Incorporation of Macedonia into the Greek State
Haralampos Papastathis
Administrative integration
The process of the incorporation of Macedonia into the Greek state began more or less simultaneously with the military operations of the First Balkan War. It was a particularly difficult task, being different in many ways from that of the incorporation of the other regions of the 'New Lands', as those former provinces of the Ottoman Empire were called - and still are, quite misleadingly - which were definitely annexed to Greece after the Balkan Wars and the First World War.
To begin with, the inhabitants of
Macedonia, as was the case with the whole of the central Balkans, lacked
national, religious, linguistic and cultural homogeneity. The armed conflict
during the Macedonian Struggle had caused a rift in the relations between the
different ethnic (elements, and Macedonia itself was the object of the
ambitions of Bulgaria, Serbia and Austria-Hungary, I which since the time of the
Eastern Crisis of 1875-1878 had become a Balkan Power and had been striving to
reach Thessaloniki, "cette ville convoitee" (that coveted city), as Risal-
Nehama called it. The various powers felt unease both at the change
in the political map and over any cutting back of the privileges, which their
subjects enjoyed under the system of the capitulations. Romania and the Albanian
League, with the support of Austria-Hungary and Italy respectively, had an
interest in maintaining their relations with certain sections of the Macedonian
population, and in promoting the rights of the latter. Moreover, the Greek state
did not possess the necessary experience to govern provinces with the
peculiarities described above, and particularly in the delicate circumstances of
military occupation. There were further important factors complicating the
situation: the lack of trust in state authority - as a result of the decay of
the Ottoman state - on the part of the population, the continuation of military
operations, the problems of food supplies and the safeguarding of public order
which had been caused by the flooding of the urban centers by thousands of
refugees and Ottoman prisoners of war, and the presence of 30,000 Bulgarian
troops in Thessaloniki. The difficulties facing the Greek administration, which
was called upon, on the one hand, to establish the presence of the rule of law
and, on the other, to safeguard, by its general policies, the territory of
Macedonia from any plans for its secession from the body of the nation, can
easily be imagined.
The
process of the administrative incorporation of Macedonia into the Greek state
can be divided into two periods: before and after the Treaty of Bucharest, on
the signing of which (10 August 1913), the regions of Westem, Central and
Eastern Macedonia came definitively into the possession of Greece.
Immediately after the declaration of war, the Venizelos government appointed the
prefect of Larissa, Periklis Argyropoulos and the diplomat Ion Dragoumis as
political and diplomatic advisers, respectively, to the Commander-in-Chief Crown
Prince Constantine. Furthermore, it declared the territories north of the
Spercheios river, as well as every province occupied, in a state of siege.
The rapid - and in some circles, unexpected - advance of the army raised
as a matter of urgency the kind of political administration to be applied in the
newly liberated areas. There, Greece already exercised military occupation (occupatio
bellica), given that their
eventual fate would be decided after the end of the hostilities. The fact that
full sovereignty could not yet be exercised did not preclude the appointment
official authorities. The first civil governor in a Macedonian province to be
appointed was the Prefect of the Cyclades, Angelopoulos, at that time serving in
the army at Kozani. The way in which Periklis Argyropoulos exercised for the
first time the powers of prefect of Thessaloniki before he had even been
appointed is typical of the hasty manner in which the multifarious problems were
dealt with. As he tells us in his memoirs, although the surender of the city had
been signed the day before, on 27 October 1912 Constantine was still at Topsin (Gephyra).
In the meantime, as soon as they learnt at Thessaloniki that the Bulgarian army
had already reached Yailacik (Filyro), Argyropoulos and Dragoumis attempted to
send a messenger by the quickest possible means to Topsin: "... We went to the
station, where a Turkish official or, rather, a Jew received us. I asked him for
a train to Topsin. 'And who may you be, sir?’ he asked. I did not hesitate; I
repeated the order in writing, signing myself 'Prefect of Thessaloniki, which I
was not. The official vacillated no longer, but conformed with my order”.
After the
installation of the military authorities in Thessaloniki, the need for the
systematic organization of civil administration was strongly felt. On 28
October, Constantine, in a telegram to the government, stressed the need for
Greek legislation to be introduced into the occupied territories, a measure
which the Serbs and Bulgarians had already applied in own zones of occupation.
