Petros Voulgaris ( el, Πέτρος Βούλγαρης, 13 September 1883 – 26 November 1957) was a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

who served briefly as

Prime Minister of Greece The prime minister of the Hellenic Republic ( el, Πρωθυπουργός της Ελληνικής Δημοκρατίας, Prothypourgós tis Ellinikís Dimokratías), colloquially referred to as the prime minister of Greece ( el, Πρωθυ� ...

in 1945. He was famous for his role in suppressing the 1944 Greek naval mutiny and restoring the fleet to combat readiness, for which he was awarded the Commander's Cross of the Cross of Valour.

Life

Early career

He was born in the island of

Hydra Hydra generally refers to: * Lernaean Hydra, a many-headed serpent in Greek mythology * ''Hydra'' (genus), a genus of simple freshwater animals belonging to the phylum Cnidaria Hydra or The Hydra may also refer to: Astronomy * Hydra (constel ...

on 13 September 1883, to Georgios Voulgaris and Archonto Vatsaxi. After the death of his father in 1885, his family settled in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, with his mother's relatives. After finishing school, he entered the

Hellenic Naval Academy The Hellenic Naval Cadets Academy ( el, Σχολή Ναυτικών Δοκίμων, abbr. ΣΝΔ, lit. "School of Naval Cadets") is a military university and has the responsibility to educate and suitably train competent Naval Officers for the He ...

on 10 October 1899, and was commissioned as

Ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

of the Line on 16 July 1903. In 1908–1910 he was detached for training abroad, and briefly served aboard the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

cruiser ''

Ernest Renan Joseph Ernest Renan (; 27 February 18232 October 1892) was a French Orientalist and Semitic scholar, expert of Semitic languages and civilizations, historian of religion, philologist, philosopher, biblical scholar, and critic. He wrote influe ...

'' in 1912. Promoted to Sub-Lieutenant on 29 March 1910, he participated 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 1912–13 aboard the destroyer , taking part in the

Battle of Elli The Battle of Elli ( el, Ναυμαχία της Έλλης, tr, İmroz Deniz Muharebesi) or the Battle of the Dardanelles took place near the mouth of the Dardanelles on as part of the First Balkan War between the fleets of the Kingdom of G ...

and the operations to capture

Imbros Imbros or İmroz Adası, officially Gökçeada (lit. ''Heavenly Island'') since 29 July 1970,Alexis Alexandris, "The Identity Issue of The Minorities in Greece And Turkey", in Hirschon, Renée (ed.), ''Crossing the Aegean: An Appraisal of the 1 ...

Samothrace Samothrace (also known as Samothraki, el, Σαμοθράκη, ) is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea. It is a municipality within the Evros regional unit of Thrace. The island is long and is in size and has a population of 2,859 (2011 ...

, and

Mount Athos Mount Athos (; el, Ἄθως, ) is a mountain in the distal part of the eponymous Athos peninsula and site of an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism in northeastern Greece. The mountain along with the respective part of the penins ...

. On 2 June 1913 he was promoted to lieutenant and to lieutenant first class on 16 July 1916, serving as adjutant to the Minister for Naval Affairs, Admiral

Pavlos Kountouriotis Pavlos Kountouriotis ( el, Παύλος Κουντουριώτης; 9 April 1855 – 22 August 1935) was a Greek rear admiral during the Balkan Wars, regent, and the first President of the Second Hellenic Republic. In total he served four times ...

(1915–16) and captain of the torpedo boat ''Thetis''. When the National Defence revolt broke out 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 ...

in August 1916, the pro-

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 ...

Voulgaris, like his mentor and fellow Hydriot Kountouriotis, left Athens and joined the revolutionary government. On 26 December 1917 he was promoted to lieutenant commander, retroactive to 3 March. From 1916 to 1919 he commanded the destroyer , participating in the Allied naval operations in the Aegean during

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 ...

, the 1919 Allied Expedition to the Ukraine, and the opening phase of 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 ...

. In 1919–20 he served as adjutant and then as head of the private office of the Minister for Naval Affairs

Athanasios N. Miaoulis Athanasios N. Miaoulis ( el, Αθανάσιος Ν. Μιαούλης, 1868–1932) was a Greek naval officer and politician, serving several times as Navy Minister and briefly as the Mayor of Piraeus. He was the great-grandson of admiral A ...

, being promoted to commander on 22 March 1920. After the Venizelist electoral defeat in November 1920, he was suspended from active service on 18 March 1921 by the new royalist government. Following the collapse of the Asia Minor front and the outbreak of the

11 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 recalled to active duty on 15 September. He then served as captain of the destroyer (1922–23), commander of the

Faliro Phalerum or Phaleron ( ''()'', ; ''()'', ) was a port of Ancient Athens, 5 km southwest of the Acropolis of Athens, on a bay of the Saronic Gulf. The bay is also referred to as "Bay of Phalerum" ( el, Όρμος Φαλήρου '').'' The ...

Naval Aviation Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based a ...

