Alexandros Merentitis ( el, Αλέξανδρος Μερεντίτης, c. 1880–1964) was a

Hellenic Army The Hellenic Army ( el, Ελληνικός Στρατός, Ellinikós Stratós, sometimes abbreviated as ΕΣ), formed in 1828, is the land force of Greece. The term ''Hellenic'' is the endogenous synonym for ''Greek''. The Hellenic Army is th ...

officer who rose to the rank of

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

. He participated in all Greek wars of the early 20th century, served as effective Chief of the

Hellenic Army General Staff The Hellenic Army General Staff ( el, Γενικό Επιτελείο Στρατού, abbrev. ΓΕΣ) is the general staff of the Hellenic Army, the terrestrial component of the Greek Armed Forces. It was established in 1904. Since 1950, the HAGS ...

in 1928–1929, General Secretary of the newly established Aviation Ministry in 1930–1934, and briefly as General-Governor of Northern Greece and Minister of Military Affairs in 1945.

Biography

Alexandros Merentitis was born in Thebes in about 1880. He enrolled in the

Hellenic Military Academy The Hellenic Army Academy ( el, Στρατιωτική Σχολή Ευελπίδων), commonly known as the Evelpidon, is a military academy. It is the Officer cadet school of the Greek Army and the oldest third-level educational institution in G ...

and graduated on 6 July 1902 as an Artillery 2nd Lieutenant. In 1908, he participated in the last stages of the

Macedonian Struggle The Macedonian Struggle ( bg, Македонска борба; el, Μακεδονικός Αγώνας; mk, Борба за Македонија; sr, Борба за Македонију; tr, Makedonya Mücadelesi) was a series of social, po ...

, under the ''nom de guerre'' of "

Doukas The House of Doukas, Latinized as Ducas ( el, Δούκας; feminine: Doukaina/Ducaena, Δούκαινα; plural: Doukai/Ducae, Δοῦκαι), from the Latin title '' dux'' ("leader", "general", Hellenized as 'ðouks'', is the name of a Byzan ...

". While serving as a secretary in the Greek consulate at Monastir, he was arrested by the Ottoman authorities and spent a time in prison. In the same year, he was promoted to lieutenant, and participated in both Balkan Wars of 1912–1913 as a battery commander, fighting in both

Epirus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinri ...

and Macedonia. After the Balkan Wars, he was promoted to captain (1913) and assigned to teach geography at the Military Academy. Merentitis was promoted to major in 1915, and after Greece's entry in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in 1917, to lieutenant colonel. During the war he served as artillery commander of the 4th Infantry Division on the Macedonian front. He continued in the same post in the 2nd Infantry Division during the Greek participation in the Allied intervention in the Ukraine against the

Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

. He was promoted to full colonel in the same year (1919). After the end of the Allied campaign, he was transferred to

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The ...

, where Greece was engaged in a war with the

Turkish Nationalist Turkish nationalism ( tr, Türk milliyetçiliği) is a political ideology that promotes and glorifies the Turkish people, as either a national, ethnic, or linguistic group. The term "ultranationalism" is often used to describe Turkish nationali ...

forces of

Mustafa Kemal Mustafa ( ar, مصطفى , Muṣṭafā) is one of the names of Prophet Muhammad, and the name means "chosen, selected, appointed, preferred", used as an Arabic given name and surname. Mustafa is a common name in the Muslim world. Given name ...

. He served throughout the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922, first as artillery commander of II Army Corps and then as artillery commander of I Army Corps. On 24 June 1922, shortly before the decisive Turkish offensive in August, he was also placed as chief of staff of I Corps. After the collapse of the Greek front and evacuation from Anatolia, Merentitis was suspended from active service. In 1925 he returned to service, was promoted to major general and appointed as Artillery Inspector of the Army, and studied in the French Army Artillery School at

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand ...

. On his return, he was appointed deputy chief of the

(29 October 1928 – 17 October 1929); however, as the post of the chief was vacant during this period, he was the effective head of the Army. In 1930 he was appointed General Secretary of the newly established Aviation Ministry, from which post he retired in 1934. In 1945, he served as Minister General-Governor of Northern Greece in the first cabinet of Admiral

Petros Voulgaris Petros Voulgaris ( el, Πέτρος Βούλγαρης, 13 September 1883 – 26 November 1957) was a Greek Admiral who served briefly as Prime Minister of Greece in 1945. He was famous for his role in suppressing the 1944 Greek naval mutiny and re ...

(16 April – 11 August), and as Minister for Military Affairs in Voulgaris' second cabinet (22 August – 17 October), and in the cabinet of

Archbishop Damaskinos of Athens Archbishop Damaskinos Papandreou ( el, Αρχιεπίσκοπος Δαμασκηνός Παπανδρέου), born Dimitrios Papandreou ( el, Δημήτριος Παπανδρέου; 3 March 1891 – 20 May 1949) was the archbishop of Athens ...

(17 October – 1 November). In the latter he also served as Minister for Naval Affairs from 19 October. He was unmarried, and died in 1964.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Merentitis, Alexandros 1880s births 1964 deaths People from Thebes, Greece Hellenic Army major generals Eastern Orthodox Christians from Greece Chiefs of the Hellenic Army General Staff Greek military personnel of World War I Greek military personnel of the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) Greek military personnel of the Macedonian Struggle Ministers of Military Affairs of Greece Ministers of Naval Affairs of Greece Governors-General of Northern Greece Greek military personnel of the Russian Civil War Prisoners and detainees of the Ottoman Empire Greek military personnel of the Balkan Wars