George Papadopoulos
Encyclopedia
Colonel Georgios Papadopoulos (5 May 1919 – 27 June 1999) was the head of the military coup d'état that took place in Greece on 21 April 1967 and leader of the military government that ruled the country from 1967 to 1974. Papadopoulos was a Colonel
of Artillery
. During World War II
, he had initially fought against the Italian 1940 invasion and then he became a Nazi collaborator in the Security Battalions
, and in the postwar years he received intelligence training in the US and became a CIA agent. He held dictatorial power in Greece from 1967-1973, until he was himself overthrown by his co-conspirator Dimitrios Ioannidis. It has been claimed that Papadopoulos was the first CIA agent to govern a Western European country.
, a small village in the Prefecture
of Achaea
in Peloponnese
to local school teacher Christos Papadopoulos and his wife Chrysoula. He was the eldest son and had two brothers, Konstantinos and Haralambos. Upon finishing High School
in 1937, he enrolled in the Scholi Evelpidon Officer Academy (Σχολή Ευελπίδων). He completed his three-year education in 1940.
Papadopoulos' biographical notes, that were published as a booklet by supporters in 1980, mention that he attended a Civil engineering
course at the Polytechneion
but did not graduate.
. Papadopoulos saw field action as a Second Lieutenant
of the Artillery
against both the Italians and the forces of Nazi Germany
, which attacked Greece
on 6 April 1941. During the subsequent occupation of Greece by Nazi Germany
, Italy and Bulgaria, Papadopoulos worked for the "Patras Food Supply Office" of the Greek administration—as an anti-communist, he did not join any of the left-wing resistance groups such as Ellinikos Laïkos Apeleftherotikos Stratos (ELAS).
The "Patras Food Supply Office" was run under the command of Colonel Kourkoulakos, an officer who was responsible for the formation of the "Security Battalions
" in Patras. These battalions were collaborationist military units, created by the Greek puppet government of Ioannis Rallis
in 1943 in order to support the German occupation troops. They were supported by the extreme right and pro-Nazis, and also by some centrist politicians who were concerned about the dominance of ELAS (the military arm of the communist-dominated National Liberation Front EAM) as the main body of the Greek resistance. Among the members of the Security Battalions one could find ex-army officers, violently conscripted soldiers, ultra-right fanatics and social outcasts, as well as common opportunists who believed the Axis would win the war.
In the beginning of 1944, Papadopoulos left Greece with the help of British intelligence agents and went to Egypt, where the Greek government-in-exile was based, where he received the rank of Lieutenant. Along with other right-wing
military officers, he participated in the creation of the nationalist right-wing secret IDEA organization, in the fall of 1944, shortly after the country's liberation. Those 1940B officers who went to Egypt with the King immediately after the German invasion had attained the rank of General when their still-colonel classmates undertook the coup of 1967.
Papadopoulos married his first wife Niki Vasileiadi in 1941 and they had two children, a son and a daughter. Their marriage, however, later fell in difficult times and they eventually separated. Their separation, although lengthy, initially could not lead to divorce because, under Greece's restrictive divorce laws of that era, spousal consent was required. To remedy this, in 1970, as Prime Minister of the dictatorship he decreed
a custom-made divorce law to be passed of very limited duration (built-in sunset clause), that enabled him to get the divorce. The law subsequently, having served its purpose, automatically expired. After his divorce, Papadopoulos married his long-time paramour Despina Gaspari in 1970 with whom he had a daughter.
