Georgios Siantos
Γιώργης Σιάντος
A KKE leader who bore both the Resistance's victory and its defeat at the negotiating table
Regarding Siantos as 'an agent of the British', Zachariadis in 1946 delayed his own departure abroad, 'in no case wanting to leave Siantos behind'.
A tobacco worker turned labor organizer, Georgios Siantos became a leading figure of the Greek Communist Party (KKE). When Nikolaos Zachariadis was transferred to Dachau, Siantos served as the party's acting general secretary and led the KKE, National Liberation Front (EAM), and Greek People's Liberation Army (ELAS) through the German occupation. He directed EAM forces during the December 1944 fighting, opposed disarmament, yet ultimately pursued negotiation. In February 1945 he led the EAM delegation that signed the Varkiza Agreement, whose disarmament terms became, amid the subsequent White Terror and renewed civil conflict, the political defeat of the EAM.
Career timeline
- 1920President of the Karditsa tobacco workers' union
- 1922Secretary General of the Greek Confederation of Tobacco Workers; joined SEKE
- 1927Member of the KKE Central Committee and Politburo
- 1936Member of Parliament for Trikala with the Popular Front
- 1941Acting General Secretary of the KKE; led the party during the occupation
- 1944Secretary for Interior and Food in PEEA; directed EAM forces in the December fighting
- 1945Head of the KKE-EAM delegation negotiating and signing the Varkiza Agreement