Georgios Papadopoulos (May 5, 1919 June 27, 1999) was the head of the military
coup d'étatA coup d'état , or coup for short, is the sudden unconstitutional deposition of a legitimate government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another, either civil or military...
that took place in
GreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
on April 21, 1967 and leader of the military government that ruled the country from 1967 to 1974.
Early life and military career
Papadopoulos was born in
ElaiohoriElaiochori 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, Modern: Ελαιοχώρι, Ancient/Katharevousa: -ον -on) is a Greek village located about approximately 8 km southeast of...
, a small village in the
PrefecturePrefecture indicates the office, seat, territorial circumscription of a Prefect. The term prefecture is also used to refer to offices analogous to prefectures.-Antiquity:...
of
AchaeaAchaea is an ancient province and a present prefecture of Greece, on the northern coast of the Peloponnese, stretching from the mountain ranges of Erymanthus and Cyllene on the south to a narrow strip of fertile land on the north, bordering the Gulf of Corinth, into which the mountain Panachaicus...
in
PeloponneseThe Peloponnese or Peloponnesus is a large peninsula and region in southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth...
to local
schoolA school , is an institution designed to allow and encourage students to learn, under the supervision of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
teacherIn education, a teacher is a person who educates others. A teacher who educates an individual student may also be described as a personal tutor....
Christos Papadopoulos and his wife Chrysoula. He was the eldest son and had two brothers, Konstantinos and Haralambos. Upon finishing
High SchoolHigh school is the name used in some parts of the world, particularly in Scotland, Northern America and Oceania, to describe an institution that provides all or part of secondary education...
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 engineeringCivil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works such as bridges, roads, canals, dams and buildings...
course at the
PolytechneionThe 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
The 1941 class became the class of 1940B, graduating a year early as a result of Mussolini's invasion. On October 28, 1940,
Prime Minister of GreeceThe Prime Minister of Greece , officially the Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic , is the head of government of the Hellenic Republic and the leader of the Greek cabinet. The current Prime Minister is George Papandreou, leader of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement party...
,
Ioannis MetaxasIoannis Metaxas was a Greek General, appointed Prime Minister of Greece between April-August 1936 and dictator during the 4th of August Regime, from 1936 until his death in 1941.- Military career :...
, rejected an
ItalianThe Kingdom of Italy was a state forged in 1861 by the unification of Italy under the influence of the Kingdom of Sardinia which is its legal predecessor State, and with the decisive help of France and Great Britain...
ultimatum to allow the occupation of unspecified strategic points within Greek territory by the Italian army. Italy's leader
Benito MussoliniBenito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini,
KSMOM GCTE was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism. He became the Prime Minister of Italy in 1922 and began using the title Il Duce by...
had already issued orders for an
invasionThe Greco-Italian War was a conflict between Italy and Greece which lasted from 28 October 1940 to 23 April 1941. It marked the beginning of the Balkans Campaign of World War II...
in that event. Thus Greece entered
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Papadopoulos saw field action as a
Second LieutenantSecond Lieutenant is the lowest commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.In British English the rank is pronounced second /lɛf'tɛnənt/ , while in American English it is pronounced second /lu'tɛnənt/ ....
of the
ArtilleryArtillery is a military combat Arm that employs weapons capable of discharging large projectiles in combat. They are generally capable of adding considerable fire power to the military capability of an armed force...
against both the Italians and the forces of
Nazi GermanyNazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany between 1933 and 1945, while it was led by Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Worker's Party . The name Third Reich refers to the state as the successor to the Holy Roman Empire of the Middle Ages and the German...
, who
joined themThe Battle of Greece was a World War II battle that occurred on the Greek mainland and in southern Albania. The battle was fought between the Allied and Axis forces...
on April 6, 1941.
The
WehrmachtWehrmacht was the name of the unified armed forces of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe ....
captured
AthensAthens , the capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery; as one of the world's oldest cities, its recorded history spans around 3,400 years....
on April 27, 1941. Following their victory in the
Battle of CreteThe Battle of Crete was a battle during World War II on the Greek island of Crete. The battle began on the morning of 20 May 1941, when Nazi Germany launched an airborne invasion of Crete under the code-name Unternehmen Merkur Greek and Allied forces along with Cretan civilians defended the...
(May 20 - June 1, 1941), Greece was placed under the combined occupation of
Nazi GermanyNazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany between 1933 and 1945, while it was led by Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Worker's Party . The name Third Reich refers to the state as the successor to the Holy Roman Empire of the Middle Ages and the German...
,
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
and
BulgariaBulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a country in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe. Bulgaria borders five other countries: Romania to the north , Serbia and the Republic of Macedonia to the west, and Greece and Turkey to the south...
. A
resistance movementA resistance movement is a group or collection of individual groups, dedicated to fighting an invader in an occupied country or the government of a sovereign nation through either the use of physical force, or nonviolence. The term resistance is generally used to designate movement considered...
soon emerged, including several organizations varying in ideological conviction, popular support, and area of activity. Most significant among them was the left-wing Ellinikos Laïkos Apeleftherotikos Stratos (ELAS), formed by the
Communist Party of GreeceThe Communist Party of Greece , better known by its acronym, ΚΚΕ , is the oldest party in the Greek political scene.- Foundation :...