Base (1923), and captain of the ''Panthir'' (1923–24). He was one of the leaders of the so-called "Navy Strike" of June 1924, he resigned from the navy but was recommissioned on 21 August. On 28 August 1925, following the coup d'état of general Theodoros Pangalos, Voulgaris again resigned his commission, with the rank of captain in retirement. Following Pangalos' overthrow in August 1926, he re-entered service as having never retired. He was promoted to the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

on 15 September 1926. Voulgaris served as Superior Commander of Naval Aviation in 1926–30. When the Aviation Ministry was established in 1930, he became Director of the Air Force office in the ministry. In 1931, he was appointed commander of the

Salamis Naval Base The Salamis Naval Base ( el, Ναύσταθμος Σαλαμίνας) is the largest naval base of the Hellenic Navy. It is located in the northeastern part of Salamis Island (Cape Arapis), Greece and in Amphiali and Skaramangas. It is close to th ...

, and in 1931–34 he served as Superior Submarines Commander. In 1934, he was placed as

military attaché A military attaché is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission, often an embassy. This type of attaché post is normally filled by a high-ranking military officer, who retains a commission while serving with an embassy. Opport ...

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

and

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

, based at

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

. It was there that the unsuccessful Venizelist coup attempt of March 1935 found him. Being a committed Venizelist, he was suspended (3 May) and then dismissed (30 July) by the subsequent purges of the armed forces. On 11 November 1935 however, with the return of the monarchy and a partial pardon, his dismissal was revoked and he was listed as placed in reserve, with the rank of

rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

in retirement.

World War II and aftermath

For the next few years, he worked in the private sector, eventually working for the Greek industry magnate

Prodromos Bodosakis-Athanasiadis Prodromos Bodosakis-Athanasiadis ( el, Πρόδρομος Μποδοσάκης Αθανασιάδης; 1890–1979) was one of the most important figures in 20th century Greek industrial history. He created an immense industrial empire with weapo ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

. On 6 May 1943, 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 ...

recalled him to service, alongside many other officers who had been expelled in 1935, and promoted him to Rear Admiral (retroactively since 26 February 1937). He was again retired on 15 September 1943 as a vice admiral in retirement. On 20 May 1943, he received the post of Aviation Minister in the cabinet of

Emmanouil Tsouderos Emmanouil Tsouderos ( el, Εμμανουήλ Τσουδερός, also transliterated as ''Emmanuel Tsouderos''; 19 July 1882 – 10 February 1956) was a political and financial figure of Greece. During World War II, he was the internationally r ...

, which he held until 14 April 1944, when the Tsouderos cabinet resigned. With the ongoing pro- EAM Navy mutiny reaching its climax, on 20 April he was recalled to active service with the rank of vice admiral, and was placed as Chief of Fleet Command on the next day. From this position, he oversaw the violent recapture of the mutinied ships by officer detachments. In October 1944, he led the Greek fleet back to Greece, and assumed the duties of Chief of the Navy General Staff. In the months after liberation, the political situation in Greece was extremely unstable: following month-long clashes between government and British forces and the guerrillas of

EAM-ELAS The Greek People's Liberation Army ( el, Ελληνικός Λαϊκός Απελευθερωτικός Στρατός (ΕΛΑΣ), ''Ellinikós Laïkós Apeleftherotikós Stratós'' (ELAS) was the military arm of the left-wing National Liberat ...

, the

Treaty of Varkiza The Treaty of Varkiza ( el, Συμφωνία της Βάρκιζας, also known as the Varkiza Pact or the Varkiza Peace Agreement) was signed in Varkiza (near Athens) on February 12, 1945 between the Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Sec ...

had resulted in the latter's disarmament. However the situation remained explosive. The moderate government of

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 ...

resigned under British pressure on 8 April 1945, and the Regent,

Archbishop Damaskinos of Athens Archbishop Damaskinos Papandreou ( el, Αρχιεπίσκοπος Δαμασκηνός Παπανδρέου), born Dimitrios Papandreou ( el, Δημήτριος Παπανδρέου; 3 March 1891 – 20 May 1949) was the archbishop of Athens ...

, appointed Voulgaris to head an interim government. While remaining an active officer, Voulgaris headed two consecutive cabinets, from 8 April to 11 August, during which he also held the posts of Minister for Military Affairs, Naval Affairs, and Aviation, and from 11 August until 17 October, where he initially also headed the Interior and Foreign Affairs ministries, but gradually passed them on to civilian ministers. On 8 October 1945, he retired from active service for the last time. On 1 July 1947, in recognition of his role in suppressing the Navy mutiny, rapidly restoring its combat effectiveness, and leading it again to home waters, he was awarded the highest Greek decoration for valour, the Commander's Cross of the Cross of Valour. He died in the Athens Naval Hospital on 26 November 1957 of heart failure and was buried in the

First Cemetery of Athens The First Cemetery of Athens ( el, Πρώτο Νεκροταφείο Αθηνών, ''Próto Nekrotafeío Athinón'') is the official cemetery of the City of Athens and the first to be built. It opened in 1837 and soon became a prestigious ceme ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Voulgaris, Petros 1883 births 1957 deaths 20th-century prime ministers of Greece Chiefs of the Hellenic Navy General Staff Commander's Crosses of the Cross of Valour (Greece) Foreign ministers of Greece Greek military personnel of the Balkan Wars Greek military personnel of the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) Greek military personnel of World War I Royal Hellenic Navy admirals of World War II Ministers of Military Affairs of Greece Ministers of Naval Affairs of Greece Ministers of the Interior of Greece People from Hydra (island) Prime Ministers of Greece Burials at the First Cemetery of Athens