Ioannis Gennimatas (; 1910–1981) 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 who rose to the rank of

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

and the post of Chief of the

Hellenic Army General Staff The Hellenic Army General Staff () is the general staff of the Hellenic Army, the terrestrial component of the Greek Armed Forces. It was established in 1904. Since 1950, the HAGS is subordinated to the Hellenic National Defence General Staff. T ...

in 1964–65. An ardently right-wing and royalist officer, he is notable for his involvement against the

Centre 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 ...

party in the 1960s, which led to the political crisis of July 1965.

Life

Ioannis Gennimatas was born in

Gytheio Gytheio ( ) or Gythio, also the ancient Gythium or Gytheion (), is a town on the eastern shore of the Mani Peninsula, and a former municipality in Laconia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is par ...

Laconia Laconia or Lakonia (, , ) is a historical and Administrative regions of Greece, administrative region of Greece located on the southeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Its administrative capital is Sparti (municipality), Sparta. The word ...

, in 1910. He 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 as a second lieutenant on 23 July 1930. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1934 and captain in 1937. He fought in 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 during the attempts to halt the

German invasion of Greece The German invasion of Greece or Operation Marita (), were the attacks on Kingdom of Greece, Greece by Kingdom of Italy, Italy and Nazi Germany, Germany during World War II. The Italian invasion in October 1940, which is usually known as the Gr ...

in April 1941. In August 1944 he fled from

occupied Greece The occupation of Greece by the Axis Powers () began in April 1941 after Nazi Germany Battle of Greece, invaded the Kingdom of Greece in order to assist its ally, Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Italy, in their Greco-Italian War, ongoing war that w ...

to the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

, where he joined the armed forces of the

Greek government in exile The Greek government-in-exile was formed in 1941, in the aftermath of the Battle of Greece and the subsequent occupation of Greece by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. The government-in-exile was based first in South Africa, then London, then, fi ...

as a company commander. In 1945, he was promoted to Major and fought 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 ...

as company and battalion commander, ending the war with the rank of lieutenant colonel and as chief of staff of the 36th Brigade. Subsequently he served as commander of the

5/42 Evzone Regiment The 5/42 Evzone Regiment "Delvinaki" () is an active infantry unit of the Hellenic Army. It was established in 1913 as an elite regiment of Evzones, recruited in Central Greece (geographic region), Central Greece and headquartered in Lamia (city), ...

, was promoted to colonel (1953) and became commanding officer of the

Greek Expeditionary Force in Korea The Greek Expeditionary Force (GEF) in Korea (; romanized: Ekstrateftikon Soma Ellados, abbreviated ΕΚΣΕ) was formed in response to the United Nations United Nations Security Council Resolution 82, appeal for assistance in the Korean War. It c ...

(1954). He then commanded the 3rd Infantry Regiment and the 2nd Infantry Division, taught at the War Academy and served as its commander, before rising to First Deputy Chief of the General Staff and later CO of the II Army Corps. In 1960 he was promoted to major general and in 1962 to lieutenant general. Gennimatas was widely regarded as an enemy of the

, and had been involved in the allegations of massive fraud in the 1961 parliamentary elections. After the Centre Union achieved a major victory in the

November 1963 The following events occurred in November 1963: November 1, 1963 (Friday) *At 1:15 p.m. in Saigon, three Marine battalions of South Vietnam began their seizure of communications throughout the capital city, taking control of the city's r ...

and February 1964 elections, its leader,

Georgios Papandreou Georgios Papandreou (, ''Geórgios Papandréou''; 13 February 1888 – 1 November 1968) was a Greek politician, the founder of the Papandreou political dynasty. He served three terms as the prime minister of Greece (1944–1945, 1963, 1964 ...

, favoured Lt General Andreas Siapkaras for the powerful post of Chief of the General Staff. Nevertheless, Gennimatas was chosen as the new Chief of the Army General Staff on 19 April 1964, as part of a tacit agreement between Papandreou and King Constantine II that had allowed Papandreou to accede to the premiership in exchange for not interfering with the King's control over the armed forces. In June 1965, however, Papandreou tried to solidify his control over the armed forces and planned to dismiss Gennimatas. This move was vehemently opposed by the King, but also by Papandreou's own Defence Minister, Petros Garoufalias, and led to a major rift between Papandreou and the Palace. The political crisis culminated in the "

Iouliana ''Iouliana'' (, "July events"), also ''Apostasia'' (, "Apostasy") or the Royal Coup ( ''To Vasiliko Praxikopima''), are terms used to describe the political crisis in Greece centered on the resignation, on 15 July 1965, of Prime Minister Georgios ...

" of 1965 – the defection of several Centre Union MPs, the dismissal of Papandreou and his replacement by a series of Palace-supported governments. The crisis deepened the rift in Greek society between progressive/republican factions and the conservative/monarchical establishment, and led to the establishment of the

Greek military junta of 1967–74 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 ...

. Gennimatas himself retired from his post and from the Army on 8 October 1965, and died in 1981.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gennimatas, Ioannis 1910s births 1981 deaths Greek monarchists Hellenic Army lieutenant generals Chiefs of the Hellenic Army General Staff Recipients of the Cross of Valour (Greece) People from East Mani