| General Ioannis Metaxas Greek: Ιωάννης Μεταξάς |
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| In office 1936 – 1941 |
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| Preceded by | Konstantinos Demertzis |
| Succeeded by | Alexandros Korizis |
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| Born | April 12, 1871 Ithaca, Greece |
| Died | January 29, 1941 (aged 69) Athens, Greece |
| Political party | Freethinkers' Party |
General Ioannis Metaxas (Greek: Ιωάννης Μεταξάς) (April 12, 1871 – January 29, 1941) was a Greek general and the Prime Minister of Greece during the 4th of August Regime, from 1936 until his death in 1941. Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly The Prime Minister of Greece ( Πρωθυπουργός της Ελλάδος) is the Head of government of the Hellenic Republic and the leader of Konstantinos Demertzis (Κωνσταντίνος Δεμερτζής was a Greek politician born in 1876 Alexandros Korizis ( Αλέξανδρος Κοριζής, 1885 – April 18, 1941) was the Prime Minister of Greece briefly in 1941 Events 467 - Anthemius is elevated to Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. Year 1871 ( MDCCCLXXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Ithaca or Ithaka (in Greek, Ιθάκη, Ithaki) is an island in the Ionian Sea, in Greece, with an area of 118 km² Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία Events 904 - Sergius III comes out of retirement to take over the papacy from the deposed Antipope Christopher. Year 1941 ( MCMXLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (the link will display 1941 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Athens (ˈæθənz Αθήνα Athina,) the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery as one of the world's Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία The Freethinkers' Party ( Kόμμα των Ελευθεροφρόνων) was a royalist party established by Ioannis Metaxas in 1922 Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly Events 467 - Anthemius is elevated to Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. Year 1871 ( MDCCCLXXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 904 - Sergius III comes out of retirement to take over the papacy from the deposed Antipope Christopher. Year 1941 ( MCMXLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (the link will display 1941 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία The Prime Minister of Greece ( Πρωθυπουργός της Ελλάδος) is the Head of government of the Hellenic Republic and the leader of From 1936 to 1941, Greece was ruled by an authoritarian regime under the leadership of General
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Military career
Born in Ithaca, Metaxas was a career military officer, first seeing action in the Greco-Turkish War of 1897. Ithaca or Ithaka (in Greek, Ιθάκη, Ithaki) is an island in the Ionian Sea, in Greece, with an area of 118 km² The Greco-Turkish War of 1897, also called the Thirty Days' War and known as the black '97 in Greece was a war fought between the Kingdom of Greece Following studies in German Empire, he returned to join the General Staff and was part of the modernizing process of the Greek Army before the Balkan Wars (1912–1913), in which he actively participated. The German Empire is the name commonly used in English to describe Germany from 1871 to 1918 when it was a semi- Constitutional monarchy: beginning with the Unification The Balkan Wars were two wars in South-eastern Europe in 1912–1913 in the course of which the Balkan League ( Bulgaria, Montenegro, Greece He was appointed as Chief of the Greek General Staff in 1913 and was promoted to General in 1916.
