Air Chief Marshal Air chief marshal (Air Chf Mshl or ACM) is a high-ranking air officer originating from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. An air chief marshal is equivalent to an Admir ...

Ioannis Giangos ( el, Ιωάννης Γιάγκος, born 1951) is a retired Greek Air Force officer and a former Chief of the National Defense General Staff of

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. He served as an interim Minister for National Defence in the

Caretaker Cabinet of Vassiliki Thanou-Christophilou The Caretaker Cabinet of Vassiliki Thanou-Christophilou was formed following the resignation of the Syriza-ANEL coalition government on 20 August 2015, and the failure of opposition parties to form their own government. The cabinet was headed b ...

Career

Ioannis Giangos was born in December 1951 in Trikala,

Thessaly Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thes ...

. He attended the Greek Air Force Academy and graduated in 1974 as a pilot officer. His initial assignment was in the 117 Combat Wing stationed at Andravida Air force Base, as an

F-4 Phantom II The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and Bow ...

aircraft pilot. During his career as a command pilot he served as fighter squadron and tactical fighter wing commander in several units of the Greek Air Force, with more than 4,200 flying hours in a variety of aircraft, 3,000 of which in F-4 and

F-16 The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it ...

C/D fighter jets. He is an alumnus of various military schools both in Greece and abroad. Air Chief Marshal Giangos served as Staff Officer in the plans and policy branch at the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) in

Mons Mons (; German and nl, Bergen, ; Walloon and pcd, Mont) is a city and municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the province of Hainaut, Belgium. Mons was made into a fortified city by Count Baldwin IV of Hainaut in the 12th century. T ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and as Commander of the NATO Combined Air Operations Centre-7, 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 ...

, Greece. From January 2007 to August 2009, as Air Marshal, Giangos held the post of Chief of the Hellenic Air Force General Staff. During this period the fighter aircraft fleet of the Greek Air Force was increased to 170, as result of the ' F-16 Fighting Falcon operators#Europe, Peace Xenia IV' purchase program from

Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American aerospace, arms, defense, information security, and technology corporation with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It ...

of 30 additional F-16 Block 52+ aircraft. On August 6, 2009, following a decision of the

Government Council for Foreign Affairs and Defense The National Security Governmental Council ( el, Κυβερνητικό Συμβούλιο Εθνικής Ασφαλείας) (ex. Government Council for Foreign Affairs and Defence), usually known by its acronym KYSEA (ΚΥΣΕΑ), is the supreme d ...

(KYSEA), he was nominated for appointment to the rank of Air Chief Marshal and the office of the Chief of National Defense General Staff. In September 2009, during discussions with

Supreme Allied Commander Europe The Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) is the commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Allied Command Operations (ACO) and head of ACO's headquarters, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE). The commander is ...

, U.S. Admiral James Stavridis, Giangos outlined the country's positions concerning participation of Greece in NATO peace-keeping missions as well as the present situation of the Aegean dispute. He held the post until his retirement, on 3 November 2011. Giangos was appointed as the interim Minister for National Defence in the

on 28 August 2015. He served until the legislative election on 20 September.

Military awards

* Medal of Military Merit 1st Class * Outstanding Command Commendation Medal 1st Class * Grand Cross of the Order of the Phoenix * Grand Commander of the Order of Honour * Staff Officer Commendation Medal 1st Class * Formation – Major Unit Command Commendation Medal 1st Class * General Staff Command Commendation Medal * Star of Merit and Honour Commendation Medal

Personal life

Giangos is married and has three children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Giangos, Ioannis 1951 births Living people People from Trikala Hellenic Air Force air marshals Grand Crosses of the Order of the Phoenix (Greece) Grand Commanders of the Order of Honour (Greece) Chiefs of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff Ministers of National Defence of Greece 20th-century Greek military personnel 21st-century Greek military personnel Chiefs of the Hellenic Air Force General Staff