| Variations of Name | Michail 'Mikis' Theodorakis |
| Biography | Michail "Mikis" Theodorakis was a Greek composer and lyricist credited with over 1,000 works. Studied at the Athens Conservatoire and Paris Conservatory. He founded the Athens Little Symphony Orchestra.
He scored for the films Zorba the Greek (1964), Z (1969), and Serpico (1973). He composed the "Mauthausen Trilogy", also known as "The Ballad of Mauthausen". Up until his death, he was viewed as Greece's best-known living composer.
Theodorakis was an MP for the Communict Party of Greece (KKE) from 1981-1990. Nevertheless, in 1989 he ran as an independent candidate within the centre-right New Democracy party. For millions of people, Theodorakis was the symbol of resistance against the Greek dictatorship together with Melina Mercouri.
He was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize.
He would compose, alsongside Pagani, the anthem of the French Socialist Party, in 1977. |