Panagiotis Spiliotopoulos ( el, Παναγιώτης Σπηλιωτόπουλος, 1891–1962) 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 who rose to the rank of

Lieutenant 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 ...

and held the post of Chief of the

Hellenic Army General Staff The Hellenic Army General Staff ( el, Γενικό Επιτελείο Στρατού, abbrev. ΓΕΣ) is the general staff of the Hellenic Army, the terrestrial component of the Greek Armed Forces. It was established in 1904. Since 1950, the HAGS ...

in 1946–1947, during the first 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 also served briefly as Minister of National Defence,

Minister for Northern Greece The Deputy Minister for Macedonia and Thrace ( el, Υφυπουργός Μακεδονίας και Θράκης) is the government minister in charge of Greece's Sub- Ministry of Macedonia and Thrace, part of the Ministry of the Interior. The de ...

and Secretary General of the

Hellenic Red Cross The Hellenic Red Cross ( el, Ελληνικός Ερυθρός Σταυρός, ΕΕΣ) is the Greek national Red Cross Society, founded on 10 June 1877. External links *Official Hellenic Red Cross website 1877 establishments in Greece Greece ...

Life

He was born in the village of Mazeika near

Kalavryta Kalavryta ( el, Καλάβρυτα) is a town and a municipality in the mountainous east-central part of the regional unit of Achaea, Greece. The town is located on the right bank of the river Vouraikos, south of Aigio, southeast of Patras and ...

in 1891. He joined the

as a volunteer in 1910 and fought in 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 1912–1913. He subsequently entered the NCO Academy and graduated as an Infantry Second Lieutenant in April 1914. He also 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 ...

World War I 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 ...

and participated in the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922, being promoted to Lieutenant (1916) and Captain (1918) in the process. He occupied a series of staff and command posts in the interwar years, rising to Major (1923), Lt Colonel (1930) and Colonel (1934). At the same time, he pursued Law studies in the

University of Athens The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; el, Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών, ''Ethnikó ke Kapodistriakó Panepistímio Athinón''), usually referred to simply as the Univers ...

. In 1937–1940, he commanded the Reserve Officers School. During 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 ...

, he served as Infantry Commander of the 1st Infantry Division and later CO of the newly raised 15th Infantry Division. In 1944, at the eve of the Germans' departure from Greece, Spiliotopoulos was appointed as the representative in Athens and its suburbs of the Allies' Middle East High Command. Following liberation in October 1944, Spiliotopoulos became head of the Athens Military Command, and soon after commander of the new Officers' Training Centre before being appointed as Chief of the

on 16 May 1946, a post he held until 19 February 1947. From then until his retirement on 30 March 1948 he served as Inspector-General of the Army. Following his retirement, he became General Secretary of the

, and served as Minister of National Defence under

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 ...

between 30 July and 27 October 1951, and as

from 5 March to 17 May 1958 in the interim government of

Konstantinos Georgakopoulos Konstantinos Georgakopoulos ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Γεωργακόπουλος; 26 December 1890 – 26 July 1973) was a Greek lawyer, politician and Prime Minister of Greece. He was born in Tripoli, Greece, he studied law at the Univers ...

. He died in 1962.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spiliotopoulos, Panagiotis 1890s births 1962 deaths Hellenic Army lieutenant generals Chiefs of the Hellenic Army General Staff Greek military personnel of the Balkan Wars Greek military personnel of the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) Greek military personnel of World War I Greek military personnel of World War II Ministers of National Defence of Greece Greek military personnel of the Greek Civil War Ministers for Northern Greece People from Kleitoria