Nikos Sampson

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Nikos Sampson
Νίκος Σαμψών
De facto President of Cyprus
Acting
In office
15 July 1974 – 23 July 1974
Preceded byMakarios III
Succeeded byGlafcos Clerides (acting)
Member of the Cypriot House of Representatives
In office
1970–1974
Personal details
Born
Nikolaos (Nikos) Georgiadis
(Νικόλαος Γεωργιάδης)

16 December 1935
disputed)
Died9 May 2001 (aged 65)
Nicosia, Cyprus
Political partyProgressive Party (1969–1970)
Progressive Front (1970–1974)
SpouseVeronica Sampson
Children2 including Sotirios Sampson
OccupationRevolutionary
Politician
Military service
AllegianceGreece Kingdom of Greece
Branch/service EOKA
Battles/warsCyprus Emergency
Cypriot intercommunal violence

Nikos Sampson (Greek: Νίκος Σαμψών; born Nikolaos (Nikos) Georgiadis, Νίκολαος (Νίκος) Γεωργιάδης; 16 December 1935 – 9 May 2001) was a Cypriot journalist, militant and politician, who was installed as acting President of Cyprus during the 1974 coup.[1]

A former journalist and

division of Cyprus. Sampson was sentenced to twenty years in prison for his role as the political leader of the coup (although for 13 years of the sentence he was granted medical leave). Convicted specifically of abuse of power, he is the only person to have been held criminally liable for the events.[2]
Following his release in the mid-1990s, Sampson returned to the media industry.

Early life

Sampson was born in the Cypriot port city of

Anorthosis Famagusta second team. He began his working life at a Cyprus newspaper, The Cyprus Times, which was owned and edited by Charles Foley. His original name was "Nikos Georgiadis", but he adopted his father's forename (Sampson) as his surname.[3]

Militant activities

During the

nom de guerre Atrotos (Greek: Áτρωτος), or "Invulnerable". Sampson joined EOKA and formed part of an execution team under the direct orders of General Georgios Grivas ("Digenis"), leader of EOKA. Another member of this team was Neoptolemos Georgiou who was later arrested for various activities whilst being a member of EOKA-B. Sampson and Georgiou participated in a number of murders carried out along Ledra Street in Nicosia, which was nicknamed "Murder Mile", and shot dead numerous British servicemen, police officers, and civilians.[4] He was involved in at least 15 killings.[5][6] According to British sources, the actual number was much higher.[7]
Among his victims were three police sergeants, and in May 1957, Sampson was tried for one of their murders. He confessed, but was acquitted on the grounds that his confession may have been coerced by torture.

At the time, Sampson was working as a journalist, and he would often photograph the bodies of his victims after killing them,[

Zürich and London Agreement, he was released but he remained in exile in Greece until Cyprus gained formal independence in August 1960. He returned to Nicosia shortly after Independence Day.[8]

Post-independence

Sampson returned to newspaper publishing. In 1960, he set up the newspaper

U.S. President John F. Kennedy.[10]

On 14 May 1961, he was arrested, along with another man, a garage mechanic who was also a former EOKA member, in connection with the murder of a British architect, Peter Gray, who had been only three weeks in the country and had been shot and killed in

Secret Intelligence Service.[13]
His murder remained unsolved.

Following an explosion to the statue of EOKA hero

Omorphita, Nikos Sampson was nicknamed by the Turkish Cypriots as the "Butcher of Omorphita".[16][17]

1974 coup

Main article: 1974 Cypriot coup d'état

In 1969 Sampson founded the Progressive Party, which later merged into the

Greek military junta of 1967-1974
gave active support to EOKA-B. Nikos Sampson maintained a strongly nationalist, pro-Greek position throughout these years. On 15 July 1974, Makarios was deposed by a military coup which was led by Greek officers of the Cyprus National Guard.

The Greek military junta installed Sampson as president, as a result of a decision of Colonel Constantinos Kombokis, Deputy leader of the coup, when the President of the Supreme Court could not be found and an ex Makarios minister Zenon Severis refused to take over as president. Sampson's appointment was an on-the-spot decision to avoid a power vacuum. The second Junta of Greece fell on 24 July 1974, only eight days after Sampson had been appointed. Sampson was forced to resign. The Greek Cypriot government was restored under

Glafkos Clerides. When Sampson resigned on Tuesday July 23, 1974 Turkey was in control of 3% of the territory of Cyprus and the Turkish Cypriot enclaves (around 4-5% of the territory) had almost all fallen in the hands of Greek-Cypriots.[19]

Imprisonment and later years

The invasion lost Sampson much of his popular appeal. He claimed not to have anticipated the impending coup that had installed him, adding that, after military officers had insisted, he "saw the possibility of civil war and accepted"[20] to prevent the clashes. Nonetheless, Sampson was prosecuted and sentenced to 20 years in prison for abuse of power (Greek: νόσφιση εξουσίας) in 1976.

In 1979, only three years into his prison sentence, he was allowed to go to France on medical grounds. Living in

Neuilly, and then in Fourqueux, he was supported by funds of friends. He spent much of his time between Paris and Marseille
before returning to Cyprus in June 1990 to complete his sentence.

Following his release from Nicosia Central Prison in 1992,[21] he went back to the newspaper publishing business. He died of cancer on 9 May 2001 in Nicosia at the age of 65.

