Alexandros Pilatos Sakellariou ( el, Αλέξανδρος Πιλάτος Σακελλαρίου;

Mandra Mandra ( el, Μάνδρα), is a town and former municipality in West Attica, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Mandra-Eidyllia, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an a ...

, 1 January 1887 –

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, 7 July 1982 ) was a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece 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 ...

admiral and politician, who led the

Royal Hellenic Navy The Hellenic Navy (HN; el, Πολεμικό Ναυτικό, Polemikó Naftikó, War Navy, abbreviated ΠΝ) is the Navy, naval force of Greece, part of the Hellenic Armed Forces. The modern Greek navy historically hails from the naval forces of ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Life

Early career

Born in the village of

near

Elefsina Elefsina ( el, Ελευσίνα ''Elefsina''), or Eleusis (; Ancient Greek: ''Eleusis'') is a suburban city and municipality in the West Attica regional unit of Greece. It is situated about northwest from the centre of Athens and is part of i ...

on 1 January 1887, Sakellariou entered the

Hellenic Naval Academy The Hellenic Naval Cadets Academy ( el, Σχολή Ναυτικών Δοκίμων, abbr. ΣΝΔ, lit. "School of Naval Cadets") is a military university and has the responsibility to educate and suitably train competent Naval Officers for the He ...

on 4 November 1902 and graduated on 8 July 1906 as a Line Ensign. He participated in the

Goudi coup The Goudi coup ( el, κίνημα στο Γουδί) was a military coup d'état that took place in Greece on the night of , starting at the barracks in Goudi, a neighborhood on the eastern outskirts of Athens. The coup was a pivotal event in mod ...

in August 1909, and was promoted to Sub-Lieutenant on 29 March 1910, and Lieutenant II Class on 2 July 1913. During the

Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars refers to a series of two conflicts that took place in the Balkan States in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan States of Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria declared war upon the Ottoman Empire and defe ...

of 1912–13 he served on board the Greek flagship, the cruiser . With ''Georgios Averof'', he fought in the

Battle of Elli The Battle of Elli ( el, Ναυμαχία της Έλλης, tr, İmroz Deniz Muharebesi) or the Battle of the Dardanelles took place near the mouth of the Dardanelles on as part of the First Balkan War between the fleets of the Kingdom of G ...

and the Battle of Lemnos, as well as participating in the capture of

Lemnos Lemnos or Limnos ( el, Λήμνος; grc, Λῆμνος) is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within the Lemnos regional unit, which is part of the North Aegean region. The p ...

Imbros Imbros or İmroz Adası, officially Gökçeada (lit. ''Heavenly Island'') since 29 July 1970,Alexis Alexandris, "The Identity Issue of The Minorities in Greece And Turkey", in Hirschon, Renée (ed.), ''Crossing the Aegean: An Appraisal of the 1 ...

Samothrace Samothrace (also known as Samothraki, el, Σαμοθράκη, ) is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea. It is a municipality within the Evros regional unit of Thrace. The island is long and is in size and has a population of 2,859 (2011 ...

Tenedos Tenedos (, ''Tenedhos'', ), or Bozcaada in Turkish language, Turkish, is an island of Turkey in the northeastern part of the Aegean Sea. Administratively, the island constitutes the Bozcaada, Çanakkale, Bozcaada district of Çanakkale Provinc ...

Mount Athos Mount Athos (; el, Ἄθως, ) is a mountain in the distal part of the eponymous Athos peninsula and site of an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism in northeastern Greece. The mountain along with the respective part of the penins ...

Lesbos Lesbos or Lesvos ( el, Λέσβος, Lésvos ) is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It has an area of with approximately of coastline, making it the third largest island in Greece. It is separated from Anatolia, Asia Minor ...

Kavala Kavala ( el, Καβάλα, ''Kavála'' ) is a city in northern Greece, the principal seaport of eastern Macedonia and the capital of Kavala regional unit. It is situated on the Bay of Kavala, across from the island of Thasos and on the Egnat ...

and

Dedeagatch Alexandroupolis ( el, Αλεξανδρούπολη, ), Alexandroupoli, or Alexandrople is a city in Greece and the capital of the Evros regional unit. It is the largest city in Western Thrace and the region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace. It h ...

. Following the Balkan Wars, he was promoted on 2 November 1914 to Lieutenant I Class (retroactive to 17 October). As a staunch royalist, he was dismissed from the Navy on 21 June 1917, following the exile of

King Constantine I Constantine I ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Αʹ, ''Konstantínos I''; – 11 January 1923) was King of Greece from 18 March 1913 to 11 June 1917 and from 19 December 1920 to 27 September 1922. He was commander-in-chief of the Hellenic Army ...

and the assumption of government in Athens by

Eleftherios Venizelos Eleftherios Kyriakou Venizelos ( el, Ελευθέριος Κυριάκου Βενιζέλος, translit=Elefthérios Kyriákou Venizélos, ; – 18 March 1936) was a Greek statesman and a prominent leader of the Greek national liberation movem ...

