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Georgios Kondylis | |
|---|---|
| Γεώργιος Κονδύλης | |
 Georgios Kondylis,c. 1919 | |
| Regent of Greece | |
| In office 10 October – 25 November 1935 | |
| Prime Minister | Himself |
| Preceded by | Alexandros Zaimis (as President of Greece) |
| Succeeded by | George II (as King of the Hellenes) |
| Prime Minister of Greece | |
| In office 10 October – 30 November 1935 | |
| Monarch | George II(Nov 1935) |
| Regent | Himself(Oct - Nov 1935) |
| Preceded by | Panagis Tsaldaris |
| Succeeded by | Konstantinos Demertzis |
| In office 23 August – 4 December 1926 | |
| President | Pavlos Kountouriotis |
| Preceded by | Athanasios Eftaxias |
| Succeeded by | Alexandros Zaimis |
| Deputy Prime Minister of Greece | |
| In office 5 April – 10 October 1935 | |
| President | Alexandros Zaimis |
| Prime Minister | Panagis Tsaldaris |
| Preceded by | Andreas Michalakopoulos |
| Succeeded by | Ioannis Theotokis |
| Minister of Naval Affairs | |
| In office 10 – 16 October 1935 | |
| Monarch | George II |
| Prime Minister | Himself |
| Preceded by | Sofoklis Dousmanis |
| Succeeded by | Georgios Rallis |
| In office 26 August – 4 December 1926 | |
| President | Pavlos Kountouriotis |
| Prime Minister | Himself |
| Preceded by | Ioannis Leonidas |
| Succeeded by | Alexandros Kanaris |
| Minister of Military Affairs | |
| In office 10 March 1933 – 10 October 1935 | |
| President | Alexandros Zaimis |
| Prime Minister | Panagis Tsaldaris |
| Preceded by | Alexandros Othonaios |
| Succeeded by | Alexandros Papagos |
| In office 4 November 1932 – 16 January 1933 | |
| President | Alexandros Zaimis |
| Prime Minister | Panagis Tsaldaris |
| Preceded by | Theodoros Chavinis |
| Succeeded by | Georgios Katechakis |
| In office 26 August – 4 December 1926 | |
| President | Pavlos Kountouriotis |
| Prime Minister | Himself |
| Preceded by | Charalambos Tseroulis |
| Succeeded by | Alexandros Mazarakis-Ainian |
| In office 12 March – 9 June 1924 | |
| President | Pavlos Kountouriotis |
| Prime Minister | Alexandros Papanastasiou |
| Preceded by | Konstantinos Gondikas |
| Succeeded by | Theodoros Pangalos |
| Minister of the Interior | |
| In office 7 October 1924 – 15 June 1925 | |
| President | Pavlos Kountouriotis |
| Prime Minister | Andreas Michalakopoulos |
| Preceded by | Georgios Roussos |
| Succeeded by | Georgios Maris |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 14 August 1878 |
| Died | 1 February 1936 (aged 57) |
| Nationality |  Greek |
| Political party | National Democratic Party |
| Awards |  Order of the Redeemer Order of George I War Cross Medal of Military Merit Legion of Honour Croix de Guerre Distinguished Service Order Order of the White Eagle Medal for Bravery |
| Nickname(s) | Thunder Κεραυνός |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Kingdom of Greece |
| Branch/service |  Hellenic Army |
| Years of service | 1896–1923 |
| Rank |  Lieutenant General |
| Battles/wars | |
Georgios Kondylis (Greek:Γεώργιος Κονδύλης,romanized:Geórgios Kondýlis; 14 August 1878 – 1 February 1936) was aGreek general, politician andprime minister ofGreece. He was nicknamedKeravnos,Greek for "thunder" or "thunderbolt".
