Leonidas Smolents,Smolenits orSmolenskis (Greek:Λεωνίδας Σμόλεντς/Σμόλενιτς/Σμολένσκης; 1806 – 21 April 1882) was an Austrian military officer of Greek origin, who after 1830 settled in the newly independentKingdom of Greece and became a general andMinister for Military Affairs.
Leonidas Smolents was born in 1806, inPest, Hungary, and grew up inVienna.[1][2] He was the great-grandson of Simon Smolenic, a merchant ofGreek descent fromMoscopole who had settled inHungary, become wealthy, and been ennobled byFrancis II of the Holy Roman Empire in 1797 as anImperial Knight with the surname "von Smolik".[3] After completing military studies at theTheresian Military Academy, he was commissioned into theImperial Austrian Army as a second lieutenant of the engineers in 1822.[2][4] From 1822 to 1824, he participated in the Austrian occupation of theKingdom of the Two Sicilies.[4]
In 1825, with theGreek War of Independence in full swing, he resigned and tried to come to Greece, but was prevented by the Austrian government.[1] He finally managed to come to Greece in 1830, joining the nascentGreek Army as a lieutenant of engineers under GovernorIoannis Kapodistrias.[1][2]
Under KingOtto of Greece, he gradually climbed the military hierarchy, although after the3 September 1843 Revolution, due to his foreign name he was exposed to the ire of the populace against the Bavarian officers that had dominated the state in the first decade of Otto's rule; the founder of theNational Bank of Greece,Georgios Stavros, and two others who had known him in Vienna had to issue a certificate testifying to his Greek origin.[2] Nevertheless, in the National Assembly elected to draft theGreek Constitution of 1843, he was elected as representative ofAttica.[2]
He served asMinister for Military Affairs in theDimitrios Voulgaris cabinet of 1855–1857.[1][2] He particularly distinguished himself in the combating of the banditry endemic in the country, resulting in the arrest of 313 bandits, the surrender of 35, the death of 156, and the capture of 117 dealers in stolen goods.[1] King Otto decorated him with the Commander's Cross of theOrder of the Redeemer.[1]
Under KingGeorge I of Greece, he was promoted to major general, and served again as Minister for Military Affairs in the cabinets ofZinovios Valvis (1863),Thrasyvoulos Zaimis (1870) andAlexandros Koumoundouros (1871).[1][2] He also was appointed twice as overall military commander of thePeloponnese and once of Attica,[2] as well as serving as army inspector and president of the Revisionary Military Tribunal.[4]
He died at Athens on 21 April 1882, aged 75 or 76.[4]
Leonidas Smolents married Maria Axioti, daughter of a distinguished military officer and politicianKonstantinos Axiotis. The couple had two sons:Nikolaos Smolenits [el] andKonstantinos Smolenskis, both of whom became army officers, generals and Ministers for Military Affairs.[5][2]