Theodoros Pangalos
Theodoros Pangalos | |
---|---|
Θεόδωρος Πάγκαλος | |
President of Greece | |
In office 19 July 1926 – 22 August 1926 | |
Prime Minister | Athanasios Eftaxias |
Preceded by | Pavlos Kountouriotis |
Succeeded by | Pavlos Kountouriotis |
Prime Minister of Greece | |
In office 26 June 1925 – 19 July 1926 | |
President | Pavlos Kountouriotis |
Preceded by | Andreas Michalakopoulos |
Succeeded by | Athanasios Eftaxias |
Personal details | |
Born | Venizelist ) | 11 January 1878
Spouse |
Arianna Slias-Sachtouris
(m. 1901) |
Relations |
|
Occupation |
|
Awards | |
Military service | |
Allegiance | |
Branch/service | Hellenic Army |
Years of service | 1900–1926 |
Rank | Lieutenant general |
Commands | Army of the Evros |
Battles/wars | |
Pangalos withdrew from public life for a while, but remained active in the Venizelist military circles. During the Axis occupation of Greece, Pangalos and military officers close to him played a role in the establishment of the Security Battalions. He was widely suspected of collaboration with the Germans.[1] Cleared by a postwar court, he ran unsuccessfully for political office and died in 1952.
Early career
Pangalos was born on the island of
He graduated from the
During the Balkan Wars of 1912–13 he served as a staff officer in the 6th Infantry Division.[2] He was head of the forces that entered Sidirokastro (Demir Hisar) during the second Balkan war.
In 1916 he joined
In 1922, Pangalos supported the
A staunch nationalist, Pangalos objected to the terms of the treaty, and declared that his troops would attack Turkey nonetheless in order to block the deal. He was forced to resign, but his stance made him popular with the many segments of Greek society that objected to the treaty. During the period of political instability that followed, Pangalos jumped into the fray, gaining and losing a number of ministerial positions as governments came and went.
He assisted in the suppression of the failed
In power
On June 24, 1925, officers loyal to Pangalos, fearing that the political instability was putting the country at risk, overthrew the government in a coup and forced President Pavlos Kountouriotis to appoint Pangalos as Prime Minister. Pangalos immediately abolished the young republic and began to prosecute anyone who could possibly challenge his authority, including his old chief, Plastiras. Freedom of the press was abolished, and a number of repressive laws were enacted (including a law dictating the length of women's skirts - no more than 30 cm above the ground), while Pangalos awarded himself the Grand Cross of the Order of the Redeemer. Pangalos declared a state of emergency on 3 January 1926 and assumed dictatorial powers.[4] In April 1926, he had himself elected president as well in a rigged election. On the economic front Pangalos attempted to devalue the currency by ordering paper notes cut in half.
His political and diplomatic inability however became soon apparent. He conceded too many rights to Yugoslav commerce in
On 29 August 1926, a counter-coup led by General Georgios Kondylis deposed him, and Kountouriotis returned as president, while Pangalos was imprisoned for two years in the Izzeddin Fortress.[2]
After his rule
In 1930, Pangalos was sent to prison for a building scandal. He remained in prison for two years and was released during a period when a number of amnesties were given by Venizélos. He never regained the popular support he had before the coup, and never again played a role in Greek politics. After Greece fell to the Germans in 1941, Pangalos and other Venizelist officers moved to support the new
His grandson, also named
In popular culture
Theodoros Pangalos is mentioned in the song Stin epohi tou Pangalou (In the times of Pangalos, Greek: Στην εποχή του Πάγκαλου) by Giorgos Mitsakis, originally sung by George Dalaras.
References
- ^ a b c d e Mazower 1995, p. 324.
- ^ OCLC 31255024.
- ^ "Κυβέρνησις ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ ΠΑΠΑΝΑΣΤΑΣΙΟΥ - Από 12.3.1924 έως 25.7.1924" (in Greek). General Secretariat of the Government. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
- ISBN 9780275965440.
- ^ a b Mazower 1995, p. 232.
Works cited
- Mazower, Mark (1995). Inside Hitler's Greece: The Experience of Occupation, 1941–44. United States: Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-08923-6.