To this end, the Commander-in-Chief asked for: 1. The setting up of his own
political bureau, staffed by senior civil servants. This bureau would: a. be
subject to his orders; b. exercise all those powers which according to law
belonged to ministries; c. transmit Constantine's orders to the local civil
authorities; 2. The division of the Macedonian provinces into three prefectures,
as, anyway, they were under the existing administrative arrangements:
Thessaloniki, Kozani (formerly Servia) and Kastoria (formerly Korytsa) 3. the
appointment of prefects with the same powers as possessed by prefects within the
Greek state. For as long, however, as martial law would continue in force,
public order would fall within the competence of the military and police
authorities and the prefects would confine themselves to indicating to them the
measures which they themselves considered it necessary to take. Relations with
the religious leaders of the various communities would be entrusted to the
prefects, as would the exercise of judicial duties which the consuls of the
various states had under Ottoman rule in accordance with the capitulations; 4.
The prefects to refer every matter to his political bureau; 5. the setting up of
a police directorate in every prefecture under the ultimate command of an
officer seconded to the political bureau; 6. the suspension of the civil
processes for the duration of the judicial moratorium because of hostilities.
Those cases which, under the existing system in Macedonia, fell within the
competence of the ecclesiastical courts were to continue to be heard by them.
Criminal justice was to be administered by the courts martial; 7. The
appointment of financial, postal and telegraph officials, an inspector of
education and an official of the interpretation service.
These measures required by the
Crown Prince were inadequate. Moreover, if they had been implemented, they would
have given rise to dangerous situations both in the civil administration and for
the prospect of the definitive inclusion of the' New Lands under Greek
sovereignty. The undertaking of civil administration by the military would have
led to arbitrariness, while at the same time interfering with their true
mission, which was to carry on the continuing military operations. A framework
of civil administration similar to that proposed by Constantine had been
introduced by the Bulgarians and Serbs in the territories which they had
occupied, where, although they did not have to cope with multiple international
problems such as those involving Thessaloniki, they soon had to face the
discontent of the population. The views of the Commander-in-Chief served his own
personal ambitions: he wished to govern the New Lands single-handed. Civil
administration needed to be entrusted to a civilian governor-general, who, as
the representative of the Government, would be authorized: a. to issue organic
decrees; b. to adapt the existing Ottoman legislation to that of Greece; c. if
need be, to amend Greek legislation specially for the Macedonian provinces,
according to circumstances as they arose, and d. to take charge of all public
authority, except for the armed forces. 6
However, even before it had
received Constantine's telegram, the Venizelos government had decided to entrust
the provisional administration of the Macedonian regions to Konstantinos
Raktivan, Minister of Justice, a distinguished jurist from a Verria family.7
This decision was communicated to King George, and to Constantine himself,
on 27 October; it was pointed out to the Crown Prince that he would thus be
relieved of distractions ,which had nothing to do with his military tasks. On 30
October 1912, Raktivan landed on the way at Thessaloniki under constant fire and
to the whistling of bullets".8 He was accompanied by a number of
civil servants, journalists and 168 men of the Cretan gendarmerie. On 31
October, George I, who was already in Thessaloniki, signed the decree appointing
Raktivan as representative of the government "not without a measure of
displeasure", pointing out himself that he regarded him as being there to help
the Crown Prince, "to whom, in a certain sense the entire authority over the
occupied lands belonged".
