Andreas Syggros
Andreas Syggros | |
|---|---|
| Born | Error: Invalid birth date for calculating age Istanbul |
| Died | February 13, 1899 (aged 68) |
| Occupation(s) | Financier, benefactor |
| Known for | Co-establishing the Bank of Constantinople; founding the Privileged Bank of Epirothessaly; philanthropy including funding Andrea Syngrou Avenue and Corinth Canal completion |
Andreas Syggros (; born 12 October 1830 – died 13 February 1899) was a prominent Greek financier and benefactor originating from Istanbul, born to Chiot parents who were victims of the Chios Massacre. Together with Stephanos Skouloudis, he co-established the Bank of Constantinople. Syggros married Iphigenia Mavrokordatou, a member of the wealthy Mavrocordatos lineage. In 1871, the couple moved to Athens where Syggros embarked on launching a new banking enterprise. He acquired property from Dimitrios Rallis’s widow and hired architect Nikolaos Soutsos to construct his residence according to designs by Ernst Ziller. This mansion, situated opposite the Royal Palace, was later donated by his widow and currently houses the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Syggros collaborated with influential Greek diaspora figures from Constantinople and Odessa, such as Evangelis Valtatzis, to create the General Credit Bank (Ethniki Pistotiki Trapeza). In 1873, he exploited the Lavreotika stock market scandal by artificially boosting shares of the Greek Company of Lavrion Mines through spreading rumors about gold deposits.
In 1882, he founded the Privileged Bank of Epirothessaly in Volos to promote economic development in the recently annexed regions of Epirus and Thessaly. This institution held exclusive authority to issue currency within these areas. After Syggros’s passing, the National Bank of Greece took over this bank.
His charitable contributions included funding the construction of Andrea Syngrou Avenue, which connects the Royal Palace with Palaio Faliro bay, as well as facilitating the completion of the Corinth Canal in 1893—an important engineering milestone. Syggros passed away in Athens in 1899 and was laid to rest at the First Cemetery of Athens.
References
- Short description with empty Wikidata description
- Articles without Wikidata item
- 1830 births
- 1899 deaths
- Constantinopolitan Greeks
- Bankers from the Ottoman Empire
- Emigrants from the Ottoman Empire to Greece
- Businesspeople from Istanbul
- Greek accountants
- Greek businesspeople
- Greek bankers
- Greek philanthropists
- Burials at the First Cemetery of Athens
- 19th-century Greek philanthropists