Biography of george papadopoulos

Greek military dictator (1919–1999)

Not censure be confused with George Papadopoulos.

Georgios Papadopoulos (;^[1][2]Greek: Γεώργιος Παπαδόπουλος[ʝeˈorʝi.ospapaˈðopulos]; 5 May 1919 – 27 June 1999) was a Greek brave officer and dictator who blasй a coup d'etat in Ellas in 1967 and became nobleness country's Prime Minister from 1967 to 1973.

He also was the President of Greece below the junta in 1973, succeeding a referendum. However, after probity effective suppression of the Athinai Polytechnic uprising, he was, addition turn, overthrown by hardliner Dimitrios Ioannidis, in a string take off events that would culminate difficulty the fall of the setup in 1974. His and excellence dictatorship's legacy, as well trade in its methods he constructed advocate effects on Greek economy most recent society as a whole, total still fiercely debated.

He husbandly the Hellenic Army during rank Second World War and resisted the Greco-Italian War; in deadpan doing he obtained honors become calm became a hero. He remained in the army after class war and rose to prestige rank of colonel.

In Apr 1967, Papadopoulos and a number of other mid-level army work force cane overthrew the democratic government take established a military junta divagate lasted until 1974.

Assuming absolute powers, he led an martinet, anti-communist and ultranationalist regime which eventually ended the Greek empire and established a republic, take up again himself as president. In 1973, he was overthrown and nab by his co-conspirator Brigadier GeneralDimitrios Ioannidis. After the Metapolitefsi which restored democracy in 1974, Papadopoulos was tried for his tool in the crimes of ethics junta and sentenced to complete, but his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment.

Refusing many offers of clemency in switch for admitting guilt for authority crimes of the junta, crystalclear spent the remainder of top life in prison.

Early people and military career

Papadopoulos was inherited in Elaiohori, a small townsman in the Prefecture of Achaea in the Peloponnese, to provincial schoolteacher Christos Papadopoulos and rule wife Chrysoula.

He was description eldest son and had cardinal brothers, Konstantinos and Haralambos. Name finishing high school in 1937, he enrolled in the Hellenistic Military Academy, completing its three-year programme in 1940.

His make capital out of notes, published as a circular by his supporters in 1980, mention that he took tidy civil engineering course at blue blood the gentry Polytechneion but did not graduate.^[3]

Resistance and acquiescence

During the Second Universe War, Papadopoulos saw field doing as an artillerysecond lieutenant contradict both Italian and Nazi European forces which attacked Greece come to a decision 6 April 1941.

It has been argued by various authors that Papadopoulos was a colleague of the Security Battalions adorn the command of Colonel Kourkoulakos, who was responsible for authority formation of the "Security Battalions" in Patras which "hunted down" Greek resistance fighters.^{[4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]} However, Evanthis Hatzivassiliou and Leonidas F.

Kallivretakis disagree with this claim.^[10] Diplomatic has also been argued saunter Papadopoulos, at the end behove the Axis occupation of Ellas, entered Organisation X, but Calivratakis considers that this information has not been proven.^[9][12] According exchange Kallivretakis and Grigoriadis, during authority Axis occupation of Greece, Papadopoulos worked in the Greek administration’s Patras office.^[13]

Along with other true-blue military officers, he participated school in the creation of the subject right-wing secret IDEA organisation acquire the autumn of 1944, by and by after the country's liberation.

Those 1940 officers who took asylum in the Kingdom of Empire along with King Geórgios II immediately after the German intrusion, had become generals when their still-colonel former classmates undertook position coup of 1967.

Post-Second Globe War career

He was promoted problem captain in 1946; and dilemma 1949, during the Greek Lay War, to major.

(See further Greek military ranks.) He served in the KYP Intelligence Assistance from 1959 to 1964 significance the main contact between probity KYP and the top CIA operative in Greece, John Fatseas, after training at the CIA in 1953.^[14]

Trials and tribulations: Righteousness Beloyannis affair

Major Papadopoulos, as take action then was, was also cool member of the court-martial replace the first trial of righteousness well-known Greek communist leader Nikos Beloyannis, in 1951.

At defer trial, Beloyannis was sentenced examination death for the crime stop being a member of righteousness Communist Party of Greece (KKE), which was banned at stray time in Greece following loftiness Greek Civil War. The complete sentence pronounced after this proof was not carried out, however Beloyannis was put on try-out again in early 1952, that time for alleged espionage, consequent the discovery of radio transmitters used by undercover Greek communists to communicate with the forlorn leadership of the Party emergence the Soviet Union.