Immediately after officially
undertaking his new duties, Raktivan addressed a message to the people of
Macedonia in which he stressed that it was Greece's purpose to provide "... the
benefits of freedom to all the inhabitants of the country without;
discrimination, because true freedom cannot have meaning without complete
equality among those peoples living under the aegis of the same state... The
task, which the army has so gloriously begun, will be crowned by the firm
establishment of an administration worthy of a civilized state, an
administration which is strong, but which also guarantees equality before the
law. With these two symbols before us, we shall regulate the operation of state
machinery, never overlooking, of course, the reasonable claims of the
inhabitants, making use, first and foremost, of competent persons recruited
locally without distinction of race and religion, and completing the whole
organization with suitable functionaries who will ensure in every respect the
normal and impeccable operation of the administration. We demand from all strict
and faithful observance of the laws and obedience to orders given. Of the
subordinate authorities (we require) particularly the fulfillment, according to
their oath, of their individual duties, absolute impartiality and a paternal
approach in general towards those under their authority. Of the citizens of the
various nationalities, both as a whole and individually, (we require) sincere
harmony, mutual respect and concord, in the conviction that under the new rule
of freedom, no one may enjoy advantages over others, but that full equality and
justice should prevail...".10
As
becomes clear from the message, during the Greek military occupation the Greek
administration's activities were to rest on two bases: a. the principle of
equality offal the inhabitants, and b. respect for the rights already enjoyed by
each ethnic and religious element. Years later, Georgios Balis, who belonged to
the opposite political camp, admitted of Raktivan that "rarely has a civil
governor more faithfully fulfilled the undertakings which he made on taking
office"." !n the exercise of his administrative duties, Raktivan proved a
realist: the Greek administration did not go ahead immediately with sweeping
reforms. It respected existing arrangements, its chief concern being the
functioning of those institutions in Macedonia as they stood, as long as they
did not harm the interests of Greece.'2 The Royal Decree appointing
Raktivan, in laying down that "Our Minister of Justice is hereby commissioned...
as representative of the Hellenic Governrnent, to regulate the affairs of the
provisional administration of the occupied lands... ,,13, gave him most
extensive powers and an authority which was literally absolute and subject to no
control. Thus a system of administration, which was both in essence, and method
was introduced specially for Macedonia. '4 The individual scope of duty had not
been defined, but was "mostly left to the sound judgment of the civil
servants".'5 Raktivan's abilities and integrity ensured, however,
that what was, in effect, a personal framework of administration did not give
rise to arbitrary conduct. He was exact, independent and
Diplomatic. He was, where necessary, exceptionally efficient in adapting Greek
legislation to the realities of the situation in Macedonia. He moved quickly in
executing decisions and handling business, a quality that was particularly
appreciated by all those who had experience of the procrastination of the
Ottoman administration. 16 Furthermore, he chose competent assistants
and knew how to make the best of the staff which he had under him. The secretary
general to the governor was G. Tsorbatzoglou, who had taken part in the
Macedonian Strugle. As we have seen, Argyropoulos served as prefect of
Thessaloniki. His special associates drawn from the Ministry of the Interior
were K. Dimaras, I. Dragoumis, N. Mavroudis, V. Dendramis, Kontogouris,
Stergiadis and Lambros, and, from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I. Lazaridis,
A. Zavitsanos, A. Mantzaris, I. Triantaphyllidis, D. Sotiriou, S. Vasileiou, P.
Evrypaios and G. Homatianos. The services of the Ministry of Finance were
staffed by G. Kophinas, S. Tattis, G. Mantzavinos, S. Papaloukas, A. Vamvetsos
and Papaderos. The Public Health Service was headed by K. Savvas, a University
professor, the Department of Agriculture and Forestry by P. Dekazos and the
Labour Bureau by T. Liverios. The Inspector of Antiquities in Thessaloniki was
G. Oikonomou:'7
The
activities of the Greek administration were based upon the provisions of
international law, more specifically on the Hague Conventions of 1907, which
provided for the continuation in force of that legislation which already existed
in the occupied territories.1 The Greek government let it be known
that the existing Ottoman laws would indeed continue in force, provisionally and
until the issuing of a fresh decree: for example, the provisions concerning
public and local administration in
the narrow sense (administrative divisions, municipalities and communities,
councils of Elders of religious communities, etc.) As well as the Ottoman civil
and commercial law. However, it was Neither possible nor desirable that the
implementation of administrative laws which smacked of the absolutism And
arbitrariness of the sultan's rule should continue in full.
It was for this reason that the
government gave its representative in Macedonia carte blanche in dealing with
matters arising. The Greek administration issued various legislative acts
(organic provisions, instructions, orders and circulars), which, without
overlooking commitments deriving from international law were directed chiefly at
dealing with immediate needs. The exercise of this legislative power
by the administration of Macedonia rested upon the political responsibility of
the Greek government. Law 4134/28.2-2.3.1913 "concerning the administration of
the lands under military occupation", for the drafting of which Raktivan was
responsible, provided the acts of the administration -termed 'regulations' -
with legal grounds. Moreover, Article 16 of that law ratified retrospectively
all acts issued and put into force up to that point.
