Ilias Iliou

The politician Elias Philippos Iliou (1904-1985) was a member of parliament, lawyer, and president of the United Democratic Left (EDA) party. He was born in the Castle of Lemnos in May 1904. He studied law at the University of Athens and was first appointed as a lawyer at the Mytilene Court of First Instance in 1928, at the Athens Court of First Instance in 1935, and at the Supreme Court in 1942. He resigned in 1966. He was married to Eleftheria Kaldi (1908-2003) since 1930 and had two children: Philippos (a historian) and Maria. He became involved in politics as early as 1923, when as a student he joined the youth of Alexandros Papanastasiou's "Democratic Union" party, with which he later ran for office in the Lesvos prefecture in 1932 and 1936. During the Occupation, he joined the National Liberation Front (EAM) and participated in the National Resistance. In 1945, he became a member of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE). After World War II, he participated in all the coalitions of left-wing parties, continuously being elected as a member of parliament for Lesvos or Athens. Due to his political activities, he was exiled from 1947 to 1951. In 1951, he was elected as a member of parliament for EDA in the Lesvos-Lemnos electoral district, although he was in exile, but his election was annulled. He was re-elected in 1956 and in all subsequent elections, representing Lesvos until 1963 and Athens in 1964. Until 1967, Elias Iliou was a permanent parliamentary representative of EDA. As a lawyer with rare general education and a moderate politician, he was highly respected by all political factions in Parliament. His denunciation from the parliamentary podium against the impending "junta of the military" and specifically against Lieutenant Colonel Papadopoulos on July 23, 1965, was prophetic, though unfortunately ignored by all at the time, including military justice. After the fall of the military dictatorship of the colonels in 1974, he reorganized EDA and was elected its president. He was elected as a member of parliament for two terms with the United Left (1974) and the Alliance of Progressive and Left Forces (1977). He retired from politics in 1981. Elias Iliou was a regular contributor to "Noumas," "Ellinika," and "Neoellinika Grammata" during the interwar period and a translator of ancient Greek authors in the well-known Daedalus-Zacharopoulos editions series. His prolific writing includes commentary on court decisions, translations, commentary on ancient authors, political and economic articles, studies, and books such as "The Crisis of Power" (1966), "The Truth About the Common Market" (1962), "The Constitution and Its Revision" (1975), "Political Texts 1974-1976" (1977). He was also a member of the study and planning company EPAN (Science of Reconstruction of the Democratic Association of Greek Scientists), the Bar Associations of Mytilene and Athens. He participated in the Conferences of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers (Brussels 1956, Sofia 1960) and the Conferences of the Organization for Amnesty in Greece (Paris 1960 and 1962). He was a permanent resident of central Athens (residing on Voukourestiou Street) and spoke French. He passed away on January 25, 1985 (complications of diabetes). In his honor, a newly opened central avenue in the Municipality of Athens, in the Neos Kosmos district, was named after him in 1986. His son was the prominent historian Philippos Iliou (1931-2004).