Liberal prime minister who brought Greece into the Balkan League and doubled its territory in the Balkan Wars
Born in Ottoman Crete, he led the struggle for Cretan autonomy and union with Greece. Called to Athens after the Military League coup of 1909, he became prime minister in 1910 and pushed through the 1911 constitution and the reorganisation of the army and navy. In 1912 he brought Greece into the Balkan League, and he pressed Crown Prince Constantine to take Thessaloniki "à tout prix" before the Bulgarians. In 1913 he concluded the alliance with Serbia and led the Greek delegation at the Bucharest peace talks. His clash with King Constantine over entering the First World War produced the National Schism. Sentenced to death in absentia after a failed coup in 1935, he died in exile in Paris in 1936.
Career timeline
- 1897Took part in the Cretan Revolt
- 1905Led the Theriso revolt
- 1910–1915Prime minister of Greece (first tenure)
- 1913Greek delegate at the Bucharest peace conference
- 1928–1932Prime minister of Greece
- 1935Exile in Paris after a failed coup
King of Greece who led the Greek army in the Balkan Wars and broke with Venizelos over entering the First World War
The eldest son of George I, born in Athens and educated in Germany, he admired Prussian militarism and as crown prince commanded the army in the lost Greco-Turkish War of 1897. In 1912 he led the Army of Thessaly to victory at Sarantaporos and, after clashing with Venizelos, who demanded the swift capture of Thessaloniki over his wish to push north to Monastir, took the city. He succeeded his assassinated father in March 1913, commanded at Kilkis-Lahanas and the Kresna Gorge in the Second Balkan War and was made a field marshal. His pro-German neutrality in the First World War led him to dismiss Venizelos, causing the National Schism, and he abdicated in 1917. Restored in 1920, he abdicated again after the defeat in Asia Minor in 1922 and died in exile in Palermo in 1923.
Career timeline
- 1897Commanded the Army of Thessaly in the Greco-Turkish War
- 1912–1913Commander-in-chief of the Greek army in the Balkan Wars
- 1913–1917King of Greece
- 1917Abdicated under Allied pressure
- 1920–1922Restored as King of Greece
- 1922Abdicated; exile in Italy
The monarchist anti-communist who established the 4th of August dictatorship
“Then, it is war.”
A Greek military officer turned politician, Metaxas sought an authoritarian national order that joined monarchism to hostility toward parliament. With King George II's support, he suspended parliament in 1936 and established the 4th of August Regime, banning parties and strikes while repressing the left. He also used state intervention and a youth organization to mobilize society, and historians have debated whether his rule is best understood as fascist, authoritarian-conservative, or a regime with a strong fascist component. In 1940 he rejected Italy's ultimatum and led Greece into war, but died in 1941 before the German invasion.
Career timeline
- 1890Second lieutenant, Hellenic Army Engineers
- 1899–1903Studied at the Berlin War Academy
- 1910–1912Adjutant to Eleftherios Venizelos, Minister of Military Affairs and prime minister
- 1912–1913Operations staff officer in the Balkan Wars and military adviser at the London Conference
- 1922–1936Founder and parliamentarian of the Freethinkers' Party
- 1926–1928Minister of Communications in Alexandros Zaimis's cabinet
- 1932–1933Minister of the Interior under Panagis Tsaldaris
- 1936–1941Prime Minister of Greece and leader of the 4th of August Regime
The Greek field marshal who staked the war on the Albanian front
When German forces invaded across the northern frontier, the main Greek army was still tied down on the Albanian front.
Alexandros Papagos was a career officer loyal to the Greek monarchy and the Metaxas dictatorship, and the commander of the Hellenic Army during the Second World War. In 1940 he coordinated the defence against Italy's invasion from Albania and the Greek counteroffensive, but kept the army's main strength on the Albanian front as German intervention approached, weakening the defence of the Metaxas Line. During the occupation he helped form a resistance organization, was arrested and imprisoned by the Germans, and later commanded government forces in the Greek Civil War before becoming prime minister.
Career timeline
- 1906Commissioned as a cavalry second lieutenant in the Hellenic Army
- 1935–1936Minister for Military Affairs and Inspector-General of the Army
- 1936–1940Chief of the Army General Staff, strengthening the military basis of the Metaxas regime
- 1940–1941Commander-in-Chief of the Greek Army, directing operations on the Albanian front and at the Metaxas Line
- 1943–1945Helped form the Military Hierarchy resistance organization, then arrested and imprisoned by German authorities
- 1949–1951Commander-in-Chief of government forces in the Civil War, directing the final offensive against the communist army
- 1952–1955Prime Minister of Greece