The principal arrangements
introduced by Law 4134 were the following: the civil administration of the
occupied areas was to be carried out by the government, either through a
representative drawn from its members or by another mandatory, who was to take
the title of Governor-General or General Administrative Commissioner. The
governor was entrusted with all administrative authority, except for that which
related to the duties of the armed forces. More specifically, his mandate
covered: a. the organization and functioning of public services; b. the
appointment and dismissal of civil servants, the definition of their duties and
remuneration, and the fixing of the level of administrative expenditure; c. the
maintenance and management of the public services and the disposal of their
revenue; d. the regulation of all administrative issues in general and the
issuing of related acts; e. the taking of any emergency measure.
In his acts, the governor was not
to be restricted by any term or formality, with the single exception of those
put into force by that same law. Civil servants of the Ottoman state were to
retain their posts, simply affirming on oath that they would carry out their
duties conscientiously. The municipal and community authorities were kept on,
unless the governor-general considered their abolition was a necessity. Civil
servants in various services, as well as those under mobilization, could be
seconded to civil services in the occupied territories. Administrative divisions
were to be maintained, unless the governor general should, for reasons of
expediency, otherwise determine. Ottoman legislation (civil, commercial,
administrative, financial, fiscal) was also as a rule kept in force, except for
those provisions, which were contrary to Greek public order as well as on cases
of insuperable obstacles to their implementation. Greek
Penal and
police legislation was to be applied from the first day of military occupation.
In the case of offences committed prior to that date, the rule of the
implementation of the provision most lenient to the defendant prevailed. Greek
civil and criminal procedure was also introduced. The courts were to hear all
cases pending and arising from that point on, both civil and criminal. The
religious courts of the communities with jurisdiction over certain cases of
family law, and other instances of special jurisdictions recognized by
international conventions signed by the Ottoman state were respected. The
jurisdiction of the Thessaloniki, Court of Appeal was extended to the whole of
the territory under military occupation (Macedonia, Epirus, the Aegean Islands).
The professions of lawyer and notary public were to be practiced by those who
had had that capacity under the Ottoman regime and by those who qualified as
such under the Greek law and were appointed by the governor. The Greek system
was applied to the organization of the Courts of Law. At the same time the
community and religious authorities continued to exercise their right to draw up
contracts. Any act in law inter vivos involving the transfer of ownership
or the establishment of any other real right on immovable property in the
occupied territories and the leasing for more than five years of farm land was
prohibited, on pain of absolute nullity, as was the ceding of any right on
natural resources.
Law
4134/1913 introduced a system of the most extensive decentralization and gave to
the government 5 representative in Macedonia - as well as to the governors of
the other regions in the New Lands - legislative powers. Issues, which arose,
were resolved by decisions of the local administration without interference and
interventions from Athens. This system of administration did not last for very
long after Macedonia was de/ure included within the borders of the Greek
state.2 By degrees it was superseded, to be finally abolished as we
shall see, by the Gounaris government in 1915.2:1 From then on, the
administrative dependence of Macedonia on Athens was consolidated, although it
proved quite unsuccessful in the case of an ethnically sensitive region with a
tradition of public and local administration different from that of Old Greece.
During
the period up to the Treaty of Bucharest, Macedonia was divided into three
prefectures and a total of 18 provinces (the prefecture of Thessaloniki with the
former kazas of Thessaloniki,
Verria, Yannitsa, Edessa, Karatzova, Langada, Kassandra, Katerini and Mount
Athos as its provinces; the prefecture of Kozani with the former kazas
of Elassona, Servia, Kozani,
Grevena anc Anaselitsa as its provinces, and the prefecture 0Z Western Macedonia
with Florina as its capital). An administrative commissioner was installed in
each province, to be in charge of all civil servants and the police - but not of
the judicial and military authorities -being entrusted with all executive
authority in the broadest sense, from the more general needs of the region to
the individual rights and interests of the citizen Supervision of public health
and education and the provision of social welfare also fell within his
competence. Local people were among those appointed as civil servants. A
central public health service was set up in Thessaloniki, headed by Prof. K.