, he rose to the rank of Major. (See also: Greek military ranks
). He served at the KYP Intelligence Service from 1959 to 1964 as the main contact between the KYP and the top CIA operative in Greece, John Fatseas, after receiving training from the CIA in 1953.
in the first trial of the well-known Greek communist leader Nikos Beloyannis
in 1951. At that trial, Beloyannis was sentenced to death for the crime of being a member of the Communist Party, which was banned at that time in Greece following the Greek Civil War
. The death sentence pronounced after this trial (Papadopoulos had voted against it) was not carried out, but Beloyannis was put to trial again in early 1952, this time for alleged espionage, following the discovery of radio transmitters used by undercover Greek communists to communicate with the exiled leadership of the Party in the Soviet Union
. At the end of this trial, he was sentenced to death and immediately shot. Papadopoulos was not involved in this second trial. The Beloyannis trials are highly controversial in Greece and many Greeks consider that, like many Greek communists at the time, Beloyannis was shot for his political beliefs, rather than any real crimes. The trial was by court-martial under Greek anti-insurgency legislation dating from the time of the Greek Civil War
that remained in force even though the war had ended.
. In 1958, he helped create the Office of Military Studies, a surveillance
authority, under General Gogousis. It was from this same office that the subsequently successful coup of 21 April 1967 emerged.
In 1964, he was transferred to an artillery division in Thrace by decree of the Center Union
defense minister Garoufalias. In June 1965, days before the major political turmoil known as Apostasia
, Papadopoulos reached national headlines. He arrested two soldiers under his command and eight leftist civilians from settlements near his military camp, under the charges that they had conspired to sabotage
army vehicles by pouring sugar into the vehicles' gas tanks. The ten people were imprisoned and tortured, but eventually it was proven that Papadopoulos himself had sabotaged the vehicles. Andreas Papandreou
wrote in his memoirs that Papadopoulos wanted to prove that under the Center Union government, the communists had been let free to undermine national security. However, Papadopoulos was not discharged from the army, as prime minister Georgios Papandreou forgave him on the grounds that Papadopoulos was a compatriot of his father.
In 1967, Papadopoulos was promoted to Colonel
.
and the aging former prime minister, Georgios Papandreou. Papadopoulos attempted to re-engineer
the Greek political landscape by coup.
In Greece even today the words "21η Απριλίου 1967", translated as 21 April 1967, are still synonymous with the word "πραξικόπημα" that translates as coup d'état.
.
Papadopoulos' regime imposed martial law, censorship, mass arrests, beatings and torture
. Thousands of the regime's political opponents were thrown into prison or were exiled ("forced into vacation" according to the regime's friends) on small Aegean islands (Amnesty International
issued a report detailing numerous instances of torture under the regime). Papadopoulos excused these actions by stating that they were being done to save the nation from a "communist takeover." Because of the regime's staunchly anti-communist stance, it was strongly supported by the United States. Many Greeks felt confirmed in their belief of USA backing and even complicity in the coup by Bill Clinton
's public apology for that support on behalf of the USA, during his November 1999 visit in Greece.
The military government dissolved political parties, clamped down on left wing organizations and labor unions, and promoted a traditionalist Greco-Christian culture. At the same time, however, the economy, due mostly to the political stability brought by the regime, was greatly improved and extensive public works, such as highway-building, reforms re: agricultural matters and electrification, were carried out all over Greece but especially in the mostly backward rural areas.
Torture of the incarcerated, especially on communists, was not out of the question. Examples of the types of torture used included beatings, isolation and, according to some sources, pulling fingernails.
A failed assassination attempt was made against Papadopoulos by Alexandros Panagoulis
in the morning of 13 August 1968, when Papadopoulos went from his summer residence in Lagonisi
to Athens
, escorted by his personal security motorcycles and cars. Panagoulis ignited a bomb at a point of the coastal road where the limousine carrying Papadopoulos would have to slow down but the bomb failed to harm Papadopoulos. Panagoulis was captured a few hours later in a nearby sea cave as the boat that would let him escape was instructed to leave at a specific time and he couldn't swim there on time due to the strong sea currents.
