Evangelos Apostolakis
Evangelos Apostolakis | |
|---|---|
Nikos Panagiotopoulos | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1957 Rethymno, Crete |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Greece |
| Branch/service | Hellenic Navy |
| Years of service | 1976−2019 |
| Rank |  Admiral |
| Commands | Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff Chief of the Hellenic Navy General Staff Commander of the Underwater Demolition Command (DYK) |
Minister of National Defence
of Greece.
He was elected to the
Greek Parliament on the nationwide list for Syriza at the June 2023 Greek legislative election.[citation needed
]
Career
He was born in
Hellenic Navy Academy in 1976 and graduated in 1980 as a Line Ensign.[1] He has served in a succession of command and staff positions aboard ships, and senior staff positions in the Hellenic Navy and NATO, as well as completing the Underwater Demolition School of the Hellenic Navy's elite Underwater Demolition Command (DYK), which he later commanded, the Advanced Mine Warfare School in Belgium and the US Amphibious Warfare School.[1]
On 7 March 2013, the Government Council for Foreign Affairs and Defence (KYSEA) appointed him to the post of Chief of the Hellenic Navy General Staff.[1] On 20 August 2015, KYSEA selected him as the successor of General Michail Kostarakos as Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff, promoting him to full Admiral. The order took effect on 15 September.[1][2]
Following the resignation of
Minister of National Defence Panos Kammenos on 13 January 2019, Apostolakis was named as his successor by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.[3] He was placed into retirement and immediately sworn in as Minister of National Defence on 14 January, with the official hand-over scheduled for 15 January.[4] Until the appointment of a new Chief of the HNDGS by KYSEA, the Deputy Chief, Lt. General Konstantinos Floros, was named acting Chief.[4]
Greece–Turkey relations
In December 2018, Apostolakis was quoted at meeting with defence ministry correspondents as saying, "If the Turks land on a Greek rock islet we will flatten it." He also stated that efforts were focused on avoiding a military conflict with Turkey.[5][6]
Dates of rank
 Ensign
|
1980 |
 Sub-Lieutenant
|
1983 |
 Lieutenant
|
1987 |
 Lieutenant Commander
|
1992 |
 Commander
|
1997 |
 Captain
|
2004 |
 Commodore
|
2009 |
 Rear Admiral
|
2011 |
 Vice Admiral
|
2012 |
| Admiral
|
2015 |
Awards
- Grand Cross of the Order of the Phoenix (Greece)
- Commander of the Order of Honour (Greece)
- Commander of the National Order of Merit (France)[7]
- Knights Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany[8]
References
- ^ a b c d "Ναύαρχος Ευάγγελος Αποστολάκης ΠΝ, Αρχηγός ΓΕΕΘΑ" (in Greek). Hellenic Navy. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
- ^ "Νέος αρχηγός ΓΕΕΘΑ ο αντιναύαρχος Ευάγγελος Αποστολάκης" (in Greek). in.gr. 20 August 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
- ^ "Νέος υπουργός Εθνικής Άμυνας ο Αρχηγός ΓΕΕΘΑ, Ευάγγελος Αποστολάκης" (in Greek). CNN Greece. 13 January 2019. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
- ^ a b "Ορκίστηκε ο νέος υπουργός Εθνικής Άμυνας" (in Greek). in.gr. 14 January 2019. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
- ^ "Spike in tension after tit-for-tat statements by Turkish DM, Greek military chief". Naftemporiki. 20 December 2018. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
- ^ "Armed Forces Chief: If Turks land on an islet 'we will flatten it'". Kathimerini. 20 December 2018. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
- ^ "Décoration de l'Amiral Evangelos Apostolakis et du vice-amiral Velissarios Pappas" (in French). 2 February 2016.
- ^ "Griechischer Generalstabschef erhält Bundesverdienstkreuz" (in German). 10 November 2017.
External links
Media related to Evangelos Apostolakis at Wikimedia Commons
Chiefs of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff | ||
|---|---|---|
|  | |
§ Under the title "Chief of the Armed Forces" ‡ acting chief | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