Savvas, chairman of the latrosynedrion
(Supreme Public Health Council),
which undertook preventive and therapeutic measures for health in the city and
provinces and was at the same time equipped to deal with epidemics. A street
plan was drawn up for Thessaloniki. The civil servants of the Ottoman state, the
local authorities (mayors, presidents of communities) and the heads of the
religious cornmunities and their establishments were generally allowed to
retain office, but there was a certain reluctance among the officials of the
former regime to remain at their posts, for fear that this would be seen as a
treacherous act in Constantinople.23 With the help of the Greek ad-ministration
various lawful requirements of the cornmunities were met, such as the
collection of special taxes for the benefit of the Jewish community of
Thessaloniki, with the prefecture's assistance. Moreover, the expenditure of the
municipality of Thessaloniki was met.24
On 28
April 1913, a census of the population of Thessaloniki was carried out. This did
not include the army stationed in the city. The total number of citizens was
157,889, of whom 61,439 were Jews, 45,867 Muslims, 39,956 Greeks, 6,263
Bulgarians and 4,364 various foreigners.25
In the city, public security was
entrusted to the Cretan gendarmerie; that of the other cities of Macedonia and
of the countryside was in the hands of the Greek gendarmerie. These two bodies
were reinforced by the recruitment of local men. In the countryside crime was
limited mostly to the theft of animals. The task of the two gendarmeries was
satisfactorily performed and drew favourable comments from foreigners. A special
corps of forest rangers, consisting of local men, was also set up. An
archaeological service, based on Thessaloniki and Elassona, was established, as
was an agricultural service, with a veterinary surgery, and a labour bureau. The
operation of the mines by those agencies, which had received concessions from
the Ottoman state, was resumed and continued normally. The rail connection
between Thessaloniki and Monastir and Skopje was restored, with a loop near
Goumenissa. The Ottoman railway company continued to run this service, which was
used by the Greek state only for the transport of troops.
A Court
of Appeal was opened in Thessaloniki, while Thessaloniki, Verria, Florina and
Kozani had courts of first instance; the chief town of each province had its
magistrates' court. The moratorium
in force in Old Greece also extended
to Macedonia: the courts were occupied with civil cases of an urgent nature
(such as interim
injunctions concerning the possession of property, claims for maintenance,
eviction proceedings against recalcitrant tenants), while criminal cases came
before the ordinary criminal courts only if they did not fall within the
jurisdiction of the courts martial. The judicial authorities worked on cases
pending and set in order the court archives. In Thessaloniki a special notary
public was appointed, while in the provinces the local magistrates performed the
same duties. The archives of the Ottoman property register were taken over by
the judicial authorities. However, transfers and mortgages of property were
forbidden, since there was a danger that under war conditions these would be on
terms detrimental to the interests of the owners.26
G.
Kophinas, head of department at the Ministry of Finance, took over the economic
sector of the Government-General of Macedonia from the end of November 1912.
Kophinas set as the aims of his mission: a. the reorganization of the financial
services in general in order to meet the tasks of the verification, protection
and management of public property, the implementation of taxation and the
promotion of private enterprise, and b. economic and fiscal research and study
in Macedonia, both for the protection and promotion of trade and industry and
for the accurate determination of their revenues and expenditure. In order to
satisfy these needs, the archives of the Ottoman Financial Service and those of
the movable and immovable property of the Ottoman state were brought together.
Provisional regulations of the treasury and the accounting service of the
Government-General were drawn up and ratified on 8 December 1912. By the middle
of the same month, financial commissioners had been appointed in Thessaloniki,
Servia, Kozani, Elassona, Yannitsa and Verria, and immediately afterwards in all
the other provinces. Taxes in arrears owed to the Ottoman state were collected.
Trade and
industry were in a parlous state: they had been in recession since the time of
the Italo-Turkish war (1911) and the market had been further depressed by the
Balkan War, the suspension of the railway link with Constantinople, Monastir and
Skopje and the tardiness of the postal and telegraphic service.27
Furthermore, business was adversely affected by rumors that if Thessaloniki
were finally to be awarded to Greece it would lose its extensive economic
hinterland, which included the three vilayets of Macedonia, Albania,
Epirus, Old Serbia and Thrace. These fears found expression chiefly among the
Jews who largely controlled trade and industry.2~ Thus, the Greek
administration was faced with the major economic and political problem of
securing the necessary conditions for the operation of the mechanism of
production under the changed circumstances.29 In order to dispel
these fears, there were many exchanges of views between the Jews and the Greek
authorities as manifested in a number of articles and interviews in Jewish
newspapers.30
In the
matter of the revenues of the Ottoman state, Greece respected to the full the
existing rights of management of the Ottoman Public Debt and of the Ottoman
Tobacco Monopoly, which continued to function normally until mid-1914. In these
two areas, Greece confined itself to taking measures designed to safeguard its
rights by reason of the war, without excesses. Careful management resulted in
the revenues of the tobacco monopoly more than doubling. The rights of the
harbour and lighthouses companies were also respected.