Panagoulis was arrested, and transferred to the Greek Military Police
(EAT-ESA) offices were he was questioned, beaten and tortured. On 17 November 1968, he was sentenced to death but he was pardoned by a personal decision of Papadopoulos and stayed only five years in prison. After the restoration of Democracy, Panagoulis was elected a member of Parliament. Panagoulis was regarded as an emblematic figure for the struggle to restore Democracy. He has often been paralleled to Harmodius and Aristogeiton
, two ancient Athenians, known for the tyrannicide
of the Athenian tyrant Hipparchus.
Papadopoulos had indicated as early as 1968 that he was eager for a reform process and even tried to contact Markezinis at the time. He had declared at the time that he did not want the Revolution to become a regime. He then repeatedly attempted to initiate reforms in 1969 and 1970, only to be thwarted by the hardliners including Ioannides. In fact subsequent to his 1970 failed attempt at reform, he threatened to resign and was dissuaded only after the hardliners renewed their personal allegiance to him.
As internal dissatisfaction grew in the early 1970s, and especially after an abortive coup by the Navy in early 1973, Papadopoulos attempted to legitimize the regime by beginning a gradual "democratization" (See also the article on Metapolitefsi). On 1 June 1973, he abolished the monarchy and declared himself President of the Republic after a controversial referendum. He furthermore sought the support of the old political establishment, but secured only the cooperation of Spiros Markezinis
, who became Prime Minister. Concurrently, many restrictions were lifted, and the army's role significantly reduced. Papadopoulos intended to establish a presidential republic, with extensive powers vested in the office of President, which he held. The decision to return to political rule and the restriction of their role was resented by many of the regime's supporters in the Army, whose dissatisfaction with Papadopoulos would become evident a few months later.
(see:Athens Polytechnic uprising
), his government was overthrown on 25 November 1973 by hard-line elements in the Army. The outcry over Papadopoulos's extensive reliance on the army to quell the student uprising gave Brigadier Dimitrios Ioannides
a pretext to oust him and replace him as the new strong man of the regime. Papadopoulos was put under house arrest at his villa, while Greece returned to an 'orthodox' military dictatorship.
After democracy was restored in 1974, during the period of metapolitefsi
("regime change"), Papadopoulos and his cohorts were tried for high treason
, mutiny
, torture
and other crimes and misdemeanours. On 23 August 1975 he and several others were found guilty and were sentenced to death, which was later commuted to a life sentence. Papadopoulos remained in prison, rejecting an amnesty
offer that required that he acknowledge his past record and express remorse, until his death on 27 June 1999 at age 80 when he succumbed to cancer in a hospital in Athens. He had been in the hospital for cancer treatment since 1996.
and xenophobia
for many Greeks. The far-right praises him for promoting Greek culture, imposing a strong hand, and fighting communism. After the restoration of democracy, some support for the politics of Papadopoulos remained and was, for a time, represented by the National Political Union
(EPEN), a small political party, that declared him its honorary leader. EPEN eventually dissolved, with supporters scattering to various other political parties such as the Popular Orthodox Rally
(LAOS).
|-
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
of Artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he had initially fought against the Italian 1940 invasion and then he became a Nazi collaborator in the Security Battalions
Security Battalions
The Security Battalions were Greek collaborationist military groups, formed during the Axis occupation of Greece during World War II in order to support the German occupation troops.- History :...
, and in the postwar years he received intelligence training in the US and became a CIA agent. He held dictatorial power in Greece from 1967-1973, until he was himself overthrown by his co-conspirator Dimitrios Ioannidis. It has been claimed that Papadopoulos was the first CIA agent to govern a Western European country.
Early life and military career
Papadopoulos was born in ElaiohoriElaiochori, Achaea
Elaiochori is a Greek village located about approximately 8 km southeast of Kato Achaia, 27 km south of Patras and northeast of Pyrgos. The GR-9 Elaiochori (Greek: Ελαιοχώρι) is a Greek village located about approximately 8 km southeast of Kato Achaia, 27 km south of Patras...
