Petros Voulgaris

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Petros Voulgaris
Archbishop Damaskinos of Athens
Personal details
Born13 September 1883
Vice Admiral
Battles/warsBalkan Wars (Elli), World War I, Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War, World War II

Petros Voulgaris (Greek: Πέτρος Βούλγαρης, 13 September 1883 – 26 November 1957) was a Greek Admiral who served briefly as Prime Minister of Greece in 1945. He was famous for his role in suppressing the 1944 Greek naval mutiny and restoring the fleet to combat readiness, for which he was awarded the Commander's Cross of the Cross of Valour.

Life

Early career

He was born in the island of

Hydra on 13 September 1883,[2] to Georgios Voulgaris and Archonto Vatsaxi. After the death of his father in 1885, his family settled in Athens
, with his mother's relatives.

After finishing school, he entered the

Minister for Naval Affairs, Admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis (1915–16) and captain of the torpedo boat Thetis.[2]

When the

Asia Minor Campaign.[2] In 1919–20 he served as adjutant and then as head of the private office of the Minister for Naval Affairs Athanasios N. Miaoulis, being promoted to commander on 22 March 1920.[2]

After the Venizelist

Theodoros Pangalos, Voulgaris again resigned his commission, with the rank of captain in retirement. Following Pangalos' overthrow in August 1926, he re-entered service as having never retired. He was promoted to the rank of captain on 15 September 1926.[2]

Voulgaris served as Superior Commander of Naval Aviation in 1926–30. When the Aviation Ministry was established in 1930, he became Director of the Air Force office in the ministry. In 1931, he was appointed commander of the

Venizelist coup attempt of March 1935 found him. Being a committed Venizelist, he was suspended (3 May) and then dismissed (30 July) by the subsequent purges of the armed forces. On 11 November 1935 however, with the return of the monarchy and a partial pardon, his dismissal was revoked and he was listed as placed in reserve, with the rank of rear admiral in retirement.[2]

World War II and aftermath

For the next few years, he worked in the private sector, eventually working for the Greek industry magnate

Greek government in exile recalled him to service, alongside many other officers who had been expelled in 1935, and promoted him to Rear Admiral (retroactively since 26 February 1937). He was again retired on 15 September 1943 as a vice admiral in retirement.[2] On 20 May 1943, he received the post of Aviation Minister in the cabinet of Emmanouil Tsouderos, which he held until 14 April 1944, when the Tsouderos cabinet resigned.[3] With the ongoing pro-EAM Navy mutiny reaching its climax, on 20 April he was recalled to active service with the rank of vice admiral, and was placed as Chief of Fleet Command on the next day. From this position, he oversaw the violent recapture of the mutinied ships by officer detachments.[2]
In October 1944, he led the Greek fleet back to Greece, and assumed the duties of Chief of the Navy General Staff.

In the months after liberation, the political situation in Greece was extremely unstable: following

Archbishop Damaskinos of Athens
, appointed Voulgaris to head an interim government.

While remaining an active officer,[2] Voulgaris headed two consecutive cabinets, from 8 April to 11 August, during which he also held the posts of Minister for Military Affairs, Naval Affairs, and Aviation,[4] and from 11 August until 17 October, where he initially also headed the Interior and Foreign Affairs ministries, but gradually passed them on to civilian ministers.[5] On 8 October 1945, he retired from active service for the last time.[2]

On 1 July 1947, in recognition of his role in suppressing the Navy mutiny, rapidly restoring its combat effectiveness, and leading it again to home waters, he was awarded the highest Greek decoration for valour, the Commander's Cross of the Cross of Valour.[2] He died in the Athens Naval Hospital on 26 November 1957 of heart failure and was buried in the First Cemetery of Athens.

References

  1. Old Style
    .
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t "Διατελέσαντες Αρχηγοί ΓΕΝ: Βούλγαρης, Πέτρος" (in Greek). Hellenic Navy. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
  3. ^ "ΚΥΒΕΡΝΗΣΙΣ ΕΜΜΑΝΟΥΗΛ ΤΣΟΥΔΕΡΟΥ - Από 2.6.1941 έως 14.4.1944" (in Greek). General Secretariat of the Government. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
  4. ^ "ΚΥΒΕΡΝΗΣΙΣ ΠΕΤΡΟΥ ΒΟΥΛΓΑΡΗ (De Facto) - Από 8.4.1945 έως 11.8.1945" (in Greek). General Secretariat of the Government. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
  5. ^ "ΚΥΒΕΡΝΗΣΙΣ ΠΕΤΡΟΥ ΒΟΥΛΓΑΡΗ (De Facto) - Από 11.8.1945 έως 17.10.1945" (in Greek). General Secretariat of the Government. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
Political offices
Preceded by
Government-in-exile
)
20 May 1943 – 14 April 1944 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Prime Minister of Greece
8 April – 17 October 1945 		Succeeded by
Archbishop Damaskinos of Athens
Minister for Military Affairs

8 April – 22 August 1944 		Succeeded by
Minister for Naval Affairs

8 April – 17 October 1944
Minister of Aviation
8 April – 17 October 1944 		Succeeded by
Vacant
Title last held by
Ioannis Sofianopoulos
Minister of Foreign Affairs

11–18 August 1945 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Minister of the Interior

11–30 August 1945 		Succeeded by
Military offices
Vacant
Title last held by
Rear Admiral Charalambos Delagrammatikas 		Chief of the Navy General Staff
3 September 1944 – 11 April 1945 		Succeeded by
Rear Admiral Grigorios Mezeviris
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