Alexandros Papagos

Alexandros Papagos was a Greek army officer who led the Hellenic Army in World War II and the later stages of the subsequent Greek Civil War. He was the only Greek career officer to rise to the rank of Field Marshal, and became the first Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff from 1950 until his resignation the following year. He then entered politics, founding the nationalist Greek Rally party and becoming the country's Prime Minister after his victory in the 1952 elections. His premiership was shaped by the Cold War and the aftermath of the Greek Civil War, and was defined by several key events, such as Greece becoming a member of NATO; U.S. military bases being allowed on Greek territory and the formation of a powerful and vehemently anti-communist security apparatus. Papagos' tenure also saw the start of the Greek economic miracle, and rising tensions with Britain and Turkey during the Cyprus Emergency over the Cyprus issue. Papagos was born in Athens in 1883, the son of Major General Leonidas Papagos and Maria Averoff, the niece of the magnate George Averoff. He entered the Brussels Military Academy in 1902 and followed it up with studies at the Cavalry Application School at Ypres. He was commissioned as a Cavalry 2nd Lieutenant in the Hellenic Army on 15 July 1906. He saw his first service in the Balkan Wars of 1912–13, where he distinguished himself in the Battle of Bizani. He took part in the Greek invasion of Turkey in 1919–22, and was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He was arrested and exiled to Corfu after the 1922 Revolution, but was recalled to active service in 1926. He rose through the ranks and became the Chief of the Hellenic Army General Staff in 1936. During World War II, Papagos commanded the Greek forces against the Italian invasion in 1940–41, and achieved a decisive victory in the Greco-Italian War and the Battle of the Metaxas Line. He was captured by the Germans after the Battle of Greece and spent three years as a prisoner of war in Germany. He was released in 1944 and returned to Greece, where he became the Commander-in-Chief of the Hellenic Armed Forces and led the government forces against the communist guerrillas in the Greek Civil War. He retired from the army in 1951, having reached the rank of Field Marshal, the highest in the history of the Hellenic Army. Papagos then founded the Greek Rally party, a conservative and anti-communist political movement that aimed to restore order and stability to the country after the civil war. He won the 1952 elections with a landslide and became the Prime Minister of Greece. He pursued a pro-Western and pro-American foreign policy, and secured Greece's membership in NATO in 1952. He also allowed the establishment of U.S. military bases on Greek soil, which provoked criticism from the left and the nationalists. He faced a major crisis in 1954–55, when the Cyprus issue erupted and caused a deterioration of relations with Britain and Turkey. Papagos supported the Greek Cypriot demand for self-determination and union with Greece, and mobilized the Greek armed forces in case of a war. He also tried to mediate between the two sides and seek a peaceful solution, but his efforts were unsuccessful. He died in office on 4 October 1955, after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage. He was succeeded by his protégé, Konstantinos Karamanlis, who continued his policies and led Greece to a period of economic growth and social change.