Ilias Kasidiaris | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Kasidiaris in 2016 | |
| President ofNational Party – Greeks | |
| In office 4 June 2020 – May 2022[1] | |
| Succeeded by | Dimitrios Chatziliadis |
| Member of theHellenic Parliament | |
| In office 6 May 2012 – 11 June 2019 | |
| Constituency | Attica |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1980-11-29)29 November 1980 (age 44) Keratsini, Greece |
| Political party |
|
| Residence(s) | Drafi, Greece |
| Alma mater | Agricultural University of Athens |
| Occupation | Politician, agriculturalist, author[2] |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Greece |
| Branch/service | Hellenic Army |
| Unit | 35th Commando Battalion |
Ilias Kasidiaris (Greek:Ηλίας Π. Κασιδιάρης; born 29 November 1980) is a Greek politician and founder of the political partyNational Party – Greeks, which was formerly known as Greeks for the Fatherland.[3][4][5][2] He was a member of theHellenic Parliament,[6] and a convicted leader of the former leaders of the now disbanded criminal organisationGolden Dawn.[7] In October 2020, he was convicted of directing a criminal organization and sentenced to 13.5 years in prison,[8] in which he pleads his innocence, and his supporters claim is a silencing of the opposition by Greek PremierKyriakos Mitsotakis.[9]
Ilias Kasidiaris was born on 29 November 1980 inKeratsini, Greece.[10]
Kasidiaris' father, Panagiotis Kasidiaris, is a retired doctor. His mother is a teacher inphilology with a specialization inarchaeology. As a child, he was attracted to gymnastics, martial arts, writing and history. He also took many dance classes, including tango.[citation needed]
During his military service, he served in the1st Raider/Paratrooper Brigade and more specifically in the 35th Commando Battalion inCyprus.[11] He holds a degree in agriculture with a specialty in food chemistry from theAgricultural University of Athens.[12]
In an interview conducted by Nikos Evangelatos onSkai TV in May 2012, Kasidiaris declined to condemnNazi leaderAdolf Hitler, stating that "his role in history will be judged in time". He reiterated his stance againstimmigrants in Greece.[13]
Kasidiaris quotedThe Protocols of the Elders of Zion in a 23 October 2012 speech to parliament. Defending himself in a discussion of whether to lift his parliamentary immunity over his assault of Kanelli, he quoted the passage, "In order to destroy the prestige of heroism we shall send them for trial in the category of theft, murder and every kind of abominable and filthy crime."[14] Kasidiaris, as well as two of his Golden Dawn colleagues, had their parliamentary immunity revoked by a unanimous vote of the parliament.[15]
In mid-2013, while in the Hellenic Parliament, Kasidiaris said that he and other members of parliament wereHolocaust deniers.[16]
Οn 17 September 2013, Kasidiaris and a number of other Golden Dawn lawmakers were arrested on 28 September 2013 on charges of belonging to a criminal organisation.[17] The charge sheet included murder, extortion, and involvement in the disappearance of up to 100 migrants.[18] On 2 October 2013, Ilias Kasidiaris was released on a 50,000 euro bail.[19]
On 2 April 2014, Takis Baltakos and Ilias Kasidiaris were recorded on video discussing the incarceration of Golden Dawn lawmakers.[20] Takis Baltakos, Samaras's most trusted adviser and chief of staff was filmed accusing Samaras of instigating a judicial inquiry against the Golden Dawn party for political gain. That week, parliament voted to lift the immunity from prosecution of five Golden Dawn deputies.[21] Justice Minister Athanasiou and Citizen Protection Minister Dendias were also implicated in the video. Baltakos was forced to resign but then claimed that New Democracy and Golden Dawn had an informal alliance, with parliamentary voting support.[22] The pre-trial detention and house arrest ahead of a trial was the most significant mass round-up of lawmakers since the military coup in 1967.[23]
On 10 July 2014, Kasidiaris was taken into custody in Koridalos prison, on a charge of weapons possession with the intent to supply a criminal organisation.[24] On 1 July 2015, Kasidiaris was released from custody after the council of appeals court judges deemed that "the legal weight" of the offense was not adequate to justify detention. Kasidiaris was required to report regularly to his local police station and under the conditions of his release was not allowed to visit Golden Dawns political offices.[25]
On 15 July 2015, during rancorous debates in the Greek parliament on the passing of various bills required as a precursor to the commencement on negotiations to receive a third bailout of the Greek economy, Kasidiaris tore up papers during a speech.[26]