Particular attention was paid to the organization of the customs houses. The
Thessaloniki customs resumed service immediately after liberation, manned
initially by customs officers of the autonomous Cretan state, since they were
familiar with the Ottoman laws. The Ottoman customs regulations, drafted by the
Briton Crawford, were translated into Greek and published. The Turkish tariff
(11% on imported and 1% on exported goods) was kept in force, while commodities
moving between Macedonia and Greece, together with raw materials imported by
local manufacture and craft industry for processing, were exempt from any duty.
The trade list was headed by Austria-Hungary, followed, in that order, by
Germany, Italy, France, Britain, Russia, Greece, Belgium, the Netherlands and
the United States. Proof of the generally smooth operation of the financial
services of Macedonia is provided by a comparison between their operating
expenses and the revenues which they realized, the latter excluding duties in
favour of the Ottoman monopolies and the foreign creditors which had superseded
the Ottoman state in its rights and duties. Up to 31 December 1913, the
operating expenses of the financial services in Macedonia amounted to 769,528
drachmas and their general revenues to 28,500,000 drachmas. Thus, the former
were a mere 2.7% of the latter, while in Old Greece the corresponding figure was
17.8%.
However, the most critical
economic problem –one with directly unfavourable repercussions at a political
and national level - was that of monetary circulation. Foreign currencies
continued to dominate business transactions and Macedonia by tradition-favoured
gold. This state of affairs rendered economic control impossible, encouraged
profiteering and raised monetary barriers between Macedonia and the Greek
state. The object was to replace the foreign currencies by the drachma, but
this, the only solution, involved the risk of upsetting the balance of the Greek
monetary system as a whole, since there was a well-founded fear that foreign
currency and gold would be transferred to Old Greece, having the same effect on
business there. On the proposal of Dimitrios Maximos, a senior official of the
National Bank, it was decided to set up a branch of the bank in Thessaloniki.
Maximos was appointed director of this branch, while the government later
managed, in spite of the opposition of the International Finance Commission, to
extend to the New Lands the privilege of the National Bank to issue money for
the sum of 80,000,000 drachmas. Thus, by the end of the First World War,
monetary union had been achieved.32
In order
to provide financial support for the agricultural sector, the Ottoman Farmers'
Bank (ZiratBankasL), founded in 1888, was revived. After its books and
records concerning the New Lands had been concentrated, the procedure for its
liquidation was laid down by legislation. Law 603/1913 sanctioned the articles
of association of the new Farmers’ Bank of Macedonia and Epirus, with its
registered office in Thessaloniki. This was the only Greek state bank to be
based outside Athens. At the same time, the agricultural sector was also aided
by the National Bank. Eventually, the Farmers' Bank of Macedonia and Epirus was
incorporated into the Agricultural Bank.33
The various decrees providing for
the administration of Macedonia and Law 4134 were characterized by a serious
defect: the lack of co-ordination of the activities of the governor-general of
Macedonia with the various ministries. This matter had, to all intents and
purposes, been left to the civil servants, but ministry officials who had been
transferred to Macedonia were at the same time subject both to the
Government-General and to their own ministry, to which, anyway, they would soon
be returning. They were not, thus, at liberty to ignore the views of their
ministers, who missed no opportunity of intervening in issues in Macedonia
corresponding to their own responsibilities. This was the cause of a great deal
of friction between Thessaloniki and Athens, as in the case of the setting up of
the Labor Bureau, to which the Ministry of the National Economy was opposed. At
the same time, the governor's terms of reference cancelled out the powers of the
ministries in their individual fields in Macedonia, allowing him in effect to
practice direct rule. For that reason, in practice, the 'center' frequently
failed to help him in his task. Raktivan's plea in a letter dated 5 November
1913 to Alexandros Diomidis, Minister of Finace, and provisionally of Justice,
is typical: "...I beg you in the strongest terms to urge my colleagues to give
me less advice and more practical help in the awkward position in which I find
myself'. 34
It is, however, a fact that, in
spite of the reactions and dangers from internal and external factors, which
