Pavlos Gyparis | |
|---|---|
| Παύλος Γύπαρης | |
 Pavlos Gyparis during the Macedonian Struggle | |
| Member of Parliament forChania Prefecture | |
| In office 14 – 26 April 1944 | |
| Monarch | George II |
| Prime Minister | Sofoklis Venizelos |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1882 (1882) |
| Died | 22 June 1966(1966-06-22) (aged 83–84) |
| Political party | Liberal Party |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Kingdom of Greece French Third Republic Second Hellenic Republic |
| Branch/service |  Hellenic ArmyFrench Army |
| Battles/wars | |
Pavlos Iosif Gyparis (Greek:Παύλος Ιωσήφ Γύπαρης,[1] 1882 – 22 July 1966) was aHellenic Army officer best known as the commander of the personal guard of Prime MinisterEleftherios Venizelos. He took part in many conflicts, and in 1920 was implicated in the assassination ofIon Dragoumis, a political opponent of Venizelos.
Born in the Cretan village ofAsi Gonia in 1882, as a young man Gyparis took part in paramilitary activities against Turkish, Bulgarian and Romanian interests during theMacedonian Struggle, with great success.[2] Later, during theBalkan Wars, he organized the liberation of the island ofSamos from the Ottomans.[2] In 1915, he organized a volunteer corps of Cretans that fought for France inAlsace. After Greece's entry intoWorld War I he fought in theMacedonian front in 1917-18.
In 1920, during a time when the political situation in Greece wasextremely polarized between supporters of Prime MinisterEleftherios Venizelos on the one hand, and supporters of the Royal Family on the other, Gyparis was accused of organizing a paramilitary force, the so-called "Democratic Security Battalions", that murderedIon Dragoumis, one of Venizelos' fiercest political rivals.[2] However, this was never proven in court.
During theAxis occupation of Greece he fled to theMiddle East and joined the forces of theGreek government-in-exile. During theGreek Civil War, Gyparis was active in his home island ofCrete, fighting against the communists. He was also elected an MP with the party ofSofoklis Venizelos, the son of Eleftherios.
He died in 1966 and he stayed at Ampelokipoi, Athens.
Georgios Papandreou praised him as a fighter for democracy on the side of Venizelos.[3]
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