Odysseas Angelis (; 12 February 1912 – 22 March 1987) was a Greek nationalist military officer of the Artillery eg. Number 19386 He reached the rank of four star General and served as Chief of the Greek Armed Forces and Vice President of the Hellenic Republic. He supported the military regime that was established on April 21, 1967. General Aggelis was born on 12 February 1912, in a hut next to the chapel of Agia Anna in the village of

Halia Halia or Halie (Ancient Greek: Ἁλίη or Ἁλία ''Haliê'' means 'the dweller in the sea' or 'the briney'Banep. 172/ref>) is the name of the following characters in Greek mythology: * Halie, the "ox-eyed" Nereid, sea-nymph daughter of the ...

(now called Drosia) in the prefecture of Euboea. He committed suicide by hanging on March 22, 1987, in

Korydallos Prison Korydallos Prison Complex is Greece's largest jail and contains the country's main maximum-security prison (Type B), housing both maximum-security men and women. It is located in Korydallos, Piraeus. Famous detainees include members of the left ...

, cell no 48, where he was serving sentence. His funeral took place at the Agioi Theodoroi cemetery in Ano Steni, Euboea (the village he grew up) and was buried in a modest grave in line with his request. He was not married and had no descendants.

Biography

Early career

Angelis was born in the village of

Steni Steni may refer to: Places * Steni, Paphos, village in the Paphos District of Cyprus * Steni Dirfyos, village on Euboea island, Greece * Steni Vala, village on the Greek island of Alonnisos People * Antonella Steni (1926 –2016), Italian ...

on the island of

Euboea Euboea ( ; , ), also known by its modern spelling Evia ( ; , ), is the second-largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete, and the sixth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is separated from Boeotia in mainland Greece by ...

in 1912. After completing his studies 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 ...

, he was sworn in as an Artillery Second Lieutenant on 2 August 1934. Promoted to Lieutenant in 1937 and Captain in 1940, he participated 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 ...

as a

mountain artillery Mountain guns are artillery pieces designed for mountain warfare and other areas where wheeled transport is not possible. They are generally capable of being taken apart to make smaller loads for transport by horses, humans, mules, tractors, or t ...

battery commander. Following the German invasion and 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 ...

, in 1943 Angelis fled the country and joined the

Greek Armed Forces in the Middle East After the fall of Greece to the Axis powers in April–May 1941, elements of the Greek Armed Forces managed to escape to the British-controlled Middle East. There they were placed under the Greek government in exile, and continued the fight alon ...

, where he commanded an anti-aircraft battery. After the liberation of Greece he was promoted to Major in 1946, 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 ...

in 1948 and 1949 as an artillery battalion commander. After the end of the civil war, he served in various artillery commands and completed courses at the Superior War School and the National Defence School. He served in the

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

headquarters at

İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...

, as aide-de-camp to King Paul, professor at the Superior War School, chief of staff of the 9th Infantry Division, commandant of the Artillery School, Director of the 2nd Staff Bureau at 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 ...

, chief of staff of ASDEN, and deputy commander and commander of the 5th Infantry Division. He was promoted to Lt. Colonel in 1950, Colonel in 1958, Brigadier in 1960, and Major General in 1965. In 1967 he was promoted to Lt. General and Deputy Chief of the

Hellenic National Defence General Staff The Hellenic National Defence General Staff (, abbr. ΓΕΕΘΑ) is the senior staff of the Hellenic Armed Forces. It was established in 1950, when the separate armed services ministries were consolidated into the Ministry of National Defence. ...

, a post he held at the time of the coup d'état of 21 April 1967.

Under the Papadopoulos Dictatorship

After the establishment of the military regime, he was appointed Chief of the Army General Staff on 22 April 1967. He was responsible, at least officially, for the Army Decree Nr. 13, which banned the musical works of

Mikis Theodorakis Michail "Mikis" Theodorakis ( ; 29 July 1925 – 2 September 2021) was a Greek composer and lyricist credited with over 1,000 works. He scored for the films '' Zorba the Greek'' (1964), '' Z'' (1969), and '' Serpico'' (1973). He was a three-ti ...

. On 21 April 1967 Angelis passed a series of laws limiting protest, including a ban on public gatherings of more than five people, a ban on all private gatherings of a political nature, a ban on propaganda against the generals and a ban on civilians holding guns. During the failed royal counter-coup of 13 December 1967, Angelis remained loyal to Papadopoulos, and assumed, in addition to his post as head of the army, the position of Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff. On 19 December 1968, he assumed command of the newly formed Armed Forces Headquarters (Αρχηγείο Ενόπλων Δυνάμεων). He was promoted to full General in 1970, and retired from the army on 16 August 1973. Personally loyal to

Georgios Papadopoulos Georgios Papadopoulos (; ; 5 May 1919 – 27 June 1999) was a Greek military officer and dictator who led a coup d'etat in Greece in 1967 and became the country's Prime Minister from 1967 to 1973. He also was the President of Greece under th ...

, Angelis was chosen by the latter as his

Vice President A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

during the planned transition to democratisation. Greece was declared a Presidential Republic on the first of June 1973 and, following a referendum which took place on 29 July 1973, Papadopoulos got sworn in as President and Angelis as Vice President. Angelis served in this post until 25 November 1973, when Papadopoulos lost power to a hardliner coup.

Trial and imprisonment

Following the restoration of democratic rule in 1974, in the 1975 Junta Trials, he was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for

high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its d ...

and

mutiny Mutiny is a revolt among a group of people (typically of a military or a crew) to oppose, change, or remove superiors or their orders. The term is commonly used for insubordination by members of the military against an officer or superior, ...

. Angelis committed suicide in his cell in the

on 22 March 1987.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Angelis, Odysseas 1912 births 1987 suicides 20th-century Greek military personnel Chiefs of the Hellenic Army General Staff Chiefs of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff Greek fascists Leaders of the Greek junta Greek military personnel of the Greek Civil War Greek military personnel of World War II Greek military personnel who died by suicide Greek people who died in prison custody Hellenic Army generals Vice presidents of Greece Suicides in Greece People who died by suicide in prison custody People convicted of treason against Greece Prisoners who died in Greek detention People from Euboea (regional unit)