Konstantinos Logothetopoulos (; 1878 – 6 July 1961) was a distinguished

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 ...

medical doctor who became

Prime Minister of Greece The prime minister of the Hellenic Republic (), usually referred to as the prime minister of Greece (), is the head of government of the Greece, Hellenic Republic and the leader of the Cabinet of Greece, Greek Cabinet. The officeholder's of ...

, directing the Greek collaborationist government during the

Axis occupation of 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 ...

during

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 ...

Early life

Logothetopoulos was born in

Nafplion Nafplio or Nauplio () is a coastal city located in the Peloponnese in Greece. It is the capital of the regional unit of Argolis and an important tourist destination. Founded in antiquity, the city became an important seaport in the Middle Ages du ...

in 1878.

Education and career

Logothetopoulos studied medicine in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

and remained in the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

, practicing and teaching medicine until 1910, at which time he relocated to

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

. In Greece, he founded a private clinic and served in both the

First Balkan War The First Balkan War lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and involved actions of the Balkan League (the Kingdoms of Kingdom of Bulgaria, Bulgaria, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Greece, Greece and Kingdom of Montenegro, Montenegro) agai ...

(1912–1913) and the

Second Balkan War The Second Balkan War was a conflict that broke out when Kingdom of Bulgaria, Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia and Kingdom of Greece, Greece, on 1 ...

(1913) as a doctor. He was discharged in 1916, resuming private medical practice until 1922 when he was again conscripted during the Greco-Turkish War to serve in the Army Hospital of Athens. After the end of the war in 1922, Logothetopoulos became professor of

gynaecology Gynaecology or gynecology (see American and British English spelling differences) is the area of medicine concerned with conditions affecting the female reproductive system. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, which focuses on pre ...

at the

National and Kapodistrian University of Athens The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; , ''Ethnikó kai Kapodistriakó Panepistímio Athinón''), usually referred to simply as the University of Athens (UoA), is a public university in Athens, Greece, with various campuses alo ...

. Eventually he became Dean of the University. During his tenure at the university, he taught and assisted many young doctors in their studies including future politician Grigoris Lambrakis. When Greece capitulated to

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

after the "

Battle of Greece The German invasion of Greece or Operation Marita (), were the attacks on Greece by Italy and Germany during World War II. The Italian invasion in October 1940, which is usually known as the Greco-Italian War, was followed by the German invasi ...

" during

, Logothetopoulos, who spoke the

German language German (, ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western Europe, Western and Central Europe. It is the majority and Official language, official (or co-official) language in Germany, Austria, Switze ...

fluently, had been the chairman of the Greek-German Council and was married to the niece of

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

Wilhelm List, was appointed Vice President and Minister of Education in the first collaborationist government of Gen. Georgios Tsolakoglou. After Tsolakoglou was removed from office, he served as Prime Minister between 2 December 1942 and 7 April 1943, when he was replaced by Ioannis Rallis. His short tenure was marked by the start of the deportation of Greek Jewry, in which he played an ambiguous role. When the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

left Greece in 1944, Logothetopoulos went with them to Nazi Germany. He lived with his wife and daughter in the small Bavarian town of Vilshofen an der Donau, where he practiced medicine.Markos Vallianatos, Eventually he was captured by the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

which surrendered him to Greek authorities in 1946. He was tried and convicted of collaborating with the enemy and initially sentenced to

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence (law), sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life impr ...

, but was released in 1951.

Death

Logothetopoulos died in Athens on 6 July 1961.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Logothetopoulos, Konstantinos 1878 births 1961 deaths 20th-century prime ministers of Greece 20th-century Greek physicians Greek collaborators with Nazi Germany Greek fascists Greek people of World War II World War II political leaders People convicted of treason against Greece Greek prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Greece Academic staff of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens People from Nafplion 1942 in Greece 1943 in Greece