Stylianos Gonatas ( el, Στυλιανός Γονατάς; 15 August 1876 – 29 March 1966) was an officer of the
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 ...
,
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: ...
politician, and
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 ...
from 1922 and 1924.
Early life and military career
Gonatas was born in Patras.
He entered the Hellenic Military Academy in 1892 and graduated in 1897. As a lieutenant, he participated 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 ...
(1907–1909), and became aide-de-camp to Colonel
Nikolaos Zorbas immediately following the 1909
Goudi Revolt
The Goudi coup ( el, κίνημα στο Γουδί) was a military coup d'état that took place in Greece on the night of , starting at the barracks in Goudi, a neighborhood on the eastern outskirts of Athens. The coup was a pivotal event in mod ...
. He also participated in the 1912-13
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 ...
and in the
Allied Expedition to the Ukraine in 1919. Subsequently, he took part 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 ...
with the rank of colonel, first as a staff officer and later as divisional commander.
The September 1922 Revolt
In August 1922, the Greek Army was defeated in its Asia Minor campaign, which forced it to evacuate Anatolia in great haste. In Greece, this disaster led to a political crisis, and military revolts broke out in September amongst the evacuated troops 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 ...
,
Chios
Chios (; el, Χίος, Chíos , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greek island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. Chios is notