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Ioannis Metaxas
Ioannis Metaxas (Greek: Ιωάννης Μεταξάς; 12 April 1871 – 29 January 1941) was a Greek military officer and politician who was the dictator of Greece from 1936 until his death in 1941. He governed constitutionally for the first four months of his tenure, and thereafter as the strongman leader of the 4th of August Regime following his appointment by King George II.
Born to an aristocratic family in Ithaca, Metaxas took part in the Greco-Turkish War of 1897 and the Balkan Wars (1912–13), and quickly rose through the ranks of the Hellenic Army. As a monarchist during the National Schism, Metaxas unsuccessfully opposed Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos and Greece's entry in World War I, most famously leading monarchist forces during the Noemvriana; he was exiled to Corsica in response in 1917. On his return, Metaxas moved into politics and founded the Freethinkers' Party, but had only limited success under the Second Hellenic Republic.
Metaxas was appointed prime minister in April 1936, a year after the Greek monarchy was restored. With the support of King George II, Metaxas initiated a self-coup and established an authoritarian, nationalist, and anti-communist regime, which Metaxas himself and some historians called totalitarian. The ideology and system associated with his rule, Metaxism, has been described as a form of fascism, a conventional authoritarian-conservative dictatorship, or a regime with a strong fascist component.
On 28 October 1940, Metaxas rejected an ultimatum imposed by the Italians to surrender, committing Greece to the Allies and bringing the country into World War II. He died in January 1941 during the Greco–Italian War from a bloodstream infection, before the German invasion and subsequent fall of Greece.
Ioannis Metaxas was born in Ithaca in 1871. His family was inscribed in the Libro d'Oro of the Ionian islands, previously a Venetian possession, while its roots originated in the Byzantine nobility. The Metaxas family were entered into the Libro d'Oro in the 17th century. Metaxas was very proud of his aristocratic family, observing that many ancestors of ordinary Greeks were not notable enough to be included in the Libro d'Oro.
After graduating from the Hellenic Military Academy, he became a career military officer, being sworn in as an Engineers 2nd Lieutenant on 10 August 1890. He first saw action in the Greco-Turkish War of 1897 attached to the staff of the Greek commander-in-chief, Crown Prince Constantine. Metaxas became a protégé of Constantine and much of his rise through the ranks of the Hellenic Army was a consequence of Crown Prince's patronage. Greece was characterized by a clientist system at the time, and a powerful patron in the form of Constantine boosted Metaxas's career.
After the war, he continued his military studies at the Berlin War Academy from 1899 to 1903. Metaxas was very close to Constantine and was personally selected by the Crown Prince to go to Berlin. During his time at the War Academy, Metaxas received consistently high marks from his German instructors with one writing that he was "ein kleiner Moltke" ("a little Moltke" – a reference to Metaxas's short stature). Metaxas's time in Germany made him into an admirer of Prussian militarism.
In his diary in March 1900, he wrote: "I have no other ambition than to fulfill my duty to my king and crown prince ... I consider the king the representative of the past, present and future of the nation. All opposition to him from whatever quarter I reject and find repulsive." Metaxas also expressed his opposition to the "intemperate parliamentarism" of Greece, preferring the authoritarian German system where the Chancellor was responsible to the Emperor, not the Reichstag. On his return in 1904, he joined the newly formed General Staff Corps. He was part of the modernizing process of the Greek Army before the Balkan Wars (1912–13). However, he opposed the Goudi coup. For Metaxas, the coup represented an attack on everything he valued because the Military League behind the coup were opposed to Constantine and the other princes holding positions of command.
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Ioannis Metaxas
Ioannis Metaxas (Greek: Ιωάννης Μεταξάς; 12 April 1871 – 29 January 1941) was a Greek military officer and politician who was the dictator of Greece from 1936 until his death in 1941. He governed constitutionally for the first four months of his tenure, and thereafter as the strongman leader of the 4th of August Regime following his appointment by King George II.
Born to an aristocratic family in Ithaca, Metaxas took part in the Greco-Turkish War of 1897 and the Balkan Wars (1912–13), and quickly rose through the ranks of the Hellenic Army. As a monarchist during the National Schism, Metaxas unsuccessfully opposed Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos and Greece's entry in World War I, most famously leading monarchist forces during the Noemvriana; he was exiled to Corsica in response in 1917. On his return, Metaxas moved into politics and founded the Freethinkers' Party, but had only limited success under the Second Hellenic Republic.
Metaxas was appointed prime minister in April 1936, a year after the Greek monarchy was restored. With the support of King George II, Metaxas initiated a self-coup and established an authoritarian, nationalist, and anti-communist regime, which Metaxas himself and some historians called totalitarian. The ideology and system associated with his rule, Metaxism, has been described as a form of fascism, a conventional authoritarian-conservative dictatorship, or a regime with a strong fascist component.
On 28 October 1940, Metaxas rejected an ultimatum imposed by the Italians to surrender, committing Greece to the Allies and bringing the country into World War II. He died in January 1941 during the Greco–Italian War from a bloodstream infection, before the German invasion and subsequent fall of Greece.
Ioannis Metaxas was born in Ithaca in 1871. His family was inscribed in the Libro d'Oro of the Ionian islands, previously a Venetian possession, while its roots originated in the Byzantine nobility. The Metaxas family were entered into the Libro d'Oro in the 17th century. Metaxas was very proud of his aristocratic family, observing that many ancestors of ordinary Greeks were not notable enough to be included in the Libro d'Oro.
After graduating from the Hellenic Military Academy, he became a career military officer, being sworn in as an Engineers 2nd Lieutenant on 10 August 1890. He first saw action in the Greco-Turkish War of 1897 attached to the staff of the Greek commander-in-chief, Crown Prince Constantine. Metaxas became a protégé of Constantine and much of his rise through the ranks of the Hellenic Army was a consequence of Crown Prince's patronage. Greece was characterized by a clientist system at the time, and a powerful patron in the form of Constantine boosted Metaxas's career.
After the war, he continued his military studies at the Berlin War Academy from 1899 to 1903. Metaxas was very close to Constantine and was personally selected by the Crown Prince to go to Berlin. During his time at the War Academy, Metaxas received consistently high marks from his German instructors with one writing that he was "ein kleiner Moltke" ("a little Moltke" – a reference to Metaxas's short stature). Metaxas's time in Germany made him into an admirer of Prussian militarism.
In his diary in March 1900, he wrote: "I have no other ambition than to fulfill my duty to my king and crown prince ... I consider the king the representative of the past, present and future of the nation. All opposition to him from whatever quarter I reject and find repulsive." Metaxas also expressed his opposition to the "intemperate parliamentarism" of Greece, preferring the authoritarian German system where the Chancellor was responsible to the Emperor, not the Reichstag. On his return in 1904, he joined the newly formed General Staff Corps. He was part of the modernizing process of the Greek Army before the Balkan Wars (1912–13). However, he opposed the Goudi coup. For Metaxas, the coup represented an attack on everything he valued because the Military League behind the coup were opposed to Constantine and the other princes holding positions of command.
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