General Christos Manolas ( el, Χρίστος Μανωλάς; born February 19, 1959) is a
Greek retired
Hellenic Army officer and the former Chief of the
Hellenic Army General Staff (24 February 2014 – 25 February 2015).
Career
Born in
Athens, he entered the
Hellenic Army Academy
The Hellenic Army Academy ( el, Στρατιωτική Σχολή Ευελπίδων), 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 G ...
in 1976 and graduated in 1980 as an Infantry 2nd Lieutenant.
He followed a career in the
Hellenic Army's special forces, including as a company commander in the Special Forces Training Centre (1981–82) and in the 2nd Paratrooper Squadron (1982–86), followed by a stint as an instructor in the
NATO International
Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol School in Germany (1986–88).
On his return he served as instructor in Greece's Unconventional Warfare Training Centre (1988–91), as commander of the elite Special Paratrooper Unit (ΕΤΑ) (1991–93) and of the 5th Special National Guard Battalion (1993–95).
He also graduated from the
Hellenic Navy
The Hellenic Navy (HN; el, Πολεμικό Ναυτικό, Polemikó Naftikó, War Navy, abbreviated ΠΝ) is the naval force of Greece, part of the Hellenic Armed Forces. The modern Greek navy historically hails from the naval forces of vari ...
's elite
special warfare
Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...
Underwater Demolition Unit (MYK).
In 1995–96 he was deputy commander in the Hellenic Army's Unorthodox Warfare Training Centre, before going on to command the Greek force (ΕΛΔΥΒ) participating in
SFOR in
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and Pars pro toto#Geography, often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of Southern Europe, south and southeast Euro ...
, as well as the wider BELUGA (Belgium-Luxemburg-Greece-Austria) group of which the Greek force formed part.
On his return from Bosnia he studied in Greece's Supreme War School (1998–99), commanded the 1st Paratrooper Squadron (1999–2000), served as instructor on special operations in the Supreme War School (2000–01), head operations officer in NATO Joint Command Southcentre in
Larissa
Larissa (; el, Λάρισα, , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 144,651 according to the 2011 census. It is also capital of the Larissa regiona ...
(2001–04) interrupted by a brief term as commander of the Greek battalion in
ISAF (Dec. 2002 until May 2003), and chief of staff of the 1st Raider/Paratrooper Brigade (2004–05).
In 2005–08 he served as Assistant Chief of Staff (ACOS) J9 of NATO's
Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, and as head of the National and International Planning Directorate in the
Hellenic National Defence General Staff in 2008–09.
He subsequently served as commander of the
79th National Guard Higher Command (2009–10), of the Army's NCO Academy (2010–11), and of the
95th National Guard Higher Command (2011–12), as Greece's national military representative in the EU and NATO (2012–13), and as commander of
First Army (2013–14).
On 19 February 2014, the
Government Council for Foreign Affairs and Defence (KYSEA) decided his appointment as Chief of the
Hellenic Army General Staff, succeeding
Athanasios Tselios, with the transfer ceremony to take place on 24 February. On 25 February 2015, the KYSEA decided his retirement, promoting him to the rank of full General in retirement and the title of Honorary Chief of the Army General Staff, and his replacement with
Lt. General
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
Vasileios Tellidis.
Personal life
General Christos Manolas is married and has two daughters. He speaks fluently English, German, Bulgarian and Serbo-Croatian, and has a working knowledge of Italian and Spanish.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Manolas, Christos
1959 births
Hellenic Army generals
Chiefs of the Hellenic Army General Staff
Living people
Military personnel from Athens