At interpretation end of this trial, perform was sentenced to death courier immediately taken out and utensils. Papadopoulos was not involved demonstrate this second trial. The Beloyannis trials were highly controversial speck Greece, and many Greeks view that, like many Greek communists at the time, Beloyannis was shot for his political traditional wisdom, rather than any real crimes.

The trial was by combatant court-martial under Greek anti-insurgency codification enacted at the time always the Greek Civil War, which remained in force even scour through the war had ended.

Rise to colonel in the 1960s

In 1956, Papadopoulos took part make the addition of a failed coup attempt antithetical King Pávlos.

In 1958, significant helped create the Office look up to Military Studies, a surveillance potency, under General Gogousis. It was from this same office roam the subsequently successful coup wear out 21 April 1967 emanated.^{[This repeat needs a citation]}

In 1964, Papadopoulos was transferred to an suasion division in Western Thrace past as a consequence o a decree of Defense Priest Garoufalias, a member of leadership Centre Union (EK).^[15] In June 1965, days before the arrival of the major political chaos known as Apostasia, he forceful national headlines after arresting duo soldiers under his command deliver eight leftist civilians from settlements near his military camp, hegemony charges that they had conspired to sabotage army vehicles strong pouring sugar into the vehicles' petrol tanks.

The ten were imprisoned and tortured, but nippy was eventually proven that Papadopoulos himself had sabotaged the vehicles.^[14]Andreas Papandreou wrote in his autobiography that Papadopoulos wanted to stop that under the Centre Unity (EK) government, the Communists locked away been left free to erode national security.^[16] Even after that scandal, Papadopoulos was not unemployed from the army since interpretation Prime Minister, Geórgios Papandreou, forgave him as a compatriot drug his father.^[14] In 1967, Papadopoulos was promoted to colonel.

^{[citation needed]}

21 April 1967: Coup d'état

That same year, on 21 Apr, a month before the habitual elections, Colonel Papadopoulos, along add-on fellow middle-ranking Army officers, full a successful coup, taking use wrongly of the volatile political position that had arisen from smart conflict between the young Pollute Constantine II and the favoured former prime minister, Geórgios Papandreou.

Papadopoulos used his power gained from the coup to attempt to place Papandreou under handle arrest and re-engineer the Hellene political landscape rightward. Papadopoulos, congress with the other junta employees, are known in Greece wedge the term Aprilianoi ('Aprilians'), knowing the month of the coup.^{[17][18][19][20][21]} The term Aprilianoi has understand synonymous with the term "dictators of 1967–1974".^[22]

Regime of the Colonels

Main article: Greek junta

King Constantine determined a new government nominally nasty by Konstantinos Kollias.

However, stranger the early stages, Papadopoulos was the strongman of the original regime. He was appointed Track of National Defense and Vicar of the Presidency in magnanimity Kollias government, and his stub was further enhanced after excellence King's abortive counter-coup on 13 December, when Papadopoulos replaced Kollias as Prime Minister. Not suffice with that, on 21 Stride 1972, he nominated himself Trustee of Greece, succeeding GeneralGeórgios Zoitakis.

Torture of political prisoners spiky general, and communists in prissy, was not out of high-mindedness question. Examples included severe beatings, isolation and, according to several sources, pulling out fingernails.^[23]

"Patient injure a cast" and other metaphors

Throughout his tenure as loftiness junta strongman, Papadopoulos often occupied what have been described tough the BBC as gory postoperative metaphors,^[24] where he or representation junta assumed the role manager the "medical doctor".^{[25][26][27][28][29][30]} The "patient" was Greece.

Typically, Papadopoulos achieve the junta portrayed themselves in that the "doctor" who operated preface the "patient" by putting interpretation patient's "foot" in an orthopedical cast and applying restraints aver the "patient", tying him rip off a surgical bed and regardless how him under anesthesia to contract the "operation" so that nobility life of the "patient" would not be "endangered" during influence operation.

In one of sovereign famous speeches, Papadopoulos mentioned:^[29][31][32]

"ευρισκόμεθα προ ενός ασθενούς, τον οποίον έχομεν επί χειρουργικής κλίνης, και τον οποίον εάν ο χειρουργός δεν προσδέση κατά την διάρκειαν της εγχειρήσεως και της ναρκώσεως επί της χειρουργικής κλίνης, υπαρχει πιθανότης αντί δια της εγχειρήσεως να του χαρίσει την αποκατάστασιν της υγείας, να τον οδηγήσει εις θάνατον.

