After reviewing the elections covered by Kathimerini from its founding until 1967, the reprinting of the historical pages continues, this time focusing on one of the most important figures in modern Greek history: Konstantinos G. Karamanlis.

His political career began in the elections of June 1935, when he was first elected as Serres’ deputy for the anti-Venezuelan People’s Party. He was then re-elected in January 1936, but with the establishment of the dictatorship of Ioannis Metaxas, he left politics and took up jurisprudence.

In the first post-war elections on March 31, 1946, he managed to be re-elected as a member of parliament. Until 1950, he held various ministerial positions in the Ministries of Labour, Transportation, Social Security and National Defense.

In July 1951, he joined Alexandros Papagos’ newly formed Greek Anxiety party, which won the November 1952 elections. On November 19, on its front page, “Kathimerini” announced the names of the ministers of the new government.

Among them is the name of Konstantinos Karamanlis as Minister of Public Works, a position that essentially brought him to the fore and placed him at the center of political affairs.

As the publication explains, referring to the Ministry of Coordination until that time: “[…] it will be completely reorganized and renamed the Ministry of Economic Policy. The main task of this ministry will be to coordinate, supervise and control the activities of all production and economic ministries in such a way as to fully implement the economic policy of the Greek alarm.”

The modernization work of the Papagu government was especially expressed in the implementation of the most basic infrastructure and electrification projects during the Karamanlis ministry. In fact, as a result of a government reshuffle in December 1954, the latter also assumed control of the Ministry of Transport.

The extensive activity of Konstantinos Karamanlis in the field of infrastructure has led to his popularity.

This appears to have been one of the reasons why King Paul appointed him prime minister after the death of Alexandros Papagos in 1955.