constantly arose in its way, the Government-General of Macedonia succeeded in
its mission35, and contributed in good many ways to the definitive
inclusion of Macedonia within the Greek state. The most important factor in this
success was the professional competence, industry, idealism and personality of
many of those in authority. An indication of their abilities is to be found in
their subsequent careers and their contribution to the country's public life. To
mention but a few: Ion Dragoumis, whose untimely end came as a great loss: Konstantinos
Raktivan as minister of the Interior undertook the restoration of Greek
administration in Eastern Macedonia in 1918 and in Western Thrace in 1920, and
served as the Council of State's first chairman; Periklis Argyropoulos served
repeatedly as minister and ambassador; Georgios Kophinas twice held the
Ministry of Finance; Vasileios Dendramis was one of the Foreign Ministry's most
capable ambassadors; Alexandros Vamvetsos was to become a distinguished jurist;
Dimitrios Maximos served as governor of the National Bank, minister and
prime minister; Georgios Mantzavinos became governor of the Bank of Greece and
minister; Nikolaos Mavroudis served as deputy minister of Foreign Affairs;
Georgios Oikonomou subsequently became professor of archaeology and
secretary-general of the Athens Academy; Petros Evrypaios served as prefect and
minister, and Panagiotis Dekazos as senator and minister. The Venizelos
government had the far-sightedness to second to liberate Macedonia the best and
youngest of the civil servants: the most senior among them had risen no higher
than the rank of head of department. A little later, when the Government-General
of Macedonia was abolished, as well as when it was reconstituted with almost
non-existent powers, the standard of civil servants from Old Greece stationed
in Macedonia was low and appointments in the northern provinces were regarded as
being reserved for those who had fallen into disfavor.
Raktivan
retired from his post on 18 June 1913. The same day, the Bulgarian unit, which
was encamped in Thessaloniki, surrendered after putting up armed resistance.
The presence of Bulgarian military units had been a constant and acute problem
for Raktivan ever since he had first landed in the Macedonian capital. In his
first report to Venizelos, he sought their removal by means of diplomacy.36
on the day of his departure for Athens; he visited "for the first time the
Church of Agia Sophia (Holy Wisdom), which hadjust been cleaned out" (it
had served as a barracks for the Bulgarians). He himself recounted: "...I felt
genuinely relieved of the nightmare which had been hanging over our heads for
eight months, and, as I said to the secretary Kyriazidis, who accompanied me,
it was the only happy day of my stay in Thessaloniki". 37
Raktivan was succeeded by the governor-general to Crete and former Prime Minister Stephanos Dragoumis, who was himself a Macedonian, from Vogatsiko, near Kastoria. Dragoumis extended the decentralized system of administration to the3~point where it approached complete self-government. His term of office as governor-general was, however, short: he disagreed with the acceptance by Venizelos of the Greek-Romanian protocol appended to the Treaty of Bucharest recognizing the existence of a Romanian minority in Greece, with its own schools, churches and bishop. The protocol remained a dead letter, but Dragoumis resigned from his position on 25 September 1913. Emmanouil Repoulis, who imposed limits on the decentralized and self-governing system of his two predecessors, succeeded him. After his departure (10 April 1914), Themistoklis Sophoulis became governor-general and remained in office until 8 April 1915, when the Gounaris government abolished the Government-General of Mace~donia.39 Law 80/16.11.1913 had already extended the force of Greek legislation to the New Lands, and, at the same time, a series of decrees provided for the introduction of specific acts of legislation and the direct subordination of certain services of the Government General to those of the ministries. Both Repoulis and Sophoulis were champions of the swift introduction of Greek legislation - which was, perhaps, difficult to avoid in the provinces of a single state. At the same time, they gradually abolished all the powers and scope of the government-general to deal directly and in a flexible way with acute local needs. Thus, the Governor-General of Macedonia became a purely decorative state functionary and the resolution of all issues was now dependent upon the magnanimity of a distant, impersonal and ill-informed 'center'. When, in 1917, the Government General (later to be known as the Ministry of Northern Greece and presently called the Ministry of Macedonia and Thrace) was reconstituted, it continued to function on the same footing.