(KKE) and the strongest group in terms of numbers. Papadopoulos, an anti-communist, did not join ELAS or any other resistance group and instead worked for the "Patras Food Supply Office" of the Greek collaborationist administration.
The "Patras Food Supply Office" was run under the command of Colonel Kourkoulakos, and was responsible for tax collecting in the villages on behalf of the Nazi occupation forces. Colonel Kourkoulakos was responsible for the formation of the "
Security BattalionsThe 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....
" at Patras, which were military units composed of anti-communist Greeks, collaborating with the
NaziNazism, known officially in German as National Socialism , is the totalitarian ideology and practices of the Nazi Party or National Socialist German Workers’ Party under Adolf Hitler, and the policies adopted by the dictatorial government of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945.Nazism is often considered...
occupation forces, primarily against the ELAS. Papadopoulos worked under the commands of Kourkoulakos against ELAS.
At the beginning of 1944, Papadopoulos left Greece with the help of British intelligence agents and went to
EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia...
, where the Greek government-in-exile was based, where he received the rank of
LieutenantLieutenant is a military, naval, paramilitary, fire service, emergency medical services or police officer rank....
. Along with other
right-wingIn politics, right-wing, political right, rightist and the Right are terms used to describe a number of positions and ideologies. They are most commonly used to refer to support for preserving traditional or cultural values and customs or for maintaining some form of social hierarchy or private...
military officers, he participated in the creation of the right-wing paramilitary 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
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
decreedRule 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
CaptainThe army rank of Captain is an officer rank historically corresponding to command of a company of soldiers. The rank is also used by some air forces and marine forces. Today a captain is typically the commander, or second in command, of a company or squadron...
and, in 1949, during the
Greek Civil WarThe Greek Civil War was fought from 1946 to 1949 between the Greek governmental army, backed by the United Kingdom, 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
MajorIn many European languages, the term Major is a military rank, implying seniority at one of usually various levels of rank. For example:*"General-Major" or "Major-General", denoting a senior ranking general officer....
. (See also:
Greek military ranksModern 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-martialA court-martial is a military court. These military courts can determine punishments for members of the military subject to military law who are found guilty or may dismiss the charges based on the evidence and the case presented. Most militaries maintain a court-martial system to try cases in...
in the first trial of the well-known Greek communist leader
Nikos BeloyannisNikos Beloyannis was a Greek communist and resistance leader born in Amalias in 1915. He was jailed in the Akronauplia prison by the Ioannis Metaxas nationalist regime in the 1930s and transferred to the Germans after the Nazi Occupation of the country...
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 WarThe Greek Civil War was fought from 1946 to 1949 between the Greek governmental army, backed by the United Kingdom, 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 UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
. 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 WarThe Greek Civil War was fought from 1946 to 1949 between the Greek governmental army, backed by the United Kingdom, 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, King of the Hellenes was King of Greece from 1947 to 1964.Paul was born in Athens, the third son of Constantine I, King of the Hellenes and his wife, Princess Sophia of Prussia...
. In 1958, he helped create the Office of Military Studies, a
surveillanceSurveillance is the monitoring of the behavior, activities, or other changing information, usually of people and often in a surreptitious manner...
authority, under General Gogousis. It was from this same office that the subsequently successful coup of April 21, 1967 emerged.
In 1964, he was transferred to an artillery division in Thrace by decree of the
Center UnionThe Center 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
ApostasiaThe 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
sabotageSabotage 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...
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 PapandreouAndreas Papandreou was a Greek economist, a socialist politician and a dominant figure in Greek politics. He served two terms as Prime Minister of Greece...
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
ColonelColonel is a military rank of a commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every country in the world. It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
.
21 April 1967: Coup d'état
The same year, on April 21, (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, King of the Hellenes was King of Greece from 1964 until deposed in 1973...
and the aging former prime minister, Georgios Papandreou. Papadopoulos attempted to
re-engineer- Use in Mainland Chinese State Owned Enterprises :Within Mainland Chinese state owned enterprises, the term political engineer 政工师 refers to a function that would be termed human resources in Western corporations...
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 December 13, he became Prime Minister. Furthermore, on March 21, 1972, he nominated himself as Regent of Greece, succeeding
Georgios ZoitakisGeorgios 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 :Georgios Zoitakis was born in Nafpaktos...
.
Papadopoulos' regime imposed martial law,
censorshipCensorship is the suppression of speech or deletion of communicative material which may be considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or inconvenient to the government or media organizations as determined by a censor.-Rationale:...
, mass arrests, beatings and
tortureTorture, according to the United Nations Convention Against Torture, is:In addition to state-sponsored torture, individuals or groups may be motivated to inflict torture on others for similar reasons to those of a state; however, the motive for torture can also be for the sadistic gratification of...
. Thousands of the regime's political opponents, or even people with coincidentally the same names as them, were thrown into prison or internal exile on islands like
MakronisosMakronisos is an island in the Aegean sea, in Greece and is located close to the coast of Attica, facing the port of Lavrio. It has an elongated shape and its terrain is arid and rocky. In ancient times the island was called Helena...