On 18 December 2019, during the Golden Dawn trial, which had started in 2015, the prosecutor suggested that all defendants except Roupakias are found not guilty of murderingPavlos Fyssas and all felonies.[27][28] Among the defendants was Kasidiaris. However, on 7 October 2020, the jury verdict found Kasidiaris guilty of directing a criminal organisation along with other members of Golden Dawn.[29]
In 2020, Kasidiaris founded theNational Party – Greeks. Following the exclusion of the National Party from both theMay andJune 2023 elections, Kasidiaris announced its "full support" for theSpartans political party.[30][31] The Spartans party won 12 seats in the elections. In his first public statement after the election,Vasilis Stigkas openly thanked Kasidiaris for "[being] the fuel that has propelled us to [entering parliament]".[32]On 27 July 2023, Kasidiaris announced that he would run for mayor ofAthens.The Spartans political party fully supported him.[citation needed]His candidacy was made official on 10 August, and he was registered as a candidate on 10 September for the2023 Athens Municipal Elections.On election day, he received 8,5% of the vote or 11,643 votes and he was elected to the Athens municipal council, but he has since resigned from the position.[33] The Spartans were barred from participating in the2024 European Parliament elections.[34] In the 2024 European elections, Kasidiaris declared that he would vote for retired artillery officer Charalambos Giotis, head of a municipal faction in the municipality of Athens that was on the Patriots party's ballot. Subsequently, the candidate received almost double the number of crosses from the party's president himself, Prodromos Emfietzoglou.[35]
In 2025, a judicial investigation by the Prosecutor of Greece’s Supreme Civil and Criminal Court, led to the indictment of the entire parliamentary group for electoral fraud, with Kasidiaris also charged for instigating the fraud. In May 2025, the Court of Appeal unanimously acquitted all 11 accused MPs, including Kasidiaris, finding no evidence that they had misled voters."[36]
On 7 June 2012, during a television appearance onANT1, Kasidiaris, in response to a verbal disagreement, splashed a glass of water at Greek politicianRena Dourou, and then proceeded to slapLiana Kanelli multiple times after she struck him with a piece of paper.[37]
The heated exchange was a fluid discussion focusing on the rights of immigrant workers vs right of the unemployed Greeks and the development of gas reservoirs in northern Crete eventually disintegrating from a heated debate to broken rhetoric from both sides about opinion on theRegime of the Colonels to the persecution of Golden Dawn activists. The discussion broke down when Kanelli referred to Kasidiaris as a "fascist" «φασίστα». Kasidiaris responded by derogatorily calling her «παλιοκομμούνι», that is, a "dirty communist". Dourou interrupted and said there was a democratic crisis in Greece and that Golden Dawn would take the country back 500 years if they ever got into power, insulting Kasidiaris and his party. Kasidiaris reacted by throwing a glass of water at Dourou, while verbally insulting her. Dorou then grinned at the subsequent scuffle as Kanelli hit Kasidiaris with a piece of paper, which Kasidiaris reacted to by pushing her back and slapping her multiple times.[38]
In Greece, it was openly debated by the press whether Kasidiaris had been right or wrong and he was widely cheered online.[39] Supporters claim that he only retaliated and that Dourou's and Kanelli's actions were provocative, while opponents state that this was assaulting a woman on live television.
In March 2015, Kasidiaris attended court to face charges ofgrievous bodily harm. Giorgos Papadakis, a presenter and journalist who witnessed the assault, stated that threats were also made to television crew and other employees.[40]
A Facebook page dedicated to Kasidiaris picked up 6,000 likes within 24 hours.[41] Kasidiaris was also awaiting trial for allegedly being the getaway driver[42] for an armed assault on a university professor in Athens in 2007.[43][44] He was found not guilty of all charges relating to the 2007 incident in March 2013, due to a significant lack of evidence against him.[45][46]
Since 2019, Kasidiaris has run a politically focused YouTube channel.[47]
Ilias Kasidiaris | |
|---|---|
| YouTube information | |
| Channel | |
| Years active | 2019–present |
| Genre | politics |
| Subscribers | 152 thousand |
| Views | 20 million |
| Last updated: November 11, 2025 | |
Kasidiaris has written several books during his presence inGolden Dawn and his stay in prison.[2]
{{cite web}}:|last= has generic name (help)Interestingly, the placement of the extreme rightChrysi Avyi does not seem to be influenced by this bias, although this has more do with the lack of variance in the data (32 out of 33 experts placed the party on 10)
On October 24, 1998 the Greek right-wing extremist organizationChrisi Avgi ("Golden Dawn") was the host for the "5th European Youth Congress" in Thessaloniki.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