. He was brought before a court-martial and condemned to three years imprisonment at the

Izzeddin Fortress The Izzeddin Fortress ( el, Φρούριο Ιτζεδδίν; ''Izzeddin'' means "Glory of the Faith") is an Ottoman fortress in Souda Bay, Crete, near the village of Kalami, best known for its role as a prison for political prisoners in 20th-ce ...

Souda Souda ( el, Σούδα) is a town and former municipality in the Chania regional unit, Crete, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Chania, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of ...

. On 10 November 1920, following the electoral victory of the anti-Venizelist royalist parties, he was recalled to active service; his dismissal was revoked and his sentence was stricken. Sakellariou was promoted to Lieutenant Commander on 2 December 1920, retroactively dated to 21 December 1917, and on the very same day promoted further to Commander, also retroactively to 26 June 1920. With his new rank, he participated in the naval operations of the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–22 as captain of the destroyers (1920–21), (1921), and (1922). Following the Greek defeat in the war and the

11 September 1922 Revolution The 11 September 1922 Revolution ( el, Επανάσταση της 11ης Σεπτεμβρίου 1922) was an uprising by the Greek army and navy against the government in Athens. The revolution took place on 24 September 1922, although the date wa ...

, he was dismissed from the service on 12 September 1923 with the rank of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in retirement. As the abortive royalist Leonardopoulos-Gargalidis coup attempt followed soon after, he was briefly arrested and interrogated, but released after a few days. On 25 February 1925, he received the Cross of Valour in Gold for his service during the Greco-Turkish War.

Interwar period and World War II

Like many other royalist officers, Sakellariou was reinstated by the dictatorship of Theodoros Pangalos, on 24 July 1925, with his former active rank of Commander. He served as captain of the auxiliary vessel ''Amfitriti'' in 1925, and of the destroyer in 1926, going on to hold the posts of Commander of the

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

Naval Defence Area (1926–27), the Naval War School (1928–29), and captain of the Navy training vessel ''Aris'' in 1930. Promoted to captain on 22 October 1932, he served as General Director of the

Salamis Naval Base The Salamis Naval Base ( el, Ναύσταθμος Σαλαμίνας) is the largest naval base of the Hellenic Navy. It is located in the northeastern part of Salamis Island (Cape Arapis), Greece and in Amphiali and Skaramangas. It is close to t ...

, and Commander of the Destroyers Flotilla (1932–35). Promoted to rear admiral on 23 March 1935, he was chairman of the extraordinary court-martial that tried the politicians who had participated in the

Venizelist Venizelism ( el, Βενιζελισμός) was one of the major political movements in Greece from the 1900s until the mid-1970s. Main ideas Named after Eleftherios Venizelos, the key characteristics of Venizelism were: *Greek irredentism: T ...

coup attempt in March. In 1935–36 he was Chief of the Light Fleet. From this post he played a key role in the bloodless coup of

Georgios Kondylis Georgios Kondylis DSO (; 14 August 1878 – 1 February 1936) was a Greek general, politician and prime minister of Greece. He was nicknamed ''Keravnos'', Greek for "thunder" or "thunderbolt". Military career Kondylis was born in Prouss� ...

on 10 October 1935, which quickly abolished the

Second Hellenic Republic The Second Hellenic Republic is a modern historiographical term used to refer to the Greek state during a period of republican governance between 1924 and 1935. To its contemporaries it was known officially as the Hellenic Republic ( el, Ἑλλ� ...

and restored the monarchy. He became Chief of the Navy General Staff in January 1937, serving in the post (with a brief interruption in August–September 1938) until the aftermath of the

German invasion of Greece The German invasion of Greece, also known as the Battle of Greece or Operation Marita ( de , Unternehmen Marita, links = no), was the attack of Greece by Italy and Germany during World War II. The Italian invasion in October 1940, which is usu ...

in April 1941. In the chaos of the German invasion, and following the suicide of

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Alexandros Koryzis Alexandros Koryzis ( el, Αλέξανδρος Κορυζής; 1885 – 18 April 1941) was a Greek politician who served briefly as the prime minister of Greece in 1941. Career Koryzis assumed this role on 29 January 1941, when his predecessor, ...

on 18 April, King

George II George II or 2 may refer to: People * George II of Antioch (seventh century AD) * George II of Armenia (late ninth century) * George II of Abkhazia (916–960) * Patriarch George II of Alexandria (1021–1051) * George II of Georgia (1072–1089) * ...

named Sakellariou as Minister for Naval Affairs and

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...

(with

Emmanouil Tsouderos Emmanouil Tsouderos ( el, Εμμανουήλ Τσουδερός, also transliterated as ''Emmanuel Tsouderos''; 19 July 1882 – 10 February 1956) was a political and financial figure of Greece. During World War II, he was the internationally r ...

assuming office as Prime Minister on 20 April). In the face of the German advance and the heavy losses suffered by the surface vessels to the

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

, Sakellariou ordered the remaining ships to evacuate Greece towards

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

-held

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

, where the Greek king and his government arrived later to form a

government in exile A government in exile (abbreviated as GiE) is a political group that claims to be a country or semi-sovereign state's legitimate government, but is unable to exercise legal power and instead resides in a foreign country. Governments in exile us ...

, which was based in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

until Liberation in 1944. Sakellariou followed the government to Crete and thence, on board , to

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

. He resigned his government posts on 2 May 1942, but remained as the head of the exiled fleet until his retirement on 26 December 1943, with the rank of vice admiral in retirement.

Post-war career

After Liberation, in the 1946 elections he successfully stood for election in Parliament in the Atticoboeotia prefecture at the head of his own party, the Panhellenic National Party (part of the

United Alignment of Nationalists The United Alignment of Nationalists ( el, Ηνωμένη Παράταξις Εθνικοφρόνων) was a right-wing political alliance in Greece formed to contest the 1946 elections. It consisted of the People's Party, the National Liberal ...

alliance). On 29 August 1947 he was named Minister of Supply and ''pro tempore'' Minister of Merchant Marine in the

Konstantinos Tsaldaris Konstantinos Tsaldaris (, 14 April 1884 – 15 November 1970) was a Greek politician and twice Prime Minister of Greece. Tsaldaris was born in Alexandria, Egypt. He studied law at the University of Athens as well as Berlin, London and Florenc ...

cabinet. In the succeeding cabinet of

Themistoklis Sofoulis Themistoklis Sofoulis or Sophoulis (; 24 November 1860 – 24 June 1949) was a prominent centrist and liberal Greek politician from Samos Island, who served three times as Prime Minister of Greece, with the Liberal Party, which he led for many y ...

, he was once again Minister for Naval Affairs (until 18 November 1948). On 31 July 1946, he was awarded the War Cross First Class and the Outstanding Acts Medal for his role in World War II. On 4 September 1946, he was briefly recalled to active service, retroactively promoted to vice admiral from 31 December 1943, and with his retirement dated to 1 January 1944. On 1 July 1947, in further recognition of his role in leading the Greek navy during World War II, he was awarded the highest Greek decoration for valour, the Commander's Cross of the Cross of Valour. In the 1950 elections he was once again elected to parliament for Atticoboeotia. Finally, in the 1951–52

Nikolaos Plastiras Nikolaos Plastiras ( el, Νικόλαος Πλαστήρας; 4 November 1883 – 26 July 1953) was a Greek general and politician, who served thrice as Prime Minister of Greece. A distinguished soldier known for his personal bravery, he b ...

cabinet, Sakellariou was appointed as Minister for National Defence, until his resignation on 31 March 1952. He died in Athens on 7 July 1982.

Writings

As an active officer, Sakellariou wrote the Greek Navy's sailing manual in 1915, and a historical study on the use of artillery in the late

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

(''Ιστορία του Πυροβολικού κατά την Δύσιν της Μεσαιωνικής Ημών Αυτοκρατορίας'', 1926). In 1945 he wrote the study ''Η Θέσις της Ελλάδος εις τον Δεύτερον Παγκόσμιον Πόλεμον'' on Greece's role during World War II. he later wrote a series of memoirs, beginning with ''Ταξιδεύοντας'' ("Voyaging", 1957), Απ’ τις Γέφυρες και τα Καρρέ ("From

Bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

s and

Wardroom The wardroom is the mess cabin or compartment on a warship or other military ship for commissioned naval officers above the rank of midshipman. Although the term typically applies to officers in a navy, it is also applicable to marine officers ...

s", 1967), ''Ένας Ναύαρχος Θυμάται'' ("An Admiral Remembers") and ''Απομνημονεύματα ενός Ναυάρχου'' ("Memoirs of an Admiral").

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sakellariou, Alexandros 1887 births 1982 deaths People from West Attica United Alignment of Nationalists politicians National Reconstruction Front (Greece) politicians Deputy Prime Ministers of Greece Ministers of National Defence of Greece Ministers of Naval Affairs of Greece Government ministers of Greece in ministries now abolished Greek MPs 1946–1950 Greek MPs 1950–1951 Chiefs of the Hellenic Navy General Staff Greek military personnel of the Balkan Wars Greek military personnel of the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) Royal Hellenic Navy admirals of World War II People of the Greek Civil War Greek prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of Greece Commander's Crosses of the Cross of Valour (Greece) Grand Crosses of the Order of George I with Swords Recipients of the War Cross (Greece)