Nikolaos Michaloliakos | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Nikolaos Michaloliakos in 2012 | |
| General Secretary of theGolden Dawn | |
| Assumed office February 1993 | |
| Member of theHellenic Parliament | |
| In office 28 June 2012 – 7 July 2019 | |
| Member of theAthens Council | |
| In office 1 January 2011 – 17 May 2012 | |
| Succeeded by | Ioannis Vouldis |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Nikolaos G. Michaloliakos (1957-12-11)11 December 1957 (age 68) |
| Party | Golden Dawn |
| Other political affiliations | 4th of August Party (1973–1984) National Political Union (1984–1985) |
| Spouse | Eleni Zaroulia |
| Children | Ourania Michaloliakou |
| Alma mater | National and Kapodistrian University of Athens |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Greece |
| Branch/service | Hellenic Army |
Nikolaos G. "Nikos"Michaloliakos (Greek:Νικόλαος Γ. Μιχαλολιάκος,pronounced[niˈkolaosmixaloˈʎakos]; born 11 December 1957) is a Greek politician and convicted criminal.[1][2][3][4] He is the founder and leader of thefar-right partyGolden Dawn. In October 2020, he and 67 other Golden Dawn leaders were found guilty of leading a criminal organisation by the Athens Appeals Court.[5][6]
Michaloliakos was born inAthens in 1957. According to his party, he completed his studies at the Faculty of Mathematics of theNational and Kapodistrian University of Athens.[7]
At the age of 16, he joined the nationalist4th of August Party ofKonstantinos Plevris. He also participated in the Athens local organisation ofEOKA-B. He was arrested for the first time in July 1974, during a protest outside the British embassy in Athens, against the stance of theUnited Kingdom toward theTurkish invasion of Cyprus.[7] He was arrested again for assaulting journalists covering the December 1976 funeral ofEvangelos Mallios, a policeman who tortured people[8] during theRegime of the Colonels,[9] assassinated by the terrorist group17N, but was released.[10][11][12][13] While he was in prison, Michaloliakos met the leaders of theGreek military junta of 1967–1974.[10] After that he joined theHellenic Army and became a commander of the Fast Attack Craft Command.[10] He was arrested again in July 1978 and sentenced to one year imprisonment in January 1979 for illegally carrying guns and explosives.[10][11] He was also dismissed from his position in the army.[7]
After he was released, he launched theGolden Dawn magazine. The politics of the magazine were, initially, closely aligned withNazi beliefs.[10][11] The publication of the magazine ceased in April 1984, when Michaloliakos joined theNational Political Union, and took over the leadership of its youth section, after a personal order ofGeorgios Papadopoulos.[10] In January 1985, he broke away from the National Political Union and founded the "Popular National Movement - Golden Dawn".
Michaloliakos remained the leader of Golden Dawn until he announced its disbandment in November 2005.[14] He took this step due to clashes withanti-fascists.[14] In 2005–2007, he (like most members of Golden Dawn) continued his political activity through thePatriotic Alliance.[10] The party was reformed under his leadership in 2007.[15]
Golden Dawn as a political party drew public attention in the 1990s and early 2000s.[10][11] In May 2012, under Michaloliakos' leadership, it garnered 21 seats in Parliament during an election conducted amid Greece's severe financial crisis, and was embroiled in various controversies, attracting international attention.[16] A particularly controversial point was Michaloliakos's denial of the existence of thegas chambers, which the Nazis used to murder Communists, Freemasons, Jews, homosexuals, and other persons duringWorld War II.[17]
Following the fatal stabbing of the antifascist rapperPavlos Fyssas on 17 September 2013 by a supporter of his party,[18] Michaloliakos was arrested in a 28 September 2013 sweep, along with numerous other Golden Dawn leaders on the charges of allegedly being involved in a criminal organisation.[19] The charge sheet included murder, extortion, and involvement in the disappearance of up to 100 immigrants.[20] After 18 months of pretrial detention, the maximum allowed, Michaloliakos was released from jail and placed underhouse arrest.[21] On 29 July 2015, his house arrest was lifted, but he was prohibited from leaving theAttica region.[22]
In April 2015, the trial of Michaloliakos and 68 other defendants began at the high-security Korydallos prison in Athens,[23] but was adjourned a number of times for technical reasons and to find a more suitable setting.[24] Michaloliakos was one of 68 Golden Dawn leaders who were found guilty in October 2020. He was sentenced to 13.5 years in prison[6][25] but was granted early release in May 2024 following a legal request and on account of his elderly age, albeit with several conditions such as a ban on traveling outside the greater Athens area.[26] However, his release was subsequently overturned by another panel of judges following an appeal that found that he had shown no repentance for his crimes and was capable of reoffending. This led to him being rearrested in his residence in Athens on 3 June.[27]
On 12 September 2025, a judicial council allowed Michaloliakos to serve his sentence at his residence on grounds of ill-health.[28]
He is the husband of fellow Golden Dawn memberEleni Zaroulia.[29] His daughter Ourania was one of six people arrested during a motorcycle attack against immigrants; all six were later released.[30][31]
In a televised interview, Michaloliakos publicly insultedMilwaukee Bucksforward and 2019 and 2020NBA Most Valuable PlayerGiannis Antetokounmpo after he was selected as the 15th overall pick in the2013 NBA draft, calling him a "chimpanzee". He even publicly stated that Antetokounmpo and his family should have been detained and deported immediately after their meeting with then-Prime MinisterAntonis Samaras.[32][relevant?]
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