, a small village in the Prefecture
Prefecture
A prefecture is an administrative jurisdiction or subdivision in any of various countries and within some international church structures, and in antiquity a Roman district governed by an appointed prefect.-Antiquity:...
of Achaea
Achaea
Achaea is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of West Greece. It is situated in the northwestern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. The capital is Patras. The population exceeds 300,000 since 2001.-Geography:...
in Peloponnese
Peloponnese
The Peloponnese, Peloponnesos or Peloponnesus , is a large peninsula , located in a region of southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth...
to local school teacher Christos Papadopoulos and his wife Chrysoula. He was the eldest son and had two brothers, Konstantinos and Haralambos. Upon finishing High School
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
in 1937, he enrolled in the Scholi Evelpidon Officer Academy (Σχολή Ευελπίδων). He completed his three-year education in 1940.
Papadopoulos' biographical notes, that were published as a booklet by supporters in 1980, mention that he attended a Civil engineering
Civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...
course at the Polytechneion
National Technical University of Athens
The National Technical University of Athens , sometimes simply known as Athens Polytechnic, is among the oldest and most prestigious higher education institutions of Greece....
but did not graduate.
Resistance and Acquiescence
During World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Papadopoulos saw field action as a Second Lieutenant
Second Lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...
of the Artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
against both the Italians and the forces of Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
, which attacked Greece
Battle of Greece
The Battle of Greece is the common name for the invasion and conquest of Greece by Nazi Germany in April 1941. Greece was supported by British Commonwealth forces, while the Germans' Axis allies Italy and Bulgaria played secondary roles...
on 6 April 1941. During the subsequent occupation of Greece by Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
, Italy and Bulgaria, Papadopoulos worked for the "Patras Food Supply Office" of the Greek administration—as an anti-communist, he did not join any of the left-wing resistance groups such as Ellinikos Laïkos Apeleftherotikos Stratos (ELAS).
The "Patras Food Supply Office" was run under the command of Colonel Kourkoulakos, an officer who was responsible for the formation of the "Security Battalions
Security Battalions
The Security Battalions were Greek collaborationist military groups, formed during the Axis occupation of Greece during World War II in order to support the German occupation troops.- History :...
" in Patras. These battalions were collaborationist military units, created by the Greek puppet government of Ioannis Rallis
Ioannis Rallis
Ioannis Rallis was the third and last collaborationist prime minister of Greece during the Axis occupation of Greece during World War II, holding office from 7 April 1943 to 12 October 1944, succeeding Konstantinos Logothetopoulos in the Nazi-controlled Greek puppet government in Athens.- Early...
in 1943 in order to support the German occupation troops. They were supported by the extreme right and pro-Nazis, and also by some centrist politicians who were concerned about the dominance of ELAS (the military arm of the communist-dominated National Liberation Front EAM) as the main body of the Greek resistance. Among the members of the Security Battalions one could find ex-army officers, violently conscripted soldiers, ultra-right fanatics and social outcasts, as well as common opportunists who believed the Axis would win the war.
In the beginning of 1944, Papadopoulos left Greece with the help of British intelligence agents and went to Egypt, where the Greek government-in-exile was based, where he received the rank of Lieutenant. Along with other right-wing
Right-wing politics
In politics, Right, right-wing and rightist generally refer to support for a hierarchical society justified on the basis of an appeal to natural law or tradition. To varying degrees, the Right rejects the egalitarian objectives of left-wing politics, claiming that the imposition of equality is...
military officers, he participated in the creation of the nationalist right-wing secret IDEA organization, in the fall of 1944, shortly after the country's liberation. Those 1940B officers who went to Egypt with the King immediately after the German invasion had attained the rank of General when their still-colonel classmates undertook the coup of 1967.
Divorce by Decree
Rule by decree
Rule by decree is a style of governance allowing quick, unchallenged creation of law by a single person or group, and is used primarily by dictators and absolute monarchs, although philosophers such as Giorgio Agamben have argued that it has been generalized since World War I in all modern states,...
a custom-made divorce law to be passed of very limited duration (built-in sunset clause), that enabled him to get the divorce. The law subsequently, having served its purpose, automatically expired. After his divorce, Papadopoulos married his long-time paramour Despina Gaspari in 1970 with whom he had a daughter.
