Greek Constitution of 1952

The Constitution of 1952 brought stability in the 1950s since the political institutions of Greece had been significantly weakened by the Metaxas' dictatorship (1936–1941), followed by the devastation of Axis occupation of Greece (1941–1945) and by the Greek Civil War (1946–1949). However, the king maintained considerable powers, such as dissolving the government and parliament and calling new elections. Moreover, article 31 stated that the king hires and fires ministers (Greek: Ο βασιλεύς διορίζει και παύει τους υπουργούς αυτού).^[2] This created confusion as the prime minister was chosen by popular election, but the elected prime minister could not select the government's ministers without the king's approval. Two prime ministers in the 1950s had raised the question as to who governs the state, the king or the prime minister,^[3] echoing the disagreements between Eleftherios Venizelos and Constantine I during the National Schism.^[4]

From 1955 to 1963, Greece was under the governorship of Konstantinos Karamanlis, who was widely acknowledged for bringing political stability to Greece along with rapid economic growth.^[5] However, in the early 1960s, there was a growing awareness that the repressive measures taken due to civil war and its aftermath were no longer needed. This became clear with the death of a left-wing member of parliament Grigoris Lambrakis, where several high state officials were found to be involved either in the assassination or in its cover-up.^[6] While no one, even from the severest of his left-wing critics, blamed Karamanlis for the incident, he resigned and self-exiled to France.^[7]

Georgios Papandreou and his political party, Center Union, having a moderate reformist platform, gained considerable traction and rose to power in elections of 1963 and later in elections of 1964.^[5][8] However, seeds of resentment towards Papandreou from the military grew as they were excluded from salary increases.^[9] He also made a faint attempt to gain control of the military, which alarmed many officers without weakening them.^[10][11] The latter created friction with the King Constantine II, who wanted to be in command of the army and not the elected government.^[12] In the meantime, the son of Georgios Papandreou, Andreas Papandreou, who had joined Greek politics after 23 years in the United States as a prominent academic,^[13] was campaigning by having fierce anti-monarchy and anti-American rhetoric. His stance brought him at odds with the Americans, the Palace, the conservative establishment, but also with his father who sought a more moderate approach. Andreas's militant and uncompromising stance destabilized the fragile political equilibrium.^[14][15] Andreas being supported by his father for the leadership of Center Union made him a target of conspiratorial accusations from ultra-rightists who feared that following any new elections, which the nearly 80-year-old Georgios Papandreou would likely win, his son would be the actual focus of power in the party.^[16] These incidents caused a dispute between Georgios Papandreou and King Constantine II, leading to the resignation of the former.^[17]

For the next twenty-two months, there was no elected government, and hundreds of demonstrations took place, with many being injured and killed in clashes with the police, a series of events that was named Iouliana.^[18] The king, potentially acting within his constitutional rights but politically dubious approach,^[17] tried to bring members of the Center Union party to his side and form a government.^[19] He temporarily succeeded in getting 45 members, including Konstantinos Mitsotakis, to his side, who later were called 'apostates' by the side supporting Papandreous.^[18][20] To end the political deadlock, Georgios Papandreou attempted a more moderate approach with the king, but Andreas Papandreou publicly rejected his father's effort and attacked the whole establishment, attracting the support of 41 members of the Center Union in an effort designed to gain the party's leadership and preventing any compromise.^[14]

The prolonged political instability between the politicians and the king in finding a solution led a group of Colonels to intervene. On 21 April 1967, a coup took place by right-wing officers, which established a dictatorship known as the Colonels' Regime. An attempted counter-coup by King Constantine II in December failed, forcing him to leave the country. Several prominent politicians were either imprisoned or exiled, including Andreas Papandreou and Mitsotakis. A new constitution was adopted by referendum in 1968. King Constantine was officially retained as head of state, though he would not be allowed to return until the first parliamentary election unless the government recalled him sooner. Many of the guarantees of civil rights were suspended. A modified constitution was proposed in 1973 to exclude the monarchy from the constitution.^[21]

The Junta fall in 1974. With the return of civilian rule under Karamanlis, the new government, acting under extraordinary circumstances, issued a "Constituting Act" which voided the junta's Constitution of 1973.^[22] Pending a referendum on a new constitution, the 1952 constitution was temporarily restored, "except for the articles dealing with the form of the State"; the last phrase referred to whether the monarchy would be restored.^[22] In the meantime, the functions of the king were to be discharged by the incumbent President Phaedon Gizikis, who was appointed by the junta's regime as a nominal figurehead.^[23] In November of 1974 Greek parliamentary election, Karamanlis received 56% of the vote and a mandate to set the foundations of the new state. In the December 1974 Greek republic referendum, 76% of voters chose a parliamentary republic with a president as head of state and commander-in-chief of the armed forces,^[24] effectively voiding 150 years of tradition of monarchical rule.^[25] This led to the foundation of the Third Hellenic Republic with the new Constitution of 1975.^[26]