He studied law at the University of Athens and received his doctorate with honours (1866). He returned to Crete and practised law as a profession. He immediately became involved in politics. He was elected Member of Parliament for Kydonia. The situation at that time was explosive. In 1889 the Turkish government took away all the rights it had given to the Cretans. Riots and great tension followed for a long time.

In 1895 a revolution breaks out. In 1897 massacres take place in Rethymno and outside Chania. Venizelos will lead a force of two thousand rebels and at the cape they will raise the Greek flag. The foreign forces with their warships bombard Akrotiri. The leaders of the movement proclaim to the admirals the unyielding nature of their decision. The events become known throughout Europe. Famous celebrities speak out for the independence of Crete.

At the same time Greece was humiliatingly defeated by Turkey in Thessaly. Venizelos asks the great powers for the autonomy of Crete. After diplomatic consultations, Prince George was elected High Commissioner (1898), who set up his Council. He appointed Venizelos Minister of Justice. Venizelos wanted the union of Crete with Greece under the condition of maturity and not by hasty actions. This led to a conflict with the Commissioner and as a consequence his resignation. In the following years the situation worsened and in 1905 Venizelos led the Therissos Revolution, which proclaimed the political union of Crete with Greece. The major powers threatened to intervene and began tough negotiations. In the end, Venizelos’ intelligence and impeccable diplomatic skills led to a happy outcome of the problem. The foreign troops began to withdraw (1908) and Prince George returned to Greece. King George I sent Alex as commissioner. King King Agios Georgios sent Greek officers as commissioner and organized the local gendarmerie. In April 1910 an assembly was convened and Venizelos was elected its president. In Greece we already had the revolution in Goudi (8/1909) the military association invited Venizelos to take over the leadership but he had many objections and after negotiations of George I, Stef. Dragoumis, Dem. Rallis, elections were announced and Venizelos was elected MP for Attica.

Thus on 19.10.1910 Venizelos was elected Prime Minister. He immediately began negotiations and consultations with the other Balkan countries in order to expel the Turks from the Balkans. So in September 1912 they declared war on Turkey and thus began the First Balkan War. On 1/10/1912 the union with Crete was declared. But the allies were not happy with their territorial conquests and distribution, especially Bulgaria considered itself as stronger and had demands from Greece and Serbia. Thus in May 1913 the Second Balkan War began. The Bulgarians were defeated and Venizelos represented Greece at the Bucharest Conference where he succeeded in meeting all our demands, signing the peace treaty at the same time. In 1914 the First World War broke out. Venizelos wanted to remain uninvolved and refused to get involved. In 1915, however, the Entente forces invited the Greeks to participate in the Dardanelles campaign. Venizelos agreed but the King disagreed. Thus began the split. The allies landed in Thessaloniki, Venizelos formed the Provisional Government of National Defence, declaring a revolution in Thessaloniki with Admiral Kountouriotis and General Daggle. What followed was a period full of disagreements, counter-recriminations, retirements of officers, deportations and imprisonment of dissidents from both sides. Greece was on the winning side and so Venizelos again represented Greece in the treaties, between the warring parties, of Neuilly and Sevres. Greece annexed the East. Thrace and Smyrna. On his return to Greece an assassination attempt was made and he was wounded at Lyon Station in Paris. After his return there were elections which Venizelos lost. King Constantine returned and Venizelos left for Paris. History then reserved a very harsh punishment for the Greeks who, with their repeated mistakes and excessive expectations, became involved in a disastrous war through the Asia Minor campaign. Venizelos did not want an extension of the war, he just feared the ambiguity of the French and the lax support of the English. After the disaster he was again called upon to offer his invaluable services in the peace negotiations with the Turks. Thus on 13.11.1922 in Lausanne the long conferences began, which lasted until 24.7.1923! The result was the return of the Eastern part of Greece. Thrace was returned to Turkey, the exchange of populations, the cession of the islands of Imbros and Tenedos. This was the last act that buried the Great Idea that for many generations the Greeks had dreamed of.

The instability of politics in the following years from 1923 to 1926 forced Venizelos again to leave for Paris or not to participate in political events, although he was elected as a member of parliament. This brings us to 1928, when he won the elections with the Liberal Party and became Prime Minister until 1932. He establishes good neighbourly relations with the neighbouring countries and especially with Turkey where, with the help of Alex. With the help of Alexis Papanastasiou, he signs a Greek-Turkish friendship agreement and the settlement of all outstanding issues.

Venizelos’ acumen on various issues could not be perceived by part of the people and was exploited by his political opponents (e.g. the return of refugees to their homes, the annexation of the Dodecanese, etc.). Venizelos would win the 1933 elections but two months later his government would fall. General Plastiras will make a movement in favour of Venizelos. His opponents will react, for the second time there will be an assassination attempt, his wife will be wounded and men of his entourage will be killed. In 1935 Venizelos encouraged an attempted military movement that failed. He was accused of high treason by Kondylis and Metaxas and sentenced to death in absentia. Venizelos quits politics by declaration and leaves again for Paris, where he will die the following year in 1936.

Eleftherios Venizelos is undoubtedly one of the greatest political figures of Modern Greece. The most gifted leader, not a party leader, who led Greece through wars and diplomatic successes to its European future. A distinctive radical personality whose courage and insight made her respected by enemies and friends alike. It was fortunate for Greece that Venizelos was its leader during this period of time. Apart from political genius, however, he worked and founded new pioneering institutions, such as compulsory and free education, the establishment of a 12-year education (primary school – high school), the independence of the judiciary, the enforcement of laws, the establishment of the Council of State, and the tenure of civil servants. Public works completed, such as the water supply of Athens from the Marathon lake (Ulen), the electrification of Athens (Power) and many other road works, the construction of schools, the operation of the National Theatre. Venizelos left a huge valuable archive, a rich library and, in addition to his manuscripts, speeches and texts. Finally, he translated and commented on Thucydides’ History, which was described as an excellent work.