He is survived by his wife Vera and two children, one of whom is a lawyer and the other a journalist. His son Sotiris Sampson was elected member of the

House of Representatives of Cyprus for three terms in a row in Famagusta District.[22]

Legacy

Some on the political right in Cyprus refer to Sampson as a hero of the EOKA independence struggle that sought to unify the island with Greece. Meanwhile, many on the political left, while acknowledging his contribution to the EOKA struggle, see him as a traitor to the Republic of Cyprus for his involvement in the coup and complicity in the killings of some liberals and leftists.[23] Some also point out to the fact that it was in part his actions that led to the division of the island.

Bibliography

  • Cyprus, Paul D. Hellander, 2003
    ISBN 1-74059-122-4
  • The Cyprus Question and the Turkish Position in International Law, Zaim M. Necatigil, 1993
    ISBN 0-19-825846-1
  • Η Μεγάλη Ιδέα της Μικρής Χούντας, Makarios Droushiotis, 2010
  • H Αλήθεια, Bonanos, 1986
  • Απο την Ζυριχη στον Αττιλα, Spyros Papageorgiou, 1980
  • Η Κατάθεση Μου, Glafcos Clerides, 1991
  • Πόρισμα της Ελληνικής Βουλής για τον Φακελο της Κυπρου, 1988
  • Πόρισμα Κυπριακής Βουλής για τον Φακελο της Κυπρου, 2011
  • Φάκελος Κύπρου: Τα απόρρητα Ντοκουμέντα, Eleftherotypia, 2010
  • 30 Hot Days, by Mehmet Ali Birand
  • 1974 – To Agnosto Paraskinio tis Tourkikis Eisvolis – Makarios Droushiotis
  • Years of Renewal-Kissinger Henry
  • Makarios Speech to the Security Council of the UN – 19 July 1974 – H Tragiki Anametrisi kai i Prodosia tis Kyprou – Marios Adamides – 2012
  • Secret Minutes of the Conversation of Makarios with the Prime Minister of the U.K Wilson – 17 July 1974 – H Tragiki Anametrisi kai i Prodosia tis Kyprou-Marios Adamides – 2012
  • Secret Minutes of the Conversation of the Prime Minister of Turkey Ecevit with the Prime Minister of the U.K Wilson – 17 July 1974 – H Tragiki Anametrisi kai i Prodosia tis Kyprou – Marios Adamides – 2012
  • The Tragic Duel and the Betrayal of Cyprus-H Tragiki Anametrisi kai i Prodosia tis Kyprou-Marios Adamides-2011-Library of Congress, Washington- Shelf Location FLS2015 186850 CALL NUMBER DS54.9 .A345 2011 OVERFLOWJ34 Request in Jefferson or Adams Building Reading Rooms (FLS2)

References

  1. ISBN 1-85728-533-6
    .
  2. ^ Δημόσια Κατάθεση - Νίκος Σαμψών (Μέρος 2ο - 21/07/1998), retrieved 12 April 2023
  3. ISSN 0261-3077
    . Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  4. ^ BRITAIN'S MOST WANTED Archived 19 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  5. New York Times
    . 11 May 2001.
  6. ^ The Terrorist List, p. RA2-PA144, at Google Books
  7. ^ "Nicos Sampson | The Economist". The Economist.
  8. ISSN 0261-3077
    . Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  9. ^ "Νίκος Σαμψών: Πρόεδρος για 8 ημέρες". avant-garde.com.cy. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  10. ^ "Nicos Sampson". The Daily Telegraph. 11 May 2001. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
  11. ^ "Nicos Sampson". The Daily Telegraph. 11 May 2001. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  12. ^ "Cyprus Murder Inquiry". The Times. No. 55108. London. 15 May 1961. p. 11. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  13. ^ "Murdered Man not a British Spy". The Times. No. 55081. London. 15 June 1961. p. 10. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  14. ^ lila (22 July 2019). "Νίκος Σαμψών, ο εκτελεστής της ΕΟΚΑ που δολοφόνησε και τη δημοκρατία. Ήταν ο τρόμος των Βρετανών και τον αποκαλούσαν ο «άτρωτος» επειδή γλίτωνε συνεχώς. Στο τέλος πρόδωσε τον Μακάριο και συνεργάστηκε με την χούντα". ΜΗΧΑΝΗ ΤΟΥ ΧΡΟΝΟΥ (in Greek). Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  15. ^ Ker-Lindsay, James (2004). "Britain and the Cyprus Crisis 1963–64". Academia.edu.
  16. ^ S. Akhtar Ali. Pakistan & Gulf economist, Volume 4, Issues 27–52 (1985), Economist Publications, p.7.
  17. ^ Newsweek, Volume 84, Issues 1–14 (1974), Newsweek, p.46
  18. ^ James Ker-Lindsay and Hubert Faustmann (2008) The Government and Politics of Cyprus, Peter Lang, p89
  19. ^ Σήμερα .gr, Σαν. "Από τον «Αττίλα 1» στον « Αττίλα 2»". Σαν Σήμερα .gr (in Greek). Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  20. ^ "Mr Nicos Sampson denies he knew coup was coming". The Times Digital Archive. Reuters. 26 July 1974.
  21. New York Times
    . 11 May 2001.
  22. House of Representatives of Cyprus
    . Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  23. ^ ΕΛΑΜ, Γραφείο Τύπου (15 July 2015). "Αφιέρωμα: Κύπρος 1974, βιώνοντας την απόλυτη προδοσία". Εθνικό Λαϊκό Μέτωπο (Ε.ΛΑ.Μ.) (in Greek). Retrieved 12 April 2023.
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