Kondylis was born inProussos. He enlisted in the army as a volunteer in 1896, and fought with the Greek expeditionary corps inCrete. He was latercommissioned and participated in theMacedonian Struggle (1904–1908) leading his ownguerrilla band, and was promoted tocaptain during theBalkan Wars (1912–1913). He supported theMovement of National Defence ofEleftherios Venizelos during theFirst World War. He was notorious for his cruel oppression of a loyalist revolt inChalkidiki (September 1916),[1] rising to the rank oflieutenant colonel. A firmVenizelist, he opposed the restoration ofKing Constantine I in 1920, fleeing toConstantinople together with other Venizelist officers and organizing there the "Democratic Defence" (Δημοκρατική Άμυνα). He returned after the1922 Revolution as amajor general, suppressed theroyalist revolt of 1923, retired from the army, and became involved in politics.
He was elected toParliament at the1923 elections for the constituency of Rodope, initially for theDemocratic Union, and later founded theNational Republican Party (Εθνικό Δημοκρατικό Κόμμα), renamed in 1928National Radical Party (Εθνικό Ριζοσπαστικό Κόμμα). He waswar minister from March to June 1924. On 24 August 1926, he overthrew the dictatorship ofTheodoros Pangalos in a bloodlesscoup and formed a government, proclaiming elections forNovember. Notably, his party did not participate in these. In the elections ofAugust 1928, voters elected nine of his party's candidates as MPs, and he was elected inKavala.
During this time, Kondylis began moving rightward. In 1932 he became war minister again in return for his support of thePopulist government, a post he retained after the Populists were reelected in 1933. From this post he was instrumental in crushing theMarch 1935 Venizelist revolt. In the period immediately following the revolt, Kondylis became the real power in the country. He sacked numerous pro-republican soldiers and civil servants, and condemned Venizelos to deathin absentia.
By now, Kondylis was one of the strongest proponents of restoring the monarchy. However, he opposed Prime MinisterPanagis Tsaldaris' call for a referendum. On 10 October 1935, Kondylis and several other officers called on Tsaldaris and forced him to resign. Kondylis forced PresidentAlexandros Zaimis to name him the new premier. Later that day, Kondylis forced Zaimis to resign, declared himselfRegent, abolished theRepublic and staged aplebiscite on 3 November for the return of the monarchy.
The official tally showed that 98 percent of the voters supported the return ofGeorge II—an suspiciously high total that was likely obtained through fraud. Indeed, the vote took place under less-than-secret conditions. Voters were given the choice of dropping a blue piece of paper in the ballot box if they supported the monarchy, and a red one if they supported the republic. Those who supported the republic risked being beaten up. Under those circumstances, it took a brave Greek to vote "no". By this time, Kondylis had turned so far to the right that he now openly sympathized with fascism. He hoped to echoBenito Mussolini's example in Italy, in whichVictor Emmanuel III had been reduced to a puppet.[2]
George returned to Greece on 25 November, and retained Kondylis as prime minister. Kondylis soon quarreled with the king, who was not content to be a mere puppet, and resigned five days later. In theJanuary 1936 elections, he cooperated withIoannis Rallis and managed to have fifteen MPs elected. Soon after, however, he died of aheart attack on 1 February 1936, inAthens. His nephew, Georgios Kondylis Jr., became a general in the Hellenic army and later fought against the Axis during theGerman invasion of Greece.
He was awarded SerbianOrder of the White Eagle.[3]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Minister for Military Affairs 12 March – 9 June 1924 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister for the Interior 7 October 1924 – 15 June 1925 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Greece (caretaker) 26 August – 4 December 1926 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister for Military Affairs (caretaker) 26 August – 4 December 1926 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister for Naval Affairs (caretaker) 26 August – 4 December 1926 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister for Military Affairs 4 November 1932 – 16 January 1933 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister for Military Affairs 10 March 1933 – 10 October 1935 | Succeeded by |
| Vacant Title last held by Andreas Michalakopoulos(in the 1929–32Venizelos cabinet) | Deputy Prime Minister of Greece 5 April – 10 October 1935 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Greece 10 October – 30 November 1935 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister for Naval Affairs 10–16 October 1935 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
