History of Greece/Modern Greece

The history of Modern Greece starts in 1974 with the beginning of the Metapolitefsi period following the collapse of the military regime, up until the current day.

The Restoration of Democracy
The Military Junta due to multiple, crucial to the regime events, such as the Polytechnic Uprising, internal coups between the colonels and the failed coup in Cyprus which lead to the Turkish invasion of the island was in a very tough position. The public moral was low, with the people emptying the shelves of the supermarkets fearing that the conflict in Cyprus could lead to an all-out war between Greece and Turkey.

On July 23rd of 1974, president Gizikis under the pressure of the Turkish invasion in Cyprus decides to call a meeting between the armed forces and the old guard politicians with the goal of appointing a national unity government that would prevent the escalation of the conflict with Turkey and to call democratic ellections. The meeting was concluded with the decision of appointing Konstantinos Karamanlis as the prime minister, who had also served in that position from 1955 to 1963. Gizikis phoned Karamanlis shortly after, informing him of their offer. Karamanlis, having escaped to France during the 7 year dictatorship and having a stance against the Junta was at first hesitant to accept his return, but was assured by the military leaders that the armed forces would not intervene in the politics of Greece anymore.

The news of Karamanlis' return was the cause of celebration all over Greece, with thousands coming to greet him at the airport, arriving from Paris. He was sworn in on July 24 1974, but had to sleep in a yacht guarded by a naval destroyer for 7 weeks due to the political instability at the time.