A staunch monarchist, he supported Constantine I and opposed Greek entry into World War I. Constantine I King of the Hellenes (Κωνσταντίνος A' Βασιλεύς των Ελλήνων - 11 January 1923 was King of Greece from 1913 to 1917 and from World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Eleftherios Venizelos, the prime minister, resigned over the refusal of Metaxas to aid the unsuccessful Dardanelles campaign and used the war as the major issue in the elections. Eleftherios Venizelos (full name Elefthérios Kyriákou Venizélos, Greek: Ελευθέριος Κυριάκου Βενιζέλος ( Mournies This article is about the government position For other uses see Prime Minister (disambiguation. See also [[Hellespont]] The Dardanelles ( Turkish: Çanakkale Boğazı Greek: Δαρδανέλλια Dardanellia) formerly When Venizelos won the March 1915 elections, he mobilised the army, but was dismissed by the king. In June 1917, with Allied support and 60,000 Cretan soldiers, the king was deposed and Venizelos came to power, declaring war on June 29, 1917. The Entente Powers (from Triple Entente) were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. Crete ( Greek: Κρήτη transliteration: Krētē, modern transliteration Kriti) is the largest of the Greek islands and the Events 512 - A Solar eclipse is recorded by a monastic chronicler in Ireland. Year 1917 ( MCMXVII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year
Metaxas followed the king into exile, neither returning until 1920. He opposed the Anatolian Campaign in Asia Minor. When the monarchy was displaced in 1922, Metaxas moved into politics and founded the Freethinkers' Party in 1923. The Freethinkers' Party ( Kόμμα των Ελευθεροφρόνων) was a royalist party established by Ioannis Metaxas in 1922 He temporarily left Greece with the fall of the monarchy shortly afterwards, but later returned and served as a minister under the republic in 1928.
Prime Minister
After a disputed plebiscite George II, son of Constantine I, returned to take the throne in 1935. Early life first period of kingship and exile George was born at the royal villa at Tatoi, near Athens, the eldest son of Constantine I King of the Hellenes The elections of 1936 produced a deadlock between Panagis Tsaldaris and Themistoklis Sophoulis. Panagis Tsaldaris (1868-1936 (or Panagiotis Tsaldaris or Panayotis Tsaldaris, Παναγής Τσαλδάρης) was a revered conservative politician Themistoklis Sophoulis (1860-1949 (or Themistoklis Sofoulis, Greek: Θεμιστοκλής Σοφούλης) was a prominent centrist politician belonging The political situation was further polarized by the gains made by the Communist Party of Greece (KKE). The Communist Party of Greece (Κομμουνιστικό Κόμμα Ελλάδας Kommounistikó Kómma Elládas) better known by its acronym ΚΚΕ (usually Disliking the Communists and fearing a coup, George II appointed Metaxas, then minister of war, to be interim prime minister on 13 April 1936, and the appointment was confirmed by the Greek parliament. Events 1111 - Henry V is crowned Holy Roman Emperor. 1204 - The Fourth Crusade sacks Constantinople Year 1936 ( MCMXXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
Widespread industrial unrest in May allowed Metaxas to declare a state of emergency. A state of emergency is a governmental declaration that may suspend certain normal functions of government alert citizens to alter their normal behaviors or order government agencies He suspended the parliament indefinitely and suspended various articles of the constitution. On August 4, 1936 Metaxas declared the 4th of August Regime. Events 70 - The Destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans. Year 1936 ( MCMXXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. From 1936 to 1941, Greece was ruled by an authoritarian regime under the leadership of General The regime's propaganda presented Metaxas as "the First Peasant", "the First Worker" and "the National Father" of the Greeks. Metaxas adopted the title of Arhigos, Greek for "leader" or "chieftain", and claimed a "Third Hellenic Civilization", following ancient Greece and the Greek Byzantine Empire of the Middle Ages. The term ancient Greece refers to the period of Greek history lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca
Patterning his regime on other authoritarian European governments (most notably Italian dictator Benito Mussolini's fascist regime), Metaxas banned political parties, arrested communists, prohibited strikes and introduced widespread censorship of the media. Fascism is a totalitarian nationalist and corporatist ideology
The Metaxas government promoted various popular measures, such as the 8-hour working day and mandatory improvements to the working conditions of workers. He established the Greek social security fund (IKA), still the biggest social security institution in Greece, and improved the country's defences. For rural areas agricultural prices were raised and farm debts were taken on by the government. Despite these efforts the Greek people generally moved towards the political left, but without actively opposing Metaxas.
