REPRESENTATIVE INSTITUTIONS THROUGHOUT KING OTTO 'S MONARCHY


On February 1st 1832, the Great Powers appointed Otto, prince of Bavaria as ruler of Greece and thus accepting the terms which were set out by his father, king Ludwig of Bavaria, granting that the Constitution which was being drafted in Greece would not be implemented, but the government would be powerful and monarchic, and Otto would retain the right to grant a Constitution based on his judgement.

Otto’s reign lasted till October 12/24, 1862. During the first period of his reign, 1833-1843, Otto ruled in absolutism. The political regime is absolute monarchy, in which legislative and executive power is executed by the king, while judicial rule is exercised in his name. According to theorists of absolutism, he is "by divine guidings", that is, a king by God’s will is answerable only to God.

Financial crisis tormented Greece since 1839, the discontent of the Greek people for not ceding Crete to the Greek state, and the decline of Otto’s Empire due to his long-term rule aroused the political parties in Greece. In autumn of 1842 the "English", the "French" and the "Russian" coordinated their efforts towards the granting of a Constitution. On August 1843, colonel Dimirtios Kallergis, commander of the cavalry in the capital, also joined the "conspiracy".

Finally, on the early morning hours of September 3rd 1843, Kallergis led the cavalry in front of the palace, (the building which houses the Parliament in our days), and demanded the granting of a Constitution. Other military officers along with their troops, and many Athenians also arrived on the same location, and therefore under these circumstances Otto was forced to consent to granting a Constitution. The period of total monarchy had ended and a new period began in the history of the Greek state, that of constitutional monarchy.

Elections for the Nationalational Assembly were declared to be held on the last week of October but they were postponed due to bad weather and therefore they were held a week later. Finally, "in Athens the September 3rd National Assembly of the Greeks", began its procedures on November 8th 1843, with an inaugural session in which Otto gave a speech, and it terminated on March 18th 1844, after having carried out the tasks for which it had been summoned for.

The Constitution consisted of a total of 107 articles. It was ratified by the representatives of the Nation on March 4th 1844, and on the 18th of the same month Otto took an oath to respect the Constitution of the country.

The Constitution of 1844 ratified the Constitutional Monarchy and it reflected a compromise between the ambitions of the political parties and the powers of the king. Legislative power was exercised by the King along with two legislative bodies, the Parliament and the Senate. The members of the Parliament were elected by the people, although not all Greeks were entitled to vote. The members of the Senate were appointed by the King on a life term bases. Executive power belonged to the king and it was exercised by accountable ministers who were appointed by him. Justice was rendered by judges who were also appointed by the king. Above are the main features of a Constitutional Monarchy. Constitutional Monarchy in Greece lasted till 1846, when a new Constitution was voted.

The electoral law was voted on March 18th 1844, on the eve of the last day prier to the dissolution of the National Assembly. The law stipulated that Members of Parliament should be elected on a two round majority system through direct, and secret voting. All those who had obtained a complete majority in the first round were elected as Members of Parliament. A second round was foreseen for the governmental seats in which no candidate had gained complete majority. Each constituency elected members of parliament in proportion to its population. The Electoral Law of 1844 was probably the most up-dated law of its time.

Representative institutions did not operate very smoothly, due to political reasons rather than legal ones. Otto exercised a personal policy through the appointment of "royal" governments, that is minority governments which were not supported by Parliament. In order to remain in power, the government tainted the election results. At the same time Otto continuously changed the composition of the Senate in order to prevent any opposition policy from being exercised.

On October 10 to 11, 1862 Otto’s reign ended. The leaders of a movement against Otto, which had been organised the previous days, issued the following resolution:

"Resolution of the Nation"

The troubles of our Country have ceased. All provinces and the capital, along with the army put an end to them. The following is regarded and voted as the common declaration of the Greek Nation:
Otto’s reign is abolished. Amalia’s regency is abolished.
A temporary government is formed to rule the country till the formation of a National Assembly. The government consists of the following citizens: Dimitrios Vulgaris as President, Konstantinos Kanaris, Venizelos Rufos. A national constitutional assembly is summoned immediately to prepare a Constitution and to elect a ruler.
Long live our Nation. Long live our Country.

Athens, October 10th 1862.


The next day Otto abdicated the greek throne.

In the beginning of 1863 the Great Powers proposed prince William-George Glyxbourg of Denmark as the new king of Greece. He was acknowledged by the Greek people on March 18th 1863, with a resolution of the 2nd National Assembly as "George the 2nd, King of the Greeks", and so all Greeks living outside the borders of the small Greek state would also be under his crown. The rise of George on the throne was affirmed by a three-party agreement which was signed between England, France and Russia on July 1st 1863 in London. More specifically, they recognised Greece as a monarchic, independent and constitutional state and consented to the ceding of the Ionian Islands to the Greek state.

(c) 1996 Macedonian Press Agency