Georgios Katechakis (; 1881–1939) was a

Hellenic Army The Hellenic Army (, sometimes abbreviated as ΕΣ), formed in 1828, is the army, land force of Greece. The term Names of the Greeks, '' Hellenic'' is the endogenous synonym for ''Greek''. The Hellenic Army is the largest of the three branches ...

officer and politician. He distinguished himself with his participation 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 ...

under 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 ...

''Kapetan'' Rouvas (Καπετάν Ρούβας) in 1904–1905. An ardent

Venizelist Venizelism () was one of the major political movements in Greece beginning from the 1910s. The movement first formed under Eleftherios Venizelos in the 1910s and saw a resurgence of support in the 1960s when Georgios Papandreou united a coaliti ...

, he participated in the

Movement of National Defence The Provisional Government of National Defence (), also known as the State of Thessaloniki (Κράτος της Θεσσαλονίκης), was a parallel administration, set up in the city of Thessaloniki by former Prime Minister Eleftherios Ven ...

. After his retirement from the army with the rank of Major General, he entered politics, being elected into the

Greek Parliament The Parliament of the Hellenes (), commonly known as the Hellenic Parliament (), is the unicameral legislature of Greece, located in the Old Royal Palace, overlooking Syntagma Square in Athens. The parliament is the supreme democratic instit ...

and the

Greek Senate The Greek Senate () was the upper chamber of the parliament in Greece, extant several times in the country's history. Local senates during the War of Independence During the early stages of the Greek War of Independence, prior to the establish ...

. He also served three times as Minister for Military Affairs and as

Governor-General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

for

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 ...

(1922–1923) and for

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

(1928–1930).

Early life and military career

Georgios Katechakis was born in the village of Pompia, in then Ottoman-controlled Crete. His father was Antonios Katechakis, one of the main leaders of the

Cretan Revolt of 1866–1869 Crete ( ; , Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and Corsica. Crete is locat ...

. The elder Katechakis also participated in the uprisings of 1878, 1889 and 1896 and was repeatedly elected to the Cretan Parliament until his death. Georgios Katechakis entered the

Hellenic Army 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 Ioa ...

and graduated in 1902, being commissioned into the

on 6 July 1902 with the rank of a Lieutenant of Infantry. He was one of the first officers to volunteer for the

against the

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

n-sponsored

Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO; ; ), was a secret revolutionary society founded in the Ottoman territories in Europe, that operated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Founded in 1893 in Salonica, it initia ...

(IMRO). Under the pseudonym of "K''apetan''

Rouvas Rouvas () is a former municipality in the Heraklion regional unit, Crete, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Gortyn Gortyn, Gortys or Gortyna (, , or , ) is a municipality, and an archaeological sit ...

", he led an armed band in the regions of

Grevena Grevena (, ''Grevená'' ; ) is a town and Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in Western Macedonia, northern Greece, capital of the Grevena (regional unit), Grevena regional unit. The town's current population is 12,515 citizen ...

Kastoria Kastoria (, ''Kastoriá'' ) is a city in northern Greece in the modern regions of Greece, region of Western Macedonia. It is the capital of Kastoria (regional unit), Kastoria regional unit, in the Geographic regions of Greece, geographic region ...

and Monastir. He returned to Greece in 1908, and was dispatched to Crete to assist in the establishment of a local national guard. By the time 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 ...

broke out in 1912, he had risen to the rank of captain. He participated in the wars as leader of various Cretan volunteer corps, fighting both in

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

and in

Epirus Epirus () is a Region#Geographical regions, geographical and historical region, historical region in southeastern Europe, now shared between Greece and Albania. It lies between the Pindus Mountains and the Ionian Sea, stretching from the Bay ...

. In 1914, promoted to major, he was assigned as chief of staff to the 11th Infantry Division in

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

. From there he participated in the

National Defence uprising in August 1916, that led to the establishment of a parallel, pro-

Entente Entente, meaning a diplomatic "understanding", may refer to a number of agreements: History * Entente (alliance), a type of treaty or military alliance where the signatories promise to consult each other or to cooperate with each other in case o ...

government in northern Greece under

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 ...

. He initially served as director of personnel in the National Defence government's Ministry of Military Affairs, and in 1917 he was assigned as chief of staff to the newly raised

National Defence Army Corps The Army of National Defence () was the military force of the Provisional Government of National Defence, a pro- Allied government led by Eleftherios Venizelos in Thessaloniki in 1916–17, against the royal government of King Constantine I in A ...

, which fought 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 ...

. Following the end of the

First World War 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 ...

, in 1919 he was sent to

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 ...

as head of the Greek military delegation there, a post he held until he was dismissed from the army, with the rank of major general, following the electoral victory of the anti-Venizelist royalist parties in November 1920. Katechakis was recalled to active duty in September 1922, following the Greek defeat in the

Asia Minor Campaign Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

and the Venizelist-led

September 1922 Revolution The 11 September 1922 Revolution () was an uprising by the Greek army and navy against the government in Athens, which installed a "Revolutionary Committee" in its place. The uprising took place on 24 September 1922, although the date was "11 Sep ...

. He was placed by the revolutionary government as

(where a recommencement of hostilities with the Turks was expected should peace negotiations in

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

fail), remaining at the post until after the signing of the

Treaty of Lausanne The Treaty of Lausanne (, ) is a peace treaty negotiated during the Lausanne Conference of 1922–1923 and signed in the Palais de Rumine in Lausanne, Switzerland, on 24 July 1923. The treaty officially resolved the conflict that had initially ...

in 1923 when he retired from military service.

Political career

In the December 1923 elections, Katechakis was elected to the National Assembly representing Heraklion Prefecture. He served as Minister for Military Affairs in the short-lived

Themistoklis Sofoulis Themistoklis Sofoulis or Sophoulis (; 24 November 1860 – 24 June 1949) was a prominent centrist and liberal Greek politician from Samos Island, who served three times as Prime Minister of Greece, with the Liberal Party, which he led for many ...

cabinet (25 July – 7 October 1924). On 10 March 1928, he was appointed to the post of Governor-General of Crete, which was raised to the rank of a cabinet minister, a post he retained until 22 December 1930 under the premierships of

Alexandros Zaimis Alexandros Zaimis (, Romanization, romanized: ''Aléxandros Zaímis''; 28 October 1855 – 15 September 1936) was a Greeks, Greek politician who served as Greece's Prime Minister of Greece, Prime Minister, Minister of the Interior (Greece), Minist ...

and Venizelos. In the meantime, in April 1929 Katechakis was

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population ch ...

to the

. On 22 December 1930, Katechakis was appointed by Venizelos as Minister for Military Affairs, a post he held until the resignation of the Venizelos cabinet on 26 May 1932. Katechakis served for a third time as Minister for Military Affairs in the short-lived 1933 Venizelos cabinet. Georgios Katechakis died on 22 April 1939.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Katechakis, Georgios 1880s births 1939 deaths Eastern Orthodox Christians from Greece Hellenic Army major generals Greek military personnel of the Balkan Wars 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 Greek MPs 1924–1925 Members of the Greek Senate 1929–1932 Governors-general of Crete Governors-general of Thrace People from Heraklion (regional unit) Military personnel from Crete