Theodoros Degiannis (, 1926–2006) was a Greek admiral and 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. ...

. He also served as the Minister of National Defence in the

Caretaker Cabinet of Ioannis Grivas The Caretaker Cabinet of Ioannis Grivas was the Cabinet of the government of Greece for the period 12 October–23 November 1989. It was sworn in on 12 October 1989 when the government of Tzannis Tzannetakis completed its work. The outgoing chai ...

and in the Ecumenical Cabinet of Xenophon Zolotas. He was born in 1926 in

Chalcis Chalcis (; Ancient Greek and Katharevousa: , ), also called Chalkida or Halkida (Modern Greek: , ), is the chief city of the island of Euboea or Evia in Greece, situated on the Euripus Strait at its narrowest point. The name is preserved from ...

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 1948 he graduated from the

Hellenic Naval Academy The Hellenic Naval Cadets Academy (, abbr. ΣΝΔ, lit. "School of Naval Cadets") is a military university that is responsible for educating and training competent naval officers for the Hellenic Navy. Founded in 1845, the academy is one of the o ...

and later continued his studies in other academies, including taking the Senior Officers' War Course at the

Royal Naval College, Greenwich The Royal Naval College, Greenwich, was a Royal Navy training establishment between 1873 and 1998, providing courses for naval officers. It was the home of the Royal Navy's staff college, which provided advanced training for officers. The equi ...

. During the

Greek military junta of 1967–74 The Greek junta or Regime of the Colonels was a right-wing military junta that ruled Greece from 1967 to 1974. On 21 April 1967, a group of colonels with CIA backing overthrew the caretaker government a month before scheduled elections wh ...

, he was opposed to the regime, like many Navy officers. In 1977 he was promoted to vice admiral. In January 1982 he was appointed as chief of the

by the government of

Andreas Papandreou Andreas Georgiou Papandreou (, ; 5 February 1919 – 23 June 1996) was a Greek academic and economist who founded the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) and served three terms as Prime minister of Greece, prime minister of Third Hellenic Repu ...

, as he was one of the officers considered most trustworthy by the newly elected government of

PASOK The Panhellenic Socialist Movement (, ), known mostly by its acronym PASOK (; , ), is a social democracy, social-democratic List of political parties in Greece, political party in Greece. Until 2012 it was Two-party system, one of the two major ...

. He held the post until December 1984. In October 1989 he became Minister for National Defence in the

. In February 1990 he became again Minister in the Ecumenical Cabinet of Xenophon Zolotas after a Cabinet reshuffle on 13 February 1990. He died in 2006. His brother was Ioannis Degiannis, the presiding judge at the Greek Junta Trials and member of parliament with PASOK. Another brother, Ioannis Degiannis, was also a naval officer and a leading member of the Prometheus II resistance organization 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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Degiannis, Theodoros 1926 births 2006 deaths Hellenic Navy admirals Chiefs of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff Ministers of national defence of Greece People from Chalcis