Apostolos Grozos (; 12 June 1892 – 22 June 1981) was a Greek Communist activist, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the

Communist Party of Greece The Communist Party of Greece (, ΚΚΕ; ''Kommounistikó Kómma Elládas'', KKE) is a Marxist–Leninist political party in Greece. It was founded in 1918 as the Socialist Workers' Party of Greece (SEKE) and adopted its current name in Novem ...

from 1957 to 1974, and Honorary Chairman since 1974.

Biography

Grozos was born in

Komotini Komotini (, , ), is a city in the Modern regions of Greece, region of East Macedonia and Thrace, northeastern Greece and its capital. It is also the capital of the Rhodope (regional unit), Rhodope. It was the administrative centre of the Rhodope- ...

Thrace Thrace (, ; ; ; ) is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe roughly corresponding to the province of Thrace in the Roman Empire. Bounded by the Balkan Mountains to the north, the Aegean Sea to the south, and the Black Se ...

(then part of the Adrianople Vilayet of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

) in 1892. He was a

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

worker. From 1914 to 1917 he served in the Greek army as a private. From 1910 he took part in the trade union movement, and in 1920 he joined the Communist Party of Greece. He took part in the leadership of the party organizations of the KKE in Thessaloniki, Macedonia and Corfu. From 1926 to 1935 he was secretary of the executive committee of the Hellenic Tobacco Federation. In 1936 he was elected a member and secretary of the Executive Committee of the Panhellenic Tobacco Federation. Between 1937 and 1943 he was imprisoned and exiled. During World War II, he took part in the struggle against the fascist occupation of Greece. In 1946 he was elected Secretary General of the Panhellenic Tobacco Federation and a member of the National Council of the

General Confederation of Greek Workers The General Confederation of Greek Workers (Greek: Γενική Συνομοσπονδία Εργατων Ελλάδας, Γ.Σ.Ε.Ε, GSEE) is the highest, tertiary trade union body in Greece. It was founded in 1918 and is affiliated with the In ...

. From 1948 to 1949 he worked for the party in the

Democratic Army of Greece The Democratic Army of Greece (DAG; , ΔΣΕ; ''Dimokratikós Stratós Elládas'', DSE) was the army founded by the Communist Party of Greece during the Greek Civil War (1946–1949). At its height, it had a strength of around 50,000 men and w ...

and participated in 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 ...

. On December 30, 1952, at the 4th

Plenary session A plenary session or plenum is a session of a conference or deliberative assembly in which all parties or members are present. Such a session may include a broad range of content, from keynotes to panel discussions, and is not necessarily r ...

, he was elected leader of the KKE's Central Committee Directorate. In 1956, following the deposing of

Nikolaos Zachariadis Nikos Zachariadis (; 27 April 1903 – 1 August 1973) was General Secretary of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) from 1931 to 1956. He was appointed, by order of Stalin and the Comintern, General Secretary of KKE in 1935. He was arrested by th ...

from the position as general secretary, Grozos was appointed temporary leader of the KKE. He was replaced by

Konstantinos Koligiannis Kostas Koligiannis (, July 26, 1909 – September 5, 1979) was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) in exile, from 1956 until 1972. Born in Ellopia, Boeotia, Greece, he studied law at the University of Athens, and was an a ...

in 1958. "Makedonia newspaper"
/ref> Grozos died in 1981 in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

References

Sources

* ''Kathimerini'', 5 January 1953 1892 births 1981 deaths People from Komotini People from Adrianople vilayet Greeks from the Ottoman Empire General secretaries of the Communist Party of Greece Exiles of the Greek Civil War in the Soviet Union {{Greece-politician-stub