On February 26, 1986, Amalia Fleming passed away. Doctor, wife of the Nobel laureate microbiologist-inventor of penicillin - Alexander Fleming, politician and fighter with intense anti-dictatorship activity.
She was born in Istanbul on June 28, 1912 and was the daughter of the city's well-known dermatologist Harilaos Koutsouris. She studied Medicine at the University of Athens, where she was awarded a doctorate, and continued her studies in Paris (where she worked at the Necker Hospital), and in London.
During the occupation he participated in the National Resistance. With a scholarship from the British Council, he went to London in 1945 where he worked at the Wright Fleming Institute next to the Nobel laureate microbiologist Alexander Fleming until 1949, when he returned to Greece to take over the direction of Evangelism. In 1953 she married Fleming but their marriage only lasted two years as Alexander Fleming died in 1955. Although she did not use it, she held the title of Lady as Fleming was a Knight (Sir).
During the dictatorship, he developed intense anti-dictatorship activity and was arrested in August 1971, on the charge of planning the escape of Alekos Panagoulis. He was interrogated for 25 days, tortured, tried and sentenced by the emergency military court of Athens.
However, the dictatorship, fearing the impact that the imprisonment of Amalia Fleming would have on the international community, released her and deported her, while also removing her Greek citizenship. He returned to London from where he returned after the fall of the dictatorship. He testified as a witness at the trial of the ETA-ESA torturers, where he specifically referred to the use of hallucinogens and other substances during interrogations during the junta period.
He was elected State Member of Parliament in 1977 and Member of Parliament of Athens in 1981 and 1985 with PASOK. However, he did not hesitate to publicly disagree with Andreas Papandreou over the deletions of Democratic Defense and PAK executives.
He also represented Greece in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. He died on February 26, 1986, without having time to see the creation of the Foundation for Basic Biomedical Research "Alexander Fleming", which was founded years later in Vari.
Amalia Fleming was also the President of the Association of Greek Women Scientists (SEE) and in 1965 she was awarded the Order of Eupoias.
At the same time, he developed activity for the defense of human rights, women's rights and peace:Amnesty International (first president of the Greek section), Democratic Care, Human Rights Union, Committee for the Repatriation of Political Refugees, Committee for the Liberation of the Turkish people and the Republic.