Miltiadis Negrepontis (1873-1951)

Miltiadis Negrepontis (1873–1951) was a prominent Greek politician and economist, son of Menelaos Negrepontis and Eleni Vallianou. He was born in Marseille and studied law at the University of Athens and in Leipzig. In 1904, he was appointed Prefect of Kefalonia, and in 1910, he was elected Member of Parliament for Attica, a position he retained through successive elections until 1920. He actively participated in the Balkan Wars (1912–1913), during which he organized the military automobile service. In 1914, he became President of the Refugee Resettlement Committee in Thessaloniki. During the National Schism, he supported Eleftherios Venizelos and served as Minister of Finance in the Provisional Government of National Defence, established in Thessaloniki in 1916. He also held the position of Minister of Finance in Venizelos' subsequent government from 1917 to 1920. One of his most significant contributions to the country was the tax reform he implemented in early 1919, which abolished the wide variety of agricultural taxes that had existed in different regions of Greece up to that point, and introduced a unified national tax policy. In 1941, he briefly served as an executive advisor to the Bank of Greece. He was also actively involved in sports, participating in athletic clubs and events, and served as President of the Olympic Games Committee. Pictured: Handwritten letter from the Board of Directors of the Iraklis Gymnastics Club of Thessaloniki, dated February 1918, addressed to the President of the Olympic Games Committee and Minister of Finance, Miltiadis Negrepontis. ©Iraklis New Gymnastics Club of Thessaloniki 1908.