterStrategy

  Background

  The Council needed to define the constitutional purpose of the EAM-PEEA political structure while negotiations continued over the future of the Greek state.

  Action taken

  It adopted a charter centered on national liberation, national unity, popular sovereignty, and the defense of civic freedoms.

  Aftermath

  The charter strengthened the Council's claim to representative legitimacy but also preserved a route toward dissolution if EAM entered a wider national government.

  Source

• 1944

  Dissolution after the national unity settlementOther

  Background

  The Lebanon Conference led to an agreement for EAM participation in a national unity government headed by Georgios Papandreou.

  Action taken

  Following the German withdrawal and the formation of the Papandreou government in Athens, the Council dissolved itself on 5 November.

  Aftermath

  The assembly ceased to function as an independent political institution, although its election and charter remained important episodes in the history of the Greek resistance.

  Source

1. 1National Council (Greece)en.wikipedia.org
2. 2A Concise History of Modern Greececambridge.org