Pavlos Iosif Gyparis (, 1882 – 22 July 1966) 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 best known as the commander of the personal guard of Prime Minister

Eleftherios Venizelos Eleftherios Kyriakou Venizelos (, ; – 18 March 1936) was a Cretan State, Cretan Greeks, Greek statesman and prominent leader of the Greek national liberation movement. As the leader of the Liberal Party (Greece), Liberal Party, Venizelos ser ...

. He took part in many conflicts, and in 1920 was implicated in the assassination of

Ion Dragoumis Ion Dragoumis (; 14 September 1878 – 31 July 1920) was a Greek diplomat, philosopher, writer and revolutionary. Biography Born in Athens, Dragoumis was the son of Stephanos Dragoumis who was foreign minister under Charilaos Trikoupis. The Dr ...

, a political opponent of Venizelos.

Biography

Born in the Cretan village of

Asi Gonia Asi Gonia () is a mountainous village and a former community in the eastern part of the Chania (regional unit), Chania regional unit in Crete, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Apokoronas, of which it i ...

in 1882, as a young man Gyparis took part in paramilitary activities against Turkish, Bulgarian and Romanian interests during the

Macedonian Struggle The Macedonian Struggle was a series of social, political, cultural and military conflicts that were mainly fought between Greek and Bulgarian subjects who lived in Ottoman Macedonia between 1893 and 1912. From 1904 to 1908 the conflict was p ...

, with great success.Παγκόσμιο Βιογραφικό Λεξικό, Εκδοτική Αθηνών, Αθήνα 1987. Later, during 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 ...

, he organized the liberation of the island of

Samos Samos (, also ; , ) is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese archipelago, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the Mycale Strait. It is also a separate reg ...

from the Ottomans.Παγκόσμιο Βιογραφικό Λεξικό, Εκδοτική Αθηνών, Αθήνα 1987. In 1915, he organized a volunteer corps of Cretans that fought for France in

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

. After Greece's entry into

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he fought in the

Macedonian front The Macedonian front, also known as the Salonica front (after Thessaloniki), was a military theatre of World War I formed as a result of an attempt by the Allied Powers to aid Serbia, in the autumn of 1915, against the combined attack of Germa ...

in 1917-18. In 1920, during a time when the political situation in Greece was extremely polarized between supporters of Prime Minister

on the one hand, and supporters of the Royal Family on the other, Gyparis was accused of organizing a paramilitary force, the so-called "Democratic Security Battalions", that murdered

, one of Venizelos' fiercest political rivals.Παγκόσμιο Βιογραφικό Λεξικό, Εκδοτική Αθηνών, Αθήνα 1987. However, this was never proven in court. 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 ...

he fled 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 ...

and joined the 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, ...

. 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 ...

, Gyparis was active in his home island of

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

, fighting against the communists. He was also elected an MP with the party of

Sofoklis Venizelos Sofoklis Venizelos (; 3 November 1894 – 7 February 1964) was a Greek politician who served three times as Prime Minister of Greece: in 1944 (in exile), 1950 and 1950–1951. Life and career Venizelos was born on 3 November 1894 in Chania, ...

, the son of Eleftherios. He died in 1966 and he stayed at Ampelokipoi, Athens.

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 ...

praised him as a fighter for democracy on the side of Venizelos.Έθνος, 24 Ιουλίου 1966

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gyparis, Pavlos 1882 births 1966 deaths People from Chania (regional unit) Greek people of the Macedonian Struggle Greek military personnel of the Balkan Wars Greek military personnel of World War I Greek anti-communists Hellenic Army officers Members of the Hellenic Parliament Eleftherios Venizelos Greek military personnel of World War II Date of birth missing Place of death missing Military personnel from Crete