. (
Amnesty InternationalAmnesty International is an international secular non-governmental organisation which defines its mission as "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." Founded in London in 1961, AI...
issued a report detailing numerous instances of torture under the regime; details of which are given in the
main article on the juntaThe 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...
). 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 StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, while otherwise Greece sunk in international isolation. Many Greeks felt confirmed in their belief of USA backing and even complicity in the coup by
Bill ClintonWilliam Jefferson "Bill" Clinton was the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He was the third-youngest president; only Theodore Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy were younger when entering office...
'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 culture. At the same time, however, in an effort to garner popular support, extensive public works, such as road-building and electrification, were carried out in the mostly backward rural areas.
Torture was commonplace. Examples of the types of torture used included beatings, sexual torture, choking and pulling fingernails.
Assassination attempt
A failed assassination attempt was made against Papadopoulos by
Alexandros PanagoulisAlexandros 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 August 13, 1968, when Papadopoulos went from his summer residence in
Lagonisi{| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" style="float:right; empty-cells:show; margin-left:1em; margin-bottom:0,5em; background:#FFDEAD;"|-----! align="center" colspan="2" | Statistics|---- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| Prefecture: || Attica...
to
AthensAthens , the capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery; as one of the world's oldest cities, its recorded history spans around 3,400 years....
, 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 PoliceThe Greek Military Police The Greek Military Police The Greek Military Police ( (ΕΣΑ), generally known in English by the acronym ESA (Ellinikí Stratiotikí Astinomía) was the main security (secret police) and intelligence organisation during the Greek military junta of 1967-1974.- Junta :...
(EAT-ESA) offices were he was questioned, beaten and tortured. On November 17, 1968, he was sentenced to death, and remained for 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 AristogeitonHarmodius and Aristogeiton , both d. 514 BC, were a Greek pederastic couple known also as the Tyrannicides...
, two ancient Athenians, known for the
tyrannicideTyrannicide literally means the killing of a tyrant. 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
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 (junta speak for the
dictatorship) 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 June 1, 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 MarkezinisSpyridon Markezinis 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....
, 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 November 17 at the
National Technical University of AthensThe 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 uprisingThe 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 revolt and ended in bloodshed in the early morning of November 17 after a series of events...
), his government was overthrown on November 25, 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 IoannidesDimitrios Ioannidis, also Dimitris Ioannidis is a former Greek military officer who was involved in the Greek military junta of 1967-1974.He was born in Athens to an 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
metapolitefsiThe 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 treasonHigh treason is criminal disloyalty to one's country. Participating in a war against one's 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 the...
,
mutinyMutiny is a conspiracy among members of a group of similarly-situated individuals to openly oppose, change or overthrow an existing authority...
,
tortureTorture, according to the United Nations Convention Against Torture, is:In addition to state-sponsored torture, individuals or groups may be motivated to inflict torture on others for similar reasons to those of a state; however, the motive for torture can also be for the sadistic gratification of...
and other crimes and misdemeanours. On August 23, 1975 he and several others were found guilty and were sentenced to death, which was later commuted to a life sentence. Papadopoulos remained in
prisonA prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Other terms are penitentiary, correctional facility, and jail , although in the United States "jail" and "prison" refer to different subtypes of correctional facility...
, rejecting an
amnestyAmnesty 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 persons. It includes more than pardon, in as much as it obliterates all legal remembrance of the offense. The word has the same root as amnesia...
offer that required that he acknowledge his past record and express remorse, until his death at age 80 when he succumbed to
cancerCancer is a class of diseases in which a group of cells display uncontrolled growth , invasion , and sometimes metastasis...
.
Legacy
Today, Papadopoulos is a symbol of
authoritarianismAuthoritarianism describes a form of government characterized by an emphasis on the authority of state in a republic or union. It is a political system controlled by typically non-elected rulers who usually permit some degree of individual freedom....
and
xenophobiaXenophobia is a dislike and/or fear of that which is unknown or different from oneself. It comes from the Greek words ξένος , meaning "stranger," "foreigner" and φόβος , meaning "fear." The term is typically used to describe a fear or dislike of foreigners or of people significantly different from...
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 UnionThe 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 fringe political party, that not unexpectedly declared him its honorary leader. EPEN eventually dissolved, with supporters scattering to various other political parties. The far right was to stay without parliamentary representation until the 2007 Greek legislative election, when
Popular Orthodox RallyThe 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 right-wing populist and nationalist political party, founded and led by journalist Georgios Karatzaferis...
entered the parliament with 10 seats.
See also
- History of Modern Greece
The 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 :...
- Military history of Greece during World War II
Greece entered World War II on 28 October 1940, when the Italian army invaded from Albania. The Greek army dealt the first victory for the Allies by defeating the invasion and pushing Mussolini's forces back into Albania. Hitler was reluctantly forced to send his own forces to overcome Greece in...
- Greek Civil War
The Greek Civil War was fought from 1946 to 1949 between the Greek governmental army, backed by the United Kingdom, 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 1967-1974
The 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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