Starting this Friday, the square in Dervi\u00e7an will be named after the former Greek Prime Minister Konstantinos Mitsotakis.<\/p>\n
During the inauguration ceremony of this square, which also saw the unveiling of a bust of Mitsotakis, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama acknowledged his contributions as a politician and a polyglot. Rama also provided a concise overview of Mitsotakis\u2019 life.<\/p>\n
The premier commented, \u201cToday, we honor and celebrate the life of a historical figure from our neighboring Greece by dedicating this square to him. It\u2019s akin to a narrative from a novel, where the present and the future of a nation intertwine with the character, creating a fusion that seems almost unreal, blending with his journey, experiences, challenges, and comebacks\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Prime Minister highlighted that \u201cKonstantinos Mitsotakis played a central role in Greek politics from the end of World War II until the early 21st<\/sup> century. This central role was not only due to the fact that the house where he was born, 105 years ago, saw the signing of a convention that granted initial privileges to Cretans before the island\u2019s union with Greece. He was also born as the second son of a Greek deputy named Kiriakos Mitsotakis and was the nephew of the Greek Prime Minister during the Balkan Wars, the legendary Eleftherios Venizelos. Given his unique family background, especially being the grandson of a former prime minister, Konstantinos Mitsotakis pursued law studies in Athens, against his own preference. However, as time would reveal, his legal education would prove invaluable throughout his unwavering life struggles\u201d.<\/p>\n Moreover, the Prime Minister recalled that during World War II, a young Konstantinos served as a lieutenant in the fight against the German occupation of Greece. He later became a member of the Cretan national movement and was subsequently imprisoned by the Nazis, even facing a death sentence.<\/p>\n \u201cThis additional layer of challenges in his life would infuse the future leader with the courage of a person who, having confronted the brink of death, feared nothing when battling to assert his uncompromising beliefs. In the Cretan National Movement, which aligned with the young man\u2019s convictions, as he did not lean left and only shared the Communist\u2019s patriotic desire to liberate Greece, he played a pivotal role in an agreement that averted a civil conflict in Crete in 1943. He was imprisoned and sentenced to death twice by the Nazis, but miraculously survived thanks to an exchange of 30 German prisoners and ten Greek prisoners,\u201d Rama emphasized.<\/p>\n Rama conveyed that for his exceptional contributions and acts of resistance, Konstantinos Mitsotakis was decorated twice after the war by the governments of Greece and Great Britain.<\/p>\n \u201cIn 1955, the 37-year-old lawyer stood alongside a legend of 20th<\/sup>-century Greece, writer Nikos Kazantzakis, whom he presented to the Greek parliament for an investigation into the confiscation of Kazantzakis\u2019 books in the provinces of Greece due to a shortsighted investigation into religious prejudices. During the parliamentary debate, he not only portrayed Nikos Kazantzakis as an outstanding author but also as a true patriot and a genuine Christian, elevating him above the line of conformist deputies, demonstrating his unique political character on numerous occasions,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n \u201cBringing up Nikos Kazantzakis here, a beloved name for Albanian literature enthusiasts, naturally leads to the fact that Konstantinos Mitsotakis was a polyglot and an avid reader. He never parted with books a day in his life, even when his eyesight prevented him from reading. Thanks to audiobooks, he continued to enjoy the magic of literature written in French, German, and Greek. Of course, he followed publications of various natures and poetry, ardently preserving his passion for learning through the verses that captivated him the most,\u201d Rama added.<\/p>\n Notably, the current Prime Minister of Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who is the son of Konstantinos Mitsotakis, was absent in this ceremony.<\/p>\n \u201cI would have very much liked for Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the son of Konstantinos and the current Prime Minister of Greece and my dear friend, to be here today. Surely, he will return to the square that now bears his father\u2019s name. I\u2019m pleased that he is now a seasoned member of the new democracy. He accompanied Konstantinos. He was a young man with no gray hair who later became the mayor who returned the Olympic Games flag to Athens. He is one of my inspiring examples when I took over the Municipality of Tirana,\u201d said Rama.<\/p>\n Relations between Albania and Greece have soured in the last few months, following the arrest of Greek expatriate Fredi Beleri, who was elected mayor of the Municipality of Himara in the May 14 local elections.<\/p>\n Beleri was arrested two days prior to the elections, on allegations of vote buying. He has been in prison ever since May and has not yet been able to take his oath as mayor.<\/p>\n Despite Athens continuously calling for Beleri\u2019s release, Albanian authorities have declared that this issue pertains to justice only.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Starting this Friday, the square in Dervi\u00e7an will be named after the former Greek Prime Minister Konstantinos Mitsotakis. During the inauguration ceremony of this square, which also saw the unveiling of a bust of Mitsotakis, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama acknowledged his contributions as a politician and a polyglot. Rama also provided a concise overview […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":61947,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[153],"tags":[270,4892,644,243,151,686,477],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n