Pafsanias Katsotas ( el, Παυσανίας Κατσώτας, 1896 – 14 February 1991) 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 ...

general and politician.

Biography

Katsotas was born in the village of Stamna in

Aetolia-Acarnania Aetolia-Acarnania ( el, Αιτωλοακαρνανία, ''Aitoloakarnanía'', ) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the geographic region of Central Greece and the administrative region of West Greece. A combination of the histor ...

in 1896. He graduated from 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 1916 as an Infantry 2nd Lieutenant, and served in the Army until his voluntary retirement in 1929. Following the outbreak of the

Greco-Italian War The Greco-Italian War (Greek language, Greek: Ελληνοϊταλικός Πόλεμος, ''Ellinoïtalikós Pólemos''), also called the Italo-Greek War, Italian Campaign in Greece, and the War of '40 in Greece, took place between the kingdom ...

in 1940, he was recalled to service, and fought in the

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

n front as a regimental commanding officer with the rank of lieutenant colonel. Following 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, he fled the country and joined the forces of the

Greek government in exile The Greek government-in-exile was formed in 1941, in the aftermath of the Battle of Greece and the subsequent occupation of Greece by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. The government-in-exile was based in Cairo, Egypt, and hence it is also referr ...

in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

. He assumed command of the 1st Greek Infantry Brigade, with which he fought in the

Second Battle of El Alamein The Second Battle of El Alamein (23 October – 11 November 1942) was a battle of the Second World War that took place near the Egyptian Railway station, railway halt of El Alamein. The First Battle of El Alamein and the Battle of Alam el Halfa ...

After the liberation of Greece in 1944, he became Minister of Public Order in the short-lived cabinet of

Panagiotis Kanellopoulos Panagiotis Kanellopoulos or Panayotis Kanellopoulos ( el, Παναγιώτης Κανελλόπουλος; 13 December 1902, in Patras, Achaea – 11 September 1986, in Athens) was a Greek writer, politician and Prime Minister of Greece. He w ...

(November 1945), and head of the Athens Military Command. He retired again in 1946, and ran successfully for a seat in the

Hellenic Parliament The Hellenic Parliament ( el, Ελληνικό Κοινοβούλιο, Elliniko Kinovoulio; formally titled el, Βουλή των Ελλήνων, Voulí ton Ellínon, Boule (ancient Greece), Boule of the Greeks, Hellenes, label=none), also kno ...

in the March 1946 elections, representing his native Aetolia-Acarnania. In 1949, during the last stages of the

Greek Civil War The Greek Civil War ( el, ο Eμφύλιος �όλεμος ''o Emfýlios'' 'Pólemos'' "the Civil War") took place from 1946 to 1949. It was mainly fought against the established Kingdom of Greece, which was supported by the United Kingdom ...

, he was again recalled to service and appointed as head of the

Central Greece Continental Greece ( el, Στερεά Ελλάδα, Stereá Elláda; formerly , ''Chérsos Ellás''), colloquially known as Roúmeli (Ρούμελη), is a traditional geographic region of Greece. In English, the area is usually called Central ...

Military Command. He retired in 1950 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 was again elected to Parliament in the March 1950 elections. He became

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

in the cabinet of

Sofoklis Venizelos Sofoklis Venizelos (, also transliterated as Sophocles Venizelos) (3 November 1894 – 7 February 1964) was a Greek politician, who three times served as Prime Minister of Greece – in 1944 (in exile), 1950 and 1950–1951. Life and career Ve ...

(March–April 1950), and Minister-Governor of Northern Greece in the

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 (May–August 1950). In 1954, he was elected

Mayor of Athens The Mayor of Athens is the head of the Municipality of Athens, the largest district of Athens. Kingdom of Greece (1832–1924) Second Hellenic Republic (1924–1935) Kingdom of Greece (1935–1941) Hellenic State (1941–1944) Kingdom ...

, a post he occupied with minor interruptions until 1959. In 1960, Katsotas founded his own political party, the "Labour-Technical Party" (Εργατοτεχνικό Κόμμα), which in 1961 joined

Georgios Papandreou Georgios Papandreou ( ''Geórgios Papandréou''; 13 February 1888 – 1 November 1968) was a Greek politician, the founder of the Papandreou political dynasty. He served three terms as prime minister of Greece (1944–1945, 1963, 1964–196 ...

Centre Union The Centre Union ( el, Ἕνωσις Κέντρου ''Énōsis Kéntrou'', abbreviated ΕΚ) was a major centrist political party in Greece, created in 1961 by Georgios Papandreou.Clogg, 1987, pp. 39–40 History The Centre Union was a politica ...

. In February–June 1964, Katsotas served as Minister of Social Welfare in Papandreou's cabinet. He last took part in the 1977 elections as part of the National Alignment ticket. Katsotas died in 1991.

Awards

Katsotas was decorated with the Grand Commander of the

Order of George I The Royal Order of George I ( el, Βασιλικόν Τάγμα Γεωργίου Α') is a Greek order instituted by King Constantine I in 1915. Since the monarchy's abolition in 1973, it has been considered a dynastic order of the former Greek r ...

and of the Order of the Phoenix with Swords. He also received the Gold Cross of Valour twice and the War Cross four times.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Katsotas, Pafsanias 1896 births 1991 deaths 20th-century Greek people Hellenic Army generals Greek military personnel of World War II Mayors of Athens Grand Commanders of the Order of George I Recipients of the Order of the Phoenix with Swords (Greece) Recipients of the Cross of Valour (Greece) Recipients of the War Cross (Greece) Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Greek MPs 1946–1950 Greek MPs 1950–1951 Ministers of the Interior of Greece Centre Union politicians People from Aetolia-Acarnania