[...] Οι περιορισμοί είναι η πρόσδεσις του ασθενούς επί κλίνης δια να υποστή ακινδύνως την εγχείρισιν

Translated as:

“...We are in front of deft patient, whom we have disorder a surgical bed, and whom if the surgeon does troupe strap on the surgical come to life during the time of authority surgery and the anesthesia, roughly is a chance instead discover the surgery granting him justness restoration of his health, inhibit lead him to his have killed [...] The restrictions are rendering straps, keeping the patient discomfited to the surgical bed consequently that he will undergo rectitude surgery without danger.

In leadership same speech Papadopoulos continued:^[29][31]

"Ασθενή έχομεν.

Εις τον γύψον τον εβάλαμεν. Τον δοκιμάζομεν εάν ημπορεί να περπατάει χωρίς τον γύψον. Σπάζομεν τον αρχικόν γύψον και ξαναβάζομεν ενδεχομένως τον καινούργιο εκεί όπου χρειάζεται Το Δημοψήφισμα θα είναι μία γενική θεώρησις των ικανοτήτων του ασθενούς. Ας προσευχηθώμεν να μη χρειάζεται ξανά γύψον. Εάν χρειάζεται, θα του τον βάλομεν. Και το μόνον που ημπορώ να σας υποσχεθώ, είναι να σας καλέσω να ειδήτε και σεις το πόδι χωρίς γύψον!

which translates as follows:

"We keep a patient.

We test him if he can walk stay away from a plaster cast. We be revealed the initial cast and, granting warranted, we put another toss where is needed. The vote will be a general angle of the capabilities of dignity patient. Let us pray put off he may not need unornamented cast again. If he exigencies one, we will put adjourn on him. And the single thing I can promise jagged, is to invite you admit see the foot without systematic cast!

Other metaphors contained metaphysical imagery related to the renaissance of Christ at Easter: "Χριστός Ανέστη – Ελλάς Ανέστη" translating as "Christ has risen – Greece has risen", alluding think about it the junta would "save" Ellas and resurrect her into clean up greater, new Land.^[31] The thesis of rebirth was used numerous times as a standard acknowledge to avoid answering any questions as to how long illustriousness dictatorship would last:^[31]

Διότι αυτό το τελευταίον είναι υπόθεσις άλλων.

Είναι υποθέσεις εκείνων, οι οποίοι έθεσαν την θρυαλλίδα εις την δυναμίτιδα δια την έκρηξιν προς αναγέννησιν της Πολιτείας την νύκτα της 21 Απριλίου.

Translated as:

Because probity latter is someone else's make an effort. They are the concerns good deal those, who lit the badly lit of the dynamite for position explosion which led to illustriousness rebirth of the State loftiness night of 21 April 1967.

The religious themes and rebirth metaphors are also seen in prestige following:^[31]

Αι υποχρεώσεις μας περιγράφονται και από την θρησκείαν και από την ιστορίαν μας.

Ομόνοιαν και αγάπην διδάσκει ο Χριστός. Πίστιν εις την Πατρίδα επιτάσσει η Ιστορία μας. [...] η Ελλάς αναγεννάται, η Ελλάς θα μεγαλουργήσει, η Ελλάς πάντα θα ζει.

Translated as:

Our obligations are asserted by both our history very last our religion. Christ teaches Interior and Love.

Our history insistency faith in our country. [...] Greece is being reborn, Ellas will accomplish great things, Ellas will live forever.

Assassination attempt

A blundered assassination attempt against Papadopoulos was perpetrated by Alexandros Panagoulis reconcile the morning of 13 Honourable 1968, when Papadopoulos was impelled from his summer residence comport yourself Lagonisi to Athens, escorted bid his personal security motorcycles vital cars.

Panagoulis ignited a shuck attack at a point of justness coastal road where the car carrying Papadopoulos would have know slow down, but the explosive failed to harm Papadopoulos. Panagoulis was captured a few midday later in a nearby high seas cave, since the boat alter to help him escape was instructed to leave at undiluted specific time and he couldn't swim there on time payable to strong sea currents.

Tail his arrest, he was in use to the Greek Military Boys in blue (EAT-ESA) offices where he was questioned, beaten and tortured. Pay tribute to 17 November 1968, Panagoulis was sentenced to death but was personally pardoned by Papadopoulos, served only five years in also gaol, and after democracy was contemporary was elected a member strain Parliament.

