Georgios Katechakis ( el, Γεώργιος Κατεχάκης; 1881–1939) was a

Hellenic Army The Hellenic Army ( el, Ελληνικός Στρατός, Ellinikós Stratós, sometimes abbreviated as ΕΣ), formed in 1828, is the land force of Greece. The term ''Hellenic'' is the endogenous synonym for ''Greek''. The Hellenic Army is the ...

officer and politician. He distinguished himself with his participation in the

Macedonian Struggle The Macedonian Struggle ( bg, Македонска борба; el, Μακεδονικός Αγώνας; mk, Борба за Македонија; sr, Борба за Македонију; tr, Makedonya Mücadelesi) was a series of social, po ...

under the

nom de guerre A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

''Kapetan'' Rouvas (Καπετάν Ρούβας) in 1904–1905. An ardent

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 ...

, he participated in the

Movement of National Defence The Provisional Government of National Defence (), also known as the State of Thessaloniki (Κράτος της Θεσσαλονίκης), was a parallel administration, set up in the city of Thessaloniki by former Prime Minister Eleftherios Ve ...

. After his retirement from the army with the rank of

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

, he entered politics, being elected into the

Greek Parliament The Hellenic Parliament ( el, Ελληνικό Κοινοβούλιο, Elliniko Kinovoulio; formally titled el, Βουλή των Ελλήνων, Voulí ton Ellínon, Boule of the Hellenes, label=none), also known as the Parliament of the Hel ...

and the

Greek Senate The Greek Senate ( el, Γερουσία, ''Gerousia'') was the upper chamber of the parliament in Greece, extant several times in the country's history. Local senates during the War of Independence During the early stages of the Greek War of I ...

. He also served three times as Minister for Military Affairs and as

Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

for

Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to t ...

(1922–1923) and for

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

(1928–1930).

Early life and military career

Georgios Katechakis was born in the village of Platanos, in then Ottoman-controlled Crete. His father was Antonios Katechakis, one of the main leaders of the Cretan Revolt of 1866–1869. The elder Katechakis also participated in the uprisings of 1878, 1889 and 1896 and was repeatedly elected to the Cretan Parliament until his death. Georgios Katechakis 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 ...

and graduated in 1902, being commissioned into the

on 6 July 1902 with the rank of a Lieutenant of Infantry. He was one of the first officers to volunteer for the

against the

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

n-sponsored

Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO; bg, Вътрешна Македонска Революционна Организация (ВМРО), translit=Vatrešna Makedonska Revoljucionna Organizacija (VMRO); mk, Внатр� ...

(IMRO). Under the pseudonym of "K''apetan''

Rouvas Rouvas ( el, Ρούβας) is a former municipality in the Heraklion regional unit, Crete, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Gortyn, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of ...

", he led an armed band in the regions of

Grevena Grevena ( el, Γρεβενά, ''Grevená'', , rup, Grebini) is a town and municipality in Western Macedonia, northern Greece, capital of the Grevena regional unit. The town's current population is 13,374 citizens (2011). It lies about from Athe ...

Kastoria Kastoria ( el, Καστοριά, ''Kastoriá'' ) is a city in northern Greece in the modern regions of Greece, region of Western Macedonia. It is the capital of Kastoria (regional unit), Kastoria regional unit, in the Geographic regions of Gree ...

and Monastir. He returned to Greece in 1908, and was dispatched to Crete to assist in the establishment of a local national guard. By the time 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 ...

broke out in 1912, he had risen to the rank of captain. He participated in the wars as leader of various Cretan volunteer corps, fighting both in Macedonia and in

Epirus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinrich ...

. In 1914, promoted to major, he was assigned as chief of staff to the 11th Infantry Division in

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 ...

. From there he participated in the

National Defence uprising in August 1916, that led to the establishment of a parallel, pro-

Entente Entente, meaning a diplomatic "understanding", may refer to a number of agreements: History * Entente (alliance), a type of treaty or military alliance where the signatories promise to consult each other or to cooperate with each other in case o ...

government in northern Greece under

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 initially served as director of personnel in the National Defence government's Ministry of Military Affairs, and in 1917 he was assigned as chief of staff to the newly raised

National Defence Army Corps The Army of National Defence ( el, Στρατός Εθνικής Αμύνης) was the military force of the Provisional Government of National Defence, a pro- Allied government led by Eleftherios Venizelos in Thessaloniki in 1916–17, against the ...

, which 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 German ...

. Following the end of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, in 1919 he was sent to

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

as head of the Greek military delegation there, a post he held until he was dismissed from the army, with the rank of major general, following the electoral victory of the anti-Venizelist royalist parties in November 1920. Katechakis was recalled to active duty in September 1922, following the Greek defeat in the

Asia Minor Campaign Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Afr ...

and the Venizelist-led

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 placed by the revolutionary government as

(where a recommencement of hostilities with the Turks was expected should peace negotiations in

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...

fail), remaining at the post until after the signing of the

Treaty of Lausanne The Treaty of Lausanne (french: Traité de Lausanne) was a peace treaty negotiated during the Lausanne Conference of 1922–23 and signed in the Palais de Rumine, Lausanne, Switzerland, on 24 July 1923. The treaty officially settled the conflic ...

in 1923 when he retired from military service.

Political career

In the December 1923 elections, Katechakis was elected to the National Assembly representing

Heraklion Prefecture Heraklion ( el, Περιφερειακή ενότητα Ηρακλείου) is one of the four regional units of Crete. The capital is the city of Heraklion. Geography The regional unit of Heraklion borders on the regional units of Rethymno to t ...

. He served as Minister for Military Affairs in the short-lived

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 ...

cabinet (25 July – 7 October 1924). On 10 March 1928, he was appointed to the post of Governor-General of Crete, which was raised to the rank of a cabinet minister, a post he retained until 22 December 1930 under the premierships of

Alexandros Zaimis Alexandros Zaimis ( el, Αλέξανδρος Ζαΐμης; 9 November 1855 – 15 September 1936) was a Greek politician who served as Greece's Prime Minister, Minister of the Interior, Minister of Justice, and High Commissioner of Crete. He serve ...

and Venizelos. In the meantime, in April 1929 Katechakis was

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a populatio ...

to the

. On 22 December 1930, Katechakis was appointed by Venizelos as Minister for Military Affairs, a post he held until the resignation of the Venizelos cabinet on 26 May 1932. Katechakis served for a third time as Minister for Military Affairs in the short-lived 1933 Venizelos cabinet. Georgios Katechakis died on 22 April 1939.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Katechakis, Georgios 1880s births 1939 deaths Eastern Orthodox Christians from Greece Hellenic Army generals Greek military personnel of the Balkan Wars Greek military personnel of World War I Greek military personnel of the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) Greek military personnel of the Macedonian Struggle Ministers of Military Affairs of Greece Greek MPs 1924–1925 Members of the Greek Senate 1929–1932 Governors-General of Crete Governors-General of Thrace People from Heraklion (regional unit) Military personnel from Crete