Post-World War II career
In 1946, he received the rank of Captain and, in 1949, during the Greek Civil WarGreek Civil War
The Greek Civil War was fought from 1946 to 1949 between the Greek governmental army, backed by the United Kingdom and United States, and the Democratic Army of Greece , the military branch of the Greek Communist Party , backed by Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Albania...
, he rose to the rank of Major. (See also: Greek military ranks
Greek military ranks
Modern Greek military ranks are based on Ancient Greek & Byzantine terminology, even though the ranks correspond to those of other Western armies...
). He served at the KYP Intelligence Service from 1959 to 1964 as the main contact between the KYP and the top CIA operative in Greece, John Fatseas, after receiving training from the CIA in 1953.
Trials and tribulations: The Beloyannis affair
Papadopoulos was also a member of the court-martialCourt-martial
A court-martial is a military court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment.Most militaries maintain a court-martial system to try cases in which a breach of...
in the first trial of the well-known Greek communist leader Nikos Beloyannis
Nikos Beloyannis
Nikos Beloyannis was a Greek resistance leader and leading cadre of the Greek Communist Party. He was born in Amalias in 1915...
in 1951. At that trial, Beloyannis was sentenced to death for the crime of being a member of the Communist Party, which was banned at that time in Greece following the Greek Civil War
Greek Civil War
The Greek Civil War was fought from 1946 to 1949 between the Greek governmental army, backed by the United Kingdom and United States, and the Democratic Army of Greece , the military branch of the Greek Communist Party , backed by Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Albania...
. The death sentence pronounced after this trial (Papadopoulos had voted against it) was not carried out, but Beloyannis was put to trial again in early 1952, this time for alleged espionage, following the discovery of radio transmitters used by undercover Greek communists to communicate with the exiled leadership of the Party in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. At the end of this trial, he was sentenced to death and immediately shot. Papadopoulos was not involved in this second trial. The Beloyannis trials are highly controversial in Greece and many Greeks consider that, like many Greek communists at the time, Beloyannis was shot for his political beliefs, rather than any real crimes. The trial was by court-martial under Greek anti-insurgency legislation dating from the time of the Greek Civil War
Greek Civil War
The Greek Civil War was fought from 1946 to 1949 between the Greek governmental army, backed by the United Kingdom and United States, and the Democratic Army of Greece , the military branch of the Greek Communist Party , backed by Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Albania...
that remained in force even though the war had ended.
Rise to colonel in the 1960s
In 1956, Papadopoulos took part in a failed coup attempt against Paul of GreecePaul of Greece
Paul reigned as King of Greece from 1947 to 1964.-Family and early life:Paul was born in Athens, the third son of King Constantine I of Greece and his wife, Princess Sophia of Prussia. He was trained as a naval officer....
. In 1958, he helped create the Office of Military Studies, a surveillance
Surveillance
Surveillance is the monitoring of the behavior, activities, or other changing information, usually of people. It is sometimes done in a surreptitious manner...
authority, under General Gogousis. It was from this same office that the subsequently successful coup of 21 April 1967 emerged.
In 1964, he was transferred to an artillery division in Thrace by decree of the Center Union
Center Union
The Centre Union was a Greek political party, created in 1961 by George Papandreou, senior.The party was elected to power in 1963, with Papandreou as Prime Minister...
defense minister Garoufalias. In June 1965, days before the major political turmoil known as Apostasia
Apostasia of 1965
The terms Apostasia or Iouliana or the Royal Coup are used to describe the political crisis in Greece that centred around the resignation, on 15 July 1965, of Prime Minister Georgios Papandreou and the appointment, by King Constantine II, of successive Prime Ministers from Papandreou's own...
