Emmanouil or Manolis Mantakas (,

Lakkoi Lakkoi (), commonly spelled Lakki on road signs and maps, is a village on the Greece, Greek island of Crete in the foothills of the Lefka Ori (White Mountains). The village is situated on the road between Chania and the plateau of Omalos which l ...

, 1891 –

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 ...

, 1968) 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 officer who rose to the rank of major general, and who became a leader in the Greek Resistance and a politician.

Biography

He was born in

Chania Chania (, , ), also sometimes romanization of Greek, romanized as Hania, is a city in Greece and the capital of the Chania (regional unit), Chania regional unit. It lies along the north west coast of the island Crete, about west of Rethymno ...

in 1891 and joined the

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 ...

in 1910. He fought in 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 ...

and took part 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 ...

. He studied as a staff officer in the ''

École Supérieure de Guerre École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * Éco ...

'' and fought 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 ...

. A staunch republican, he was dismissed from the Army after the royalist coup of 1 October 1935, and took part in the abortive 1938 uprising in Chania against the dictatorial

Metaxas Regime Metaxās or Metaxa may refer to: Places * Metaxas Line, fortifications in northeastern Greece in 1935–1940 * Metaxas, Greece, a village in the Greek region of Macedonia * Metaxas Regime or 4th of August Regime, a short-lived authoritarian reg ...

. 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 ...

he became a leader in the

Cretan Resistance The Cretan resistance (, ) was a resistance movement against the occupying forces of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy by the residents of the Greek island of Crete during World War II. Part of the larger Greek resistance, it lasted from 20 May 19 ...

and joined the Communist-controlled National Liberation Front and the

Greek People's Liberation Army The Greek People's Liberation Army (, ''Ellinikós Laïkós Apeleftherotikós Stratós''; ELAS) was the military arm of the left-wing National Liberation Front (EAM) during the period of the Greek resistance until February 1945, when, followi ...

resistance groups. He also served in the EAM-organized government of "Free Greece", the

Political Committee of National Liberation The Political Committee of National Liberation (, ''Politiki Epitropi Ethnikis Apeleftherosis'', PEEA), commonly known as the "Mountain Government" (, ''Kivernisi tou Vounou''), was a Communist Party-dominated government established in Greece ...

, as secretary for military affairs and later as its vice-president, and was elected a deputy for

Piraeus Prefecture Piraeus Prefecture () was one of the prefectures of Greece. Created in 1964 as a separate Prefecture (Νομός) and after the dissolution of the prefecture in 1972 was one of the 4 prefectures (Νομαρχίες) of Attica prefecture, and fro ...

in the PEEA's parliament, the "National Council". Due to his communist affiliation, he was exiled to

Makronisos Makronisos (, lit. ''Long Island''), or Makronisi, is an island in the Aegean Sea, in Greece, notorious as the site of a political prison from the 1920s to the 1970s. It is located close to the coast of Attica, facing the port of Lavrio. The isl ...

in 1947–1949, during 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 ...

, but after his release was elected as an MP for

with the Democratic Alignment in the

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 ...

and with the

United Democratic Left The United Democratic Left (, ΕΔΑ; ''Eniéa Dimokratikí Aristerá'', EDA) was a left-wing political party in Greece, active mostly before the Greek junta of 1967–1974. Foundation The party was founded in July 1951 by prominent center-left ...

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...

References

1891 births 1968 deaths People from Chania (regional unit) People from Ottoman Crete Democratic Alignment politicians United Democratic Left politicians Greek MPs 1950–1951 Greek MPs 1951–1952 Hellenic Army major generals Greek military personnel of World War I Greek military personnel of the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) National Liberation Front (Greece) members People of the Greek Civil War Greek prisoners and detainees Knights of the Legion of Honour Greek communists Republicans Military personnel from Crete Politicians from Crete {{Greece-mil-bio-stub