He was regarded on account of an emblematic figure of interpretation struggle to restore democracy, innermost as such has often archaic paralleled to Harmodius and Aristogeiton, two ancient Athenians known make known their assassination of Hipparchus, relative of the tyrant Hippias.

Normalisation and attempts at liberalisation

Main article: Metapolitefsi

Despite his heavy-handed rule, Papadopoulos was one of the enhanced moderate members of the conspiracy.

He had indicated as exactly as 1968 that he was eager for reform.^[33] He challenging declared at the time go off at a tangent he did not want illustriousness Revolution of 21 April (as the coup was called offspring the junta's supporters) to develop a 'regime'. Around the amount to time, he'd reached out curry favor some old-line politicians, such bit Spiros Markezinis.^[33] Several attempts involving liberalise the regime during 1969 and 1970 were thwarted surpass the hardliners on the faction, including Ioannides.^[33] In fact, substantial to his 1970 failed have a crack at reform, he threatened familiar with resign and was dissuaded inimitable after the hardliners renewed their personal allegiance to him.^[33]

As inner dissatisfaction grew in the anciently 1970s, and especially after devise abortive coup by the Merchant marine in early 1973,^[33] Papadopoulos attempted to legitimise the regime beside beginning a gradual "democratisation" (see also the article on say publicly Metapolitefsi).

On 1 June 1973, he abolished the monarchy take up declared Greece a republic interest himself as president. He was confirmed in office via shipshape and bristol fashion controversial referendum. He furthermore sought after the support of the brace political establishment, but secured nonpareil the cooperation of Markezinis, who became prime minister.

Concurrently, distinct restrictions were lifted and rendering army's role significantly reduced. Potent interim constitution created a statesmanlike republic. The president would continue an eight-year term, and was vested with sweeping—almost dictatorial—powers. High-mindedness decision to return to (at least nominal) civilian rule person in charge the restriction of the army's role did not go all but far enough for those who wanted full democracy.

At probity same time, this move was resented by many of authority regime's supporters, whose dissatisfaction anti Papadopoulos would become evident spruce up few months later.

Ties succumb US intelligence

Papadopoulos is widely stylish to have had certain collateral to the Central Intelligence Agency,^{[note 1]} and has also archaic reported to have undergone bellicose and intelligence training in excellence United States during the 1950s.^[34][35]

On 1 July 1973, The Observer published an investigative journalism circumstance that accused the Central Sagacity Agency (CIA) of engineering say publicly 1967 coup, further writing delay Papadopoulos was known among high up officials in the Joint Collective States Military Aid Assistance Embassy in Athens as "the be in first place CIA agent to become Chancellor of a European country".^[36][37] Glory following day, during CIA detective William Colby's confirmation hearings lock be Director of Central Wisdom, Colby was asked in take on to the article if forth was any justification for prestige assertions.

Colby denied that class CIA had engineered the phase in or that Papadopoulos was either a CIA agent or differently paid by the CIA, calculation that "[Papadopoulos] has been let down official of the Greek Direction at various times, and put it to somebody those periods from time calculate time we worked with him in his official capacity.".^{[38][non-primary origin needed]}

In 1977, John M.

Maury, a CIA agent who was Chief of Station in Athinai during the coup, wrote wrench an article in The President Post that the CIA locked away considered swaying the elections decimate prevent Papandreou from winning wedge promoting moderate candidates. The intervention ultimately decided against the method.

As the election drew close by, CIA agents were vaguely prodded by their Greek contacts pose the possibility of a accomplishment. Maury argues that the CIA's choice to officially condemn suggestions of a military takeover person in charge remain uninvolved led to class agency being taken by astonish by the events of Apr 21, 1967. He concludes: "That we seriously attempted neither allocate influence nor to injure them is still taken by Greeks of all kinds as exoneration of U.S.

complicity, or smash into least acquiescence, in the self-indulgence of the dictatorship. And while in the manner tha the dictatorship eventually fell, yearning the shame of its alleged U.S. support was added loftiness humiliation of perceived U.S. defeat."^{[39][relevant?]}

A detailed study by Alexis Papachelas argues that Andreas Papandreou's recapture of U.S.

involvement "is helter-skelter at variance with the facts": according to the study, U.S. officials had contemplated but forsaken using the CIA to fade the leftist flank of illustriousness Centre Union Party associated arrange a deal Andreas, eventually determining that nifty prospective Centre Union government mess Geórgios Papandreou would not kick off b lure the way for a conquest by Greek communists.

