Air Chief Marshal Air chief marshal (Air Chf Mshl or ACM) is a high-ranking air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries that have historical British i ...

Ioannis Giangos (; born 1951) is a retired

Greek Air Force The Hellenic Air Force (HAF; , sometimes abbreviated as ΠΑ) is the air force of Greece (''Hellenic'' being the endonym for ''Greek'' in the Greek language). It is considered to be one of the largest air forces in NATO, and is globally placed 1 ...

officer and a former Chief of the National Defense General Staff 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 ...

. He served as an interim Minister for National Defence in the

Caretaker Cabinet of Vassiliki Thanou-Christophilou The Caretaker Cabinet of Vassiliki Thanou-Christophilou was formed following the resignation of the Syriza-ANEL coalition government on 20 August 2015, and the failure of opposition parties to form their own government. The cabinet was headed ...

Career

Ioannis Giangos was born in December 1951 in

Trikala Trikala () is a city in northwestern Thessaly, Greece, and the capital of the Trikala (regional unit), Trikala regional unit. The city straddles the Lithaios river, which is a tributary of Pineios (Thessaly), Pineios. According to the Greek Natio ...

Thessaly Thessaly ( ; ; ancient Aeolic Greek#Thessalian, Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic regions of Greece, geographic and modern administrative regions of Greece, administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient Thessaly, a ...

. He attended the Greek Air Force Academy and graduated in 1974 as a pilot officer. His initial assignment was in the 117 Combat Wing stationed at Andravida Air force Base, as an

F-4 Phantom II The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber that was developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and Bower ...

aircraft pilot. During his career as a command pilot he served as fighter squadron and tactical fighter wing commander in several units of the Greek Air Force, with more than 4,200 flying hours in a variety of aircraft, 3,000 of which in F-4 and

F-16 The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it e ...

C/D fighter jets. He is an alumnus of various military schools both in Greece and abroad. Air Chief Marshal Giangos served as Staff Officer in the plans and policy branch at the

Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe The Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) is the military headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Allied Command Operations (ACO) that commands all NATO operations worldwide. SHAPE is situated in the villag ...

(SHAPE) in

Mons Mons commonly refers to: * Mons, Belgium, a city in Belgium * Mons pubis (mons Venus or mons veneris), in mammalian anatomy, the adipose tissue lying above the pubic bone * Mons (planetary nomenclature), a sizable extraterrestrial mountain * Batt ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

and as Commander of the NATO Combined Air Operations Centre-7, in

Larissa Larissa (; , , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 148,562 in the city proper, according to the 2021 census. It is also the capital of the Larissa ...

, Greece. From January 2007 to August 2009, as Air Marshal, Giangos held the post of Chief of the Hellenic Air Force General Staff. During this period the fighter aircraft fleet of the Greek Air Force was increased to 170, as result of the ' F-16 Fighting Falcon operators#Europe, Peace Xenia IV' purchase program from

Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American Arms industry, defense and aerospace manufacturer with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta on March 15, 1995. It is headquartered in North ...

of 30 additional F-16 Block 52+ aircraft. On August 6, 2009, following a decision of the Government Council for Foreign Affairs and Defense (KYSEA), he was nominated for appointment to the rank of Air Chief Marshal and the office of the Chief of National Defense General Staff. In September 2009, during discussions with

Supreme Allied Commander Europe The Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) is the commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Allied Command Operations (ACO) and head of ACO's headquarters, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE). The commander is ...

, U.S. Admiral

James Stavridis James George Stavridis (born February 15, 1955) is a retired United States Navy admiral and vice chair, global affairs, and a managing director-partner of The Carlyle Group, a global investment firm, and chair of the board of trustees of the Rock ...

, Giangos outlined the country's positions concerning participation of Greece in NATO peace-keeping missions as well as the present situation of the

Aegean dispute The Aegean dispute is a set of interrelated controversies between Greece and Turkey over sovereignty and related rights in the region of the Aegean Sea. This set of conflicts has strongly affected Greek-Turkish relations since the 1970s, an ...

. He held the post until his retirement, on 3 November 2011. Giangos was appointed as the interim Minister for National Defence in the

on 28 August 2015. He served until the legislative election on 20 September.

Military awards

* Medal of Military Merit 1st Class * Outstanding Command Commendation Medal 1st Class * Grand Cross of the

Order of the Phoenix Order of the Phoenix may refer to: *Order of the Phoenix (Greece), a medal conferred on Greek or foreign citizens * Royal Order of the Phoenix (Tonga), a knighthood order of the Kingdom of Tonga, founded in 2010 *Various uses related to the ''Ha ...

* Grand Commander of the Order of Honour * Staff Officer Commendation Medal 1st Class * Formation – Major Unit Command Commendation Medal 1st Class * General Staff Command Commendation Medal * Star of Merit and Honour Commendation Medal

Personal life

Giangos is married and has three children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Giangos, Ioannis 1951 births Living people People from Trikala Hellenic Air Force air marshals Grand Crosses of the Order of the Phoenix (Greece) Chiefs of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff Ministers of national defence of Greece 20th-century Greek military personnel 21st-century Greek military personnel Chiefs of the Hellenic Air Force General Staff