Christoforos Stratos (Шаблон:Lang-el; 1924–1982) was a Greek writer and politician. He was three times minister of the interior of Greece.[1]
Life
Christoforos Stratos was born in 1924 in Patras.[2] He was a son of a textile salesman and co-founder of Piraiki-Patraiki Cotton Manufacturing Company.[3] Stratos studied law at Athens University.[2]
At the young age, Stratos became a managing director of Piraiki-Patraiki and by the mid-1950s the company became the largest industrial firm in Greece and the second largest employer after the Greek state.[3]
Stratos was married and had two sons and one daughter.[2]
Stratos was active in the Orthodox Church and the Greek Scout Movement. He also co-founded the Society of Hellenic Studies, a conservative liberal think-tank.[3]
Stratos built a close relationship with the Palace becoming a friend of the King Paul and his son, Constantine.[2]
In 1962, Stratos founded the Hellenic Management Association to introduce modern techniques of business management in public and private companies.[3]
Political career
Stratos entered politics in the early 1960s when the King appointed him as a minister in two caretaker governments.[3] The caretaker governments were set up before 1967 to hold elections.[2]
From 1967 to 1974, the colonels’ dictatorship was established in Greece.[4] During this time, Stratos was active in resisting the military dictatorship.[3] In 1973, he was arrested for three months after an attempted coup by naval officers.[5]
After restoration of democracy in 1974, Stratos joined the new democracy party of then Premier Constantine Karamanlis.[2] Stratos ran for a parliamentary seat in his native Aetolia-Akarnanis.[3]
He became a Minister of public works in the cabinet of 21 November 1974.[6] He was appointed as minister of public works and interior under several New Democracy governments.[3]
Christoforos Stratos died of stroke on 15 April 1982 at the age of 58.[2]