As equate as 20 April 1967, illustriousness U.S. embassy was instructed health check pressure King Constantine II "to accept the popular will very last keep the army in lying barracks." U.S. officials were reportedly stunned by the coup conceivable 21 April because, while strike dumb of coup plotting within Hellenic military circles, they never looked-for Greek officers to act for one`s part of the monarchy.^{[40][verification needed][relevant?]}

Fall lay out the Papadopoulos regime

After the word of the student uprising disregard 17 November at the Folk Technical University of Athens (see Athens Polytechnic uprising), the autocracy was overthrown on 25 Nov 1973 by hardline elements current the Army.

The outcry have an effect Papadopoulos's extensive reliance on rank army to quell the learner uprising gave BrigadierDimitrios Ioannidis a- pretext to oust him current replace him as the new-found strongman of the regime. Papadopoulos was put under house nick at his villa, while Ellas returned to an "orthodox" personnel dictatorship.

After democracy was young in 1974, during the stint of Metapolitefsi ("regime change"), Papadopoulos and his cohorts were halt and were eventually put deformity trial for high treason, insurgence, torture, and other crimes stall misdemeanors.

On 23 August 1975, he and several others were found guilty and were sentenced to death, which was ulterior commuted to life imprisonment.

Personal life

In 1942, after 3 length of existence of courtship and 6 months of engagement, he married Niki Vasileiadi (died 2015), originally wean away from Ilion of Asia Minor. Cosmetics they had a son, Christos (born 1943), a chemist, who lives in the United States and Chrysoula (1945–2004).^[41] In 1954, he met and entered industrial action a relationship with Despina Sereti (née Gaspari) (1930–2023), an staff member of the Hellenic Intelligence Function and the Geographical Service have a high opinion of the Greek Army, at significance time Papadopoulos was posted cut into the Artillery Division of class VI Division, with the disagreement of Major.

Together, they esoteric a daughter out of nuptials, Hypermachia. Since then, he was estranged from Vasileiadi.

Divorce disrespect decree rumors

The separation, however dragged out, could not lead to separation at first because, under Greece's restrictive divorce laws of saunter era, spousal consent was called for.

It is claimed that, hoot a remedy to the reservation, in 1970, as Prime Evangelist of the dictatorship, he ineluctable a custom-made divorce law continue living a strict time limit (and a built-in sunset clause) walk enabled him to get primacy divorce.^[42][43] After having served professor purpose, the law eventually elapsed automatically.

Those reports are contradicted by a 1975 article fail to notice Makedonia, which claims that Vasiliadi had filed for divorce delicate the 19th of September 1969, with the divorce being though by the Athens Court senior First Instance on the Twenty-seven of October of the garb year on "joint liability" grounds.^[44] Makedonia's claims are further substantiated by the failure of stand-in sources to provide the carry out specifics (type, number, Efimeris tis Kyverniseos Issue number).

Such rumors are baseless in the change somebody's mind of Papadopoulos' divorce, but hold up 1972 a bill that would allow divorces on the rationale of long-term separation (featuring unmixed built-in sunset clause) was disobey forward by the government, inimitable to meet the opposition regard the Church of Greece.^[45] Much a law (but without pure sunset clause) came to embryonic only in 1979, a 10 after the divorce of Vasileiadi and Papadopoulos.^[46]

In March 1970, proscribed married Gaspari, with whom significant lived throughout the years hillock his separation from Vasileiadi.

Gaspari, immediately after the wedding, conversationally assumed the role of Good cheer Lady of Greece, until realm overthrow in November 1973. They remained married until his get.

Death

Papadopoulos showed no remorse mount steadfastly refused to apply fail to distinguish parole or amnesty or close use the leniency provisions go off allowed him to be on the loose on the grounds of average health, as did several magnetize his associates, such as Makarezos and Zoitakis.

In the summertime of 1996, his health corrupt and he was diagnosed presage ALS and bladder cancer, erior in his being hospitalized stand for three years in an Town hospital until his death deal June 27, 1999. He was buried in First Cemetery be snapped up Athens three days later, rejoinder the presence of old participation and regime sympathisers.^[47]

Legacy

Today, Papadopoulos practical a symbol of authoritarianism take up xenophobia.^[48][49][50] After the restoration acquisition democracy, some support for climax type of politics remained which was, for a time, bolstered by the National Political Combination (EPEN), a small political challenging that declared him its voluntary leader.^[41] The EPEN eventually dissolved, with supporters scattering to diversified other political parties such makeover the Popular Orthodox Rally (LAOS) and criminal organisations like Flaxen Dawn (XA).^[51]

See also

Notes

References