Alexandros Othonaios (; 1879 – 20 September 1970) was a distinguished

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

general, who became briefly the acting

Prime Minister of Greece The prime minister of the Hellenic Republic (), usually referred to as the prime minister of Greece (), is the head of government of the Greece, Hellenic Republic and the leader of the Cabinet of Greece, Greek Cabinet. The officeholder's of ...

, heading an emergency government during an abortive

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

in 1933.

Early life and career

Othonaios was born at Gytheion around 1879, and enrolled in the

Hellenic Military Academy The Hellenic Army Academy (, ΣΣΕ), 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 Greece. It was founded in 1828 in Nafplio by Io ...

. He participated in the

Macedonian Struggle The Macedonian Struggle was a series of social, political, cultural and military conflicts that were mainly fought between Greek and Bulgarian subjects who lived in Ottoman Macedonia between 1893 and 1912. From 1904 to 1908 the conflict was p ...

with the ''

nom de guerre A ''nom de guerre'' (, 'war name') is a pseudonym chosen by someone to use when they are involved in a particular activity, especially fighting in a war. In Ancien régime, ''ancien régime'' Kingdom of France, France it would be adopted by each n ...

'' of ''Kapetan'' Palamidis, and was a member of the Military League. He fought in the

Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans, Balkan states in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan states of Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg), Greece, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Montenegro, M ...

, and sided with

Eleftherios Venizelos Eleftherios Kyriakou Venizelos (, ; – 18 March 1936) was a Cretan State, Cretan Greeks, Greek statesman and prominent leader of the Greek national liberation movement. As the leader of the Liberal Party (Greece), Liberal Party, Venizelos ser ...

during the

National Schism The National Schism (), also sometimes called The Great Division, was a series of disagreements between Constantine I of Greece, King Constantine I and Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos over Kingdom of Greece, Greece's foreign policy from 19 ...

, commanding the 7th Cretan Regiment in the

Macedonian front The Macedonian front, also known as the Salonica front (after Thessaloniki), was a military theatre of World War I formed as a result of an attempt by the Allied Powers to aid Serbia, in the autumn of 1915, against the combined attack of Germa ...

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. He also took part in the

Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War The Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War consisted of a series of multi-national military expeditions that began in 1918. The initial impetus behind the interventions was to secure munitions and supply depots from falling into the German ...

in 1919 with the rank of colonel. Subsequently, he was appointed commanding officer of the Kydoniai Division and participated in the occupation of the

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; , or ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, Turkey. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna ...

district in the early stages of the Asia Minor Campaign. After the electoral defeat of Venizelos in 1920, he was dismissed from the army and fled to Allied-occupied

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

, where he joined several other Venizelist officers.

Later career

He was recalled after the catastrophic defeat and evacuation of the Greek forces in Asia Minor, which led to a military revolt led by Colonels Nikolaos Plastiras and Stylianos Gonatas in September 1922. Othonaios was appointed chief judge of the military tribunal that tried and convicted several prominent leaders of the anti-Venizelist camp to death (the infamous " Trial of the Six"). He was promoted to lieutenant general in 1923, commanding II and III Army Corps, but resigned after the coup of General Theodoros Pangalos in 1925. He returned to the Army in 1928 as head of the Second Army Inspectorate. In 6–10 March 1933, he led the military government that was formed to confront an attempted coup by Plastiras. An outspoken Venizelist and Republican, he was again removed from the Army, along with many Republicans, in the aftermath of another failed Venizelist coup two years later. Subsequently, the

monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, reigns as head of state for the rest of their life, or until abdication. The extent of the authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutio ...

was restored, and eventually a conservative dictatorship was established in Greece by General

Ioannis Metaxas Ioannis Metaxas (; 12 April 187129 January 1941) was a Greek military officer and politician who was dictator of Greece from 1936 until his death in 1941. He governed constitutionally for the first four months of his tenure, and thereafter as th ...

. During this period, and the Axis Occupation that followed, Othonaios remained in Greece, but engaged in no political activity. After Liberation in October 1944, he was placed as nominal commander-in-chief because of his democratic credentials, but the virulent political atmosphere, which soon led to the

Greek Civil War The Greek Civil War () took place from 1946 to 1949. The conflict, which erupted shortly after the end of World War II, consisted of a Communism, Communist-led uprising against the established government of the Kingdom of Greece. The rebels decl ...

, forced him to permanently resign in 1945.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Othonaios, Alexandros 1870s births 1970 deaths 20th-century prime ministers of Greece People from East Mani Eastern Orthodox Christians from Greece Ministers of military affairs of Greece Hellenic Army lieutenant generals Greek military personnel of World War I Greek military personnel of the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) Greek military personnel of the Macedonian Struggle Greek military personnel of the Russian Civil War