In foreign policy Metaxas had a neutral stance trying to keep peace with the UK and Germany. He saw in the Mediterranean the British as a natural ally and their fleet was a major force while the expansionist goals of Mussolini were clearly threatening to Greece. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The policy of Metaxas to keep Greece out of WWII was decisively broken by the blunt demands of Mussolini in October 1940. He demanded occupation rights to strategic Greek sites and was met with a curt reply by Metaxas: "Alors, c'est la guerre" ("then it is war"). His reply was encapsulated in Greek popular feeling in the single word "No" (Oxi). "Oxi Day" is still celebrated in Greece each year. Celebrated throughout Greece, Cyprus and the Greek communities around the world on October 28 each year Okhi Day (also spelled Ohi Day, On October 28, 1940, Italy invaded Greece from Albania and started the Greco-Italian War. Events 306 - Maxentius is proclaimed Roman Emperor. 312 - Battle of Milvian Bridge: Constantine Year 1940 ( MCMXL) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. This article is about the country in southern Europe For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Albania topics. The Greco-Italian War ( Ελληνοϊταλικός Πόλεμος Ellēnoїtalikós Pólemos or Πόλεμος
Thanks to preparations and an inspired defence the Greeks were able to mount a successful defense and counter offensive, forcing the Italians back into Albania and occupying large parts of Northern Epirus (Southern Albania). Epirus (from Ionic Greek Ήπειρος - Ēpeiros, Doric Greek: Ἅπειρος - Apeiros, in Albanian Metaxas never saw the German invasion of Greece during the Battle of Greece because he died in Athens on January 29, 1941. The Battle of Greece (also known as Operation Marita, Unternehmen Marita was a World War II battle that occurred on the Greek mainland and in southern Albania Athens (ˈæθənz Αθήνα Athina,) the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery as one of the world's Events 904 - Sergius III comes out of retirement to take over the papacy from the deposed Antipope Christopher. Year 1941 ( MCMXLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (the link will display 1941 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Metaxas died of a phlegmon of the pharynx which subsequently led to uncurable toxaemia. Phlegmon is a spreading Diffuse Inflammatory process with formation of suppurative/purulent Exudate or Pus. Bacteremia ( Bacteræmia in British English is the presence of bacteria in the Blood. He was succeeded by Alexandros Korizis. Alexandros Korizis ( Αλέξανδρος Κοριζής, 1885 – April 18, 1941) was the Prime Minister of Greece briefly in 1941 After the death of Metaxas, the Germans invading Greece encountered much difficulty with the fortifications constructed by Metaxas in Northern Greece. These fortifications were constructed along the Bulgarian border and were known as the Metaxas Line. The Metaxas Line was a chain of fortifications constructed along the line of the Greco-Bulgarian border designed to protect Greece in case of a Bulgarian invasion
To this day, Metaxas remains a highly controversial figure in Greek history. He is reviled by some for his dictatorial state, and admired by others for his popular policies, patriotism, defiance to aggression, and his military victory against Italy. Patriotism is commonly defined as love of and/or devotion to one's country The Greco-Italian War ( Ελληνοϊταλικός Πόλεμος Ellēnoїtalikós Pólemos or Πόλεμος
See also
Further reading
- Pelt, Mogens (Winter 2001). From 1936 to 1941, Greece was ruled by an authoritarian regime under the leadership of General The Greek Civil War (ο Eμφύλιος, "the Civil War" fought from 1946 to 1949 by the Governmental forces receiving logistical support by the United Kingdom The Greco-Italian War ( Ελληνοϊταλικός Πόλεμος Ellēnoїtalikós Pólemos or Πόλεμος The Metaxas Line was a chain of fortifications constructed along the line of the Greco-Bulgarian border designed to protect Greece in case of a Bulgarian invasion "The Establishment and Development of the Metaxas Dictatorship in the Context of Fascism and Nazism, 1936-41". Totalitarian Movements and Political Religions 2 (3): 143-172.
External links
| Preceded by Konstantinos Demertzis |
Prime Minister of Greece April 13, 1936 - January 29, 1941 |
Succeeded by Alexandros Koryzis |
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