Ioannis Charalambopoulos (; 10 February 1919 – 16 October 2014) was a
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 ...
Army
An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...
officer (
Colonel
Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...
of the Engineering Corps) and socialist politician who served as
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...
and
Minister of National Defence of
Greece
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
.
Early life and political career
Charalambopoulos was born in 1919 in
Psari,
Oichalia, Messenia
Oichalia () is a village and a municipality in Messenia, Greece
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the north ...
to a military family.
He studied at 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 completed his studies with a scholarship at
Woolwich Polytechnic after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. During the war, he served as the commander of an infantry unit during the
Greco-Italian War
The Greco-Italian War (), also called the Italo-Greek War, Italian campaign in Greece, Italian invasion of Greece, and War of '40 in Greece, took place between Italy and Greece from 28 October 1940 to 23 April 1941. This conflict began the Balk ...
and later in the
Mediterranean and Middle East Theatre
The Mediterranean and Middle East theatre was a major theatre of operations during the Second World War. The vast size of the Mediterranean and Middle East theatre saw interconnected land, naval, and air campaigns fought for control of the Med ...
. He left the army in 1963 with the rank of Colonel and became a politician in the
Center Union
The Centre Union () was a major centrist political party in Greece, created in 1961 by Georgios Papandreou.Clogg, 1987, pp. 39–40
History
The Centre Union was a political party in Greece in the 1960s which held office from 1963 to 1965 and wa ...
, being elected to Parliament representing
Messenia
Messenia or Messinia ( ; ) is a regional unit (''perifereiaki enotita'') in the southwestern part of the Peloponnese region, in Greece. Until the implementation of the Kallikratis plan on 1 January 2011, Messenia was a prefecture (''nomos' ...
in the 1963 and 1964 elections.
During the
Greek military junta of 1967–1974
The Greek junta or Regime of the Colonels was a right-wing military junta that ruled Greece from 1967 to 1974. On 21 April 1967, a group of colonels with CIA backing overthrew the caretaker government a month before scheduled elections wh ...
, Charalambopoulos founded the ''
Democratic National Resistance Movement'', and spent three years in
internal exile for his opposition to the regime. After the
fall of the dictatorship in 1974, Charalambopoulos became a founding member of the
Panhellenic Socialist Movement
The Panhellenic Socialist Movement (, ), known mostly by its acronym PASOK (; , ), is a social-democratic political party in Greece. Until 2012 it was one of the two major parties in the country, along with New Democracy, its main political r ...
, and was elected to Parliament on its lists in all elections from 1974 to 2000, representing the Athens B constituency.
After the
accession of Greece to the EEC on 1 January 1981, he became a provisional member of the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
representing Greece until the country could hold its
first European Parliament elections in October.
On 21 October 1981 he was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs in the first cabinet of
Andreas Papandreou
Andreas Georgiou Papandreou (, ; 5 February 1919 – 23 June 1996) was a Greek academic and economist who founded the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) and served three terms as Prime minister of Greece, prime minister of Third Hellenic Repu ...
and served in the position until 26 July 1985.
He was then appointed
Deputy Prime Minister of Greece
The Deputy Prime Minister of Greece (, "Vice-President of the Government"; older form: Αντιπρόεδρος του Υπουργικού Συμβουλίου, "Vice-President of the Ministerial Council") is the second most senior member o ...
during Papandreou's second term until 18 November 1988, in addition receiving the portfolio of National Defence on 25 April 1986 which he held until 2 July 1989.
Charalambopoulos died on 16 October 2014, at the age of 95.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Charalambopoulos, Ioannis
1919 births
2014 deaths
People from Oichalia, Messenia
Centre Union politicians
PASOK politicians
Deputy prime ministers of Greece
Foreign ministers of Greece
Ministers of national defence of Greece
Greek MPs 1963–1964
Greek MPs 1964–1967
Greek MPs 1974–1977
Greek MPs 1977–1981
Greek MPs 1981–1985
Greek MPs 1985–1989
Greek MPs 1989 (June–November)
Greek MPs 1989–1990
Greek MPs 1990–1993
Greek MPs 1993–1996
Greek MPs 1996–2000
Greek MPs 2000–2004
PASOK MEPs
MEPs for Greece 1981–1984
Greek colonels
Hellenic Army officers
Greek military personnel of World War II
Members of the Panhellenic Liberation Movement
Resistance to the Greek junta