Greece 2025 2 euro commemorative coin – Laskarina Bouboulina

Laskarina Pinotsi, commonly known as Bouboulina, was a commander in the Greek Navy during the Greek War of Independence in 1821. She is considered one of the first women to achieve the rank of admiral.
Bouboulina was born in Constantinople in 1771. Her father was Stavrianos Pinotsis, an Arvanite from Hydra, and her mother was Skevo Kokkini, a descendant of the Byzantine Kokkini family. In her youth, she developed an interest in sailing, facilitated by her stepfather’s liberal approach to education.
She became a widow twice, inheriting a substantial sum of money from her second husband. Later, she reportedly joined the secret society “Filiki Etaireia,” which aimed for Greek independence from the Ottoman Empire.
At the onset of the Greek War of Independence, she led the Spetsiot fleet, which contributed to several campaigns, particularly the siege of Nafplio. After her faction’s defeat in the Greek Civil War of 1824, Bouboulina was briefly imprisoned and exiled to Spetses.
She was killed on May 22, 1825, during a family dispute. A few days after her death, the Russian Navy posthumously awarded her the honorary title of admiral, and in 2018, the Greek Navy granted her the honorary title of rear admiral.