Statue of Eleftherios Venizelos

Eleftherios Kyriakou Venizelos was a Cretan Greek statesman and prominent leader of the Greek national liberation movement. As leader of the Liberal Party, he held office as prime minister of Greece for over 12 years, spanning eight terms between 1910 and 1933. During his governance, Venizelos modernized Greece by promoting liberal-democratic policies. Moreover, Greece was expanded through military and diplomatic cooperation with the Great Powers, and he profoundly shifted Greece from the eastern to the western domain of influence. Therefore, he has been labeled "The Maker of Modern Greece" and is still widely known as the "Ethnarch".

His first entry into the international scene was with his significant role in the autonomy of the Cretan State and later in the union of Crete with Greece. In 1909, he was invited to Athens to resolve the political deadlock and became Prime Minister.