Dimitiris Vlantas (; 1908 – 1985) was the secretary of the

Communist Party of Greece The Communist Party of Greece ( el, Κομμουνιστικό Κόμμα Ελλάδας, ''Kommounistikó Kómma Elládas'', KKE) is a political party in Greece. Founded in 1918 as the Socialist Labour Party of Greece and adopted its curre ...

(KKE) in Crete from 1944 to 1946, and general in charge of the communist-led

Democratic Army of Greece The Democratic Army of Greece (DAG; el, Δημοκρατικός Στρατός Ελλάδας - ΔΣΕ, Dimokratikós Stratós Elládas - DSE) was the army founded by the Communist Party of Greece during the Greek Civil War (1946–1949). At ...

during the Grammos and Vitsi battles at the end of the

Greek Civil War The Greek Civil War ( el, ο Eμφύλιος �όλεμος ''o Emfýlios'' 'Pólemos'' "the Civil War") took place from 1946 to 1949. It was mainly fought against the established Kingdom of Greece, which was supported by the United Kingdom ...

Early life

Dimitris Vlantas, aka Dimitris Vlandas, was born in 1908 in Marathos, Crete. From a young age, he joined the

Communist Youth of Greece The Communist Youth of Greece ( el, Κομμουνιστική Νεολαία Ελλάδας ''Kommounistiki Neolea Elladas'', KNE) is the youth wing of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE). It publishes the monthly newspaper ''Odigitis'' (Greek: � ...

(OKNE).In 1924 he entered the central committee of the OKNE and in 1932 enters its politburo.

Political activity in Greece

Having been spotted by

Nikos Zachariadis Nikos Zachariadis ( el, Νίκος Ζαχαριάδης; 27 April 1903 – 1 August 1973) was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) from 1931 to 1956, and one of the most important personalities in the Greek Civil War. Ear ...

he joined a select number of high potential officials. In 1936, the

Ioannis Metaxas Ioannis Metaxas (; el, Ιωάννης Μεταξάς; 12th April 187129th January 1941) was a Greek military officer and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Greece from 1936 until his death in 1941. He governed constitutionally for t ...

regime outlawed the

and Dimitris Vlantas was imprisoned at

Nafplio Nafplio ( ell, Ναύπλιο) is a coastal city located in the Peloponnese in Greece and it is the capital of the regional unit of Argolis and an important touristic destination. Founded in antiquity, the city became an important seaport in the ...

. He escaped jail in 1940. In 1947 he became a member of the

's Politburo. In January 1948 he was named Agriculture minister in the communist-led

Provisional Democratic Government The Provisional Democratic Government (Greek: Προσωρινή Δημοκρατική Κυβέρνηση, ''Prosoriní Dimokratikí Kyvérnisi'') was the name of the administration declared by the Communist Party of Greece on 24 December 1947, du ...

during the

Civil War

During the last phase of the civil war, Zachariadis and Vlantas regrouedp the remaining forces in the strongholds of Grammos and Vitsi, commanded by Dimitris Vlantas. This strategy was negatively viewed by Enver Hoxha as he tells in his 4th Meeting with

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...

where he mentions: "Comrade Vlantas held that the enemy would direct the main blow against Gramos and not against Vitsi, because 'Gramos is less fortified, as it is situated on the border with Albania, and the enemy, after defeating us there, will turn back to attack us at Vitsi, because it thinks it can annihilate us there, since it borders on Yugoslavia. After fighting at Gramos and inflicting great losses on the enemy, we shall manoeuvre with our forces from Gramos in order to attack the enemy forces at Vitsi from the rear."

Post-war

After the war, he went in exile in Romania, first in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north ...

then in Rimnicu Vilcea. He lived there with his wife Eleni, his daughter Eugenia and his son Georges Vlandas, who is President of the European Commission Trade Union ' Union for Unity' (U4U) and lives in Brussels. His grandsons, Alexis Vlandas and Tim Vlandas, are both academics in France and the UK, respectively. He fled Romania for France in 1967 where he was joined by his family in 1968. In 1983, he donated his archives to the Bibliothèque d'Histoire Contemporaine of the

University of Nanterre Paris Nanterre University (French: ''Université Paris Nanterre''), formerly Paris-X and commonly referred to as Nanterre, is a public university, public research university based in Nanterre, Paris, France. It is one of the most prestigious Fren ...

. They can be accessed through the Bibliothèque Nationale website.Unknown
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References

External links

*War diaries 1947-194

*Vlandas Archive at the Bibliothèque Nationale website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vlantas, Dimitris 1908 births 1985 deaths People from Heraklion (regional unit) International Lenin School alumni Democratic Army of Greece personnel Exiles of the Greek Civil War Burials in Athens Politicians from Heraklion Communist Party of Greece politicians Prisoners and detainees of Greece Escapees from Greek detention National Liberation Front (Greece) members Greek expatriates in Romania Greek expatriates in France Crete in World War II