, Papadopoulos reached national headlines. He arrested two soldiers under his command and eight leftist civilians from settlements near his military camp, under the charges that they had conspired to sabotage
Sabotage
Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening another entity through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. In a workplace setting, sabotage is the conscious withdrawal of efficiency generally directed at causing some change in workplace conditions. One who engages in sabotage is...
army vehicles by pouring sugar into the vehicles' gas tanks. The ten people were imprisoned and tortured, but eventually it was proven that Papadopoulos himself had sabotaged the vehicles. Andreas Papandreou
Andreas Papandreou
Andreas G. Papandreou ; 5 February 1919 – 23 June 1996) was a Greek economist, a socialist politician and a dominant figure in Greek politics. The son of Georgios Papandreou, Andreas was a Harvard-trained academic...
wrote in his memoirs that Papadopoulos wanted to prove that under the Center Union government, the communists had been let free to undermine national security. However, Papadopoulos was not discharged from the army, as prime minister Georgios Papandreou forgave him on the grounds that Papadopoulos was a compatriot of his father.
In 1967, Papadopoulos was promoted to Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
.
21 April 1967: Coup d'état
The same year, on 21 April (one month before the general elections) Papadopoulos, along with fellow middle-ranking Army officers, led a successful coup, taking advantage of the volatile political situation that had arisen from a conflict between King Constantine IIConstantine II of Greece
|align=right|Constantine II was King of Greece from 1964 until the abolition of the monarchy in 1973, the sixth and last monarch of the Greek Royal Family....
and the aging former prime minister, Georgios Papandreou. Papadopoulos attempted to re-engineer
Political engineering
Political engineering is a concept in political science that deals with the designing of political institutions in a society and often involves the use of paper decrees, in the form of laws, referendums, ordinances, or otherwise, to try to achieve some desired effect within a society.The criteria...
the Greek political landscape by coup.
In Greece even today the words "21η Απριλίου 1967", translated as 21 April 1967, are still synonymous with the word "πραξικόπημα" that translates as coup d'état.
Regime of the Colonels
From the early stages Papadopoulos emerged as the strong man of the new regime. He was appointed Minister of National Defence and Minister of the Presidency in the first government, and his position was further enhanced when, after the King's abortive counter-coup on 13 December he became Prime Minister. Furthermore, on 21 March 1972, he nominated himself as Regent of Greece, succeeding Georgios ZoitakisGeorgios Zoitakis
Georgios Zoitakis was a Greek Army general and regent of Greece from 13 December 1967 to 21 March 1972, during the period of the military regime of the Colonels.- Life :...
.
Papadopoulos' regime imposed martial law, censorship, mass arrests, beatings and torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
. Thousands of the regime's political opponents were thrown into prison or were exiled ("forced into vacation" according to the regime's friends) on small Aegean islands (Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
issued a report detailing numerous instances of torture under the regime). Papadopoulos excused these actions by stating that they were being done to save the nation from a "communist takeover." Because of the regime's staunchly anti-communist stance, it was strongly supported by the United States. Many Greeks felt confirmed in their belief of USA backing and even complicity in the coup by Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
's public apology for that support on behalf of the USA, during his November 1999 visit in Greece.
The military government dissolved political parties, clamped down on left wing organizations and labor unions, and promoted a traditionalist Greco-Christian culture. At the same time, however, the economy, due mostly to the political stability brought by the regime, was greatly improved and extensive public works, such as highway-building, reforms re: agricultural matters and electrification, were carried out all over Greece but especially in the mostly backward rural areas.
Torture of the incarcerated, especially on communists, was not out of the question. Examples of the types of torture used included beatings, isolation and, according to some sources, pulling fingernails.
Assassination attempt
Alexandros Panagoulis
Alexandros Panagoulis was a Greek politician and poet. He took an active role in the fight against the Regime of the Colonels in Greece. He became famous for his attempt to assassinate dictator Georgios Papadopoulos on 13 August 1968, but also for the torture that he was subjected to during his...
in the morning of 13 August 1968, when Papadopoulos went from his summer residence in Lagonisi
Lagonisi
Lagonissi is a settlement in the southern part of Kalyvia Thorikou by the Saronic Gulf in the Greek prefecture of Attica. Lagonissi is linked with a 4-lane highway Lagonissi (Greek: Λαγονήσι meaning "rabbit island") is a settlement in the southern part of Kalyvia Thorikou by the Saronic Gulf in...
to Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, escorted by his personal security motorcycles and cars. Panagoulis ignited a bomb at a point of the coastal road where the limousine carrying Papadopoulos would have to slow down but the bomb failed to harm Papadopoulos. Panagoulis was captured a few hours later in a nearby sea cave as the boat that would let him escape was instructed to leave at a specific time and he couldn't swim there on time due to the strong sea currents.
Panagoulis was arrested, and transferred to the Greek Military Police
Greek Military Police
The Greek Military Police , generally known in English by the acronym ESA was the military police branch of the Greek Army in the years 1951-1974.. It developed into a powerful paramilitary organization and a stronghold of right-wing, conservative Army officers....
(EAT-ESA) offices were he was questioned, beaten and tortured. On 17 November 1968, he was sentenced to death but he was pardoned by a personal decision of Papadopoulos and stayed only five years in prison. After the restoration of Democracy, Panagoulis was elected a member of Parliament. Panagoulis was regarded as an emblematic figure for the struggle to restore Democracy. He has often been paralleled to Harmodius and Aristogeiton
Harmodius and Aristogeiton
Harmodius and Aristogeiton were two men from ancient Athens...
, two ancient Athenians, known for the tyrannicide
Tyrannicide
Tyrannicide literally means the killing of a tyrant, or one who has committed the act. Typically, the term is taken to mean the killing or assassination of tyrants for the common good. The term "tyrannicide" does not apply to tyrants killed in battle or killed by an enemy in an armed conflict...
of the Athenian tyrant Hipparchus.
Normalization and attempts at liberalization
As internal dissatisfaction grew in the early 1970s, and especially after an abortive coup by the Navy in early 1973, Papadopoulos attempted to legitimize the regime by beginning a gradual "democratization" (See also the article on Metapolitefsi). On 1 June 1973, he abolished the monarchy and declared himself President of the Republic after a controversial referendum. He furthermore sought the support of the old political establishment, but secured only the cooperation of Spiros Markezinis
Spiros Markezinis
Spyridon Markezinis or Markesinis was a Greek politician, longtime member of the Hellenic Parliament, and briefly Prime Minister during the aborted attempt at democratization of the Greek military regime in 1973.-Early political life:Spyros Markezinis was a scion of an old wealthy family of...
, who became Prime Minister. Concurrently, many restrictions were lifted, and the army's role significantly reduced. Papadopoulos intended to establish a presidential republic, with extensive powers vested in the office of President, which he held. The decision to return to political rule and the restriction of their role was resented by many of the regime's supporters in the Army, whose dissatisfaction with Papadopoulos would become evident a few months later.
Fall of the Papadopoulos regime
After the events of the student uprising of 17 November at the National Technical University of AthensNational Technical University of Athens
The National Technical University of Athens , sometimes simply known as Athens Polytechnic, is among the oldest and most prestigious higher education institutions of Greece....
(see:Athens Polytechnic uprising
Athens Polytechnic uprising
The Athens Polytechnic uprising in 1973 was a massive demonstration of popular rejection of the Greek military junta of 1967-1974. The uprising began on November 14, 1973, escalated to an open anti-junta, anti-US and anti-imperialist revolt and ended in bloodshed in the early morning of November...
), his government was overthrown on 25 November 1973 by hard-line elements in the Army. The outcry over Papadopoulos's extensive reliance on the army to quell the student uprising gave Brigadier Dimitrios Ioannides
Dimitrios Ioannides
Dimitrios Ioannidis , also known as Dimitris Ioannidis, was a Greek military officer and one of the leading figures in the Greek military junta of 1967–1974.He was born in Athens to a wealthy, upper middle-class business family with roots in Epirus....
a pretext to oust him and replace him as the new strong man of the regime. Papadopoulos was put under house arrest at his villa, while Greece returned to an 'orthodox' military dictatorship.
After democracy was restored in 1974, during the period of metapolitefsi
Metapolitefsi
The Metapolitefsi was a period in Greek history after the fall of the Greek military junta of 1967–1974 that includes the transitional period from the fall of the dictatorship to the Greek legislative elections of 1974 and the democratic period immediately after these elections.The long...
("regime change"), Papadopoulos and his cohorts were tried for high treason
High treason
High treason is criminal disloyalty to one's government. Participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state are perhaps...
, mutiny
Mutiny
Mutiny is a conspiracy among members of a group of similarly situated individuals to openly oppose, change or overthrow an authority to which they are subject...
, torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
and other crimes and misdemeanours. On 23 August 1975 he and several others were found guilty and were sentenced to death, which was later commuted to a life sentence. Papadopoulos remained in prison, rejecting an amnesty
Amnesty
Amnesty is a legislative or executive act by which a state restores those who may have been guilty of an offense against it to the positions of innocent people, without changing the laws defining the offense. It includes more than pardon, in as much as it obliterates all legal remembrance of the...
offer that required that he acknowledge his past record and express remorse, until his death on 27 June 1999 at age 80 when he succumbed to cancer in a hospital in Athens. He had been in the hospital for cancer treatment since 1996.
Legacy
Today, Papadopoulos is a symbol of authoritarianismAuthoritarianism
Authoritarianism is a form of social organization characterized by submission to authority. It is usually opposed to individualism and democracy...
and xenophobia
Xenophobia
Xenophobia is defined as "an unreasonable fear of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange". It comes from the Greek words ξένος , meaning "stranger," "foreigner" and φόβος , meaning "fear."...
for many Greeks. The far-right praises him for promoting Greek culture, imposing a strong hand, and fighting communism. After the restoration of democracy, some support for the politics of Papadopoulos remained and was, for a time, represented by the National Political Union
National Political Union
The National Political Union, better known as EPEN was a Greek far-right political party. The party was founded on January 30, 1984 by jailed former junta leader Georgios Papadopoulos. It participated in the 1985 general election...
(EPEN), a small political party, that declared him its honorary leader. EPEN eventually dissolved, with supporters scattering to various other political parties such as the Popular Orthodox Rally
Popular Orthodox Rally
The Popular Orthodox Rally or The People's Orthodox Rally , often abbreviated to ΛΑ.Ο.Σ as a pun on the Greek word for people, is a Greek party. According to its political program LA.O.S...
(LAOS).
See also
- History of Modern GreeceHistory of modern GreeceThe history of modern Greece covers the history of Greece from the recognition of independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1832 after the Greek War of Independence to the present day.- Background :In 1821, the Greeks rose up against the Ottoman Empire...
- Military history of Greece during World War IIMilitary history of Greece during World War IIGreece entered World War II on 28 October 1940, when the Italian army invaded from Albania, beginning the Greco-Italian War. The Greek army was able to stop the invasion and even push back the Italians into Albania, thereby winning one of the first victories for the Allies...
- Greek Civil WarGreek Civil WarThe Greek Civil War was fought from 1946 to 1949 between the Greek governmental army, backed by the United Kingdom and United States, and the Democratic Army of Greece , the military branch of the Greek Communist Party , backed by Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Albania...
- Greek military junta of 1967-1974Greek military junta of 1967-1974The Greek military junta of 1967–1974, alternatively "The Regime of the Colonels" , or in Greece "The Junta", and "The Seven Years" are terms used to refer to a series of right-wing military governments that ruled Greece from 1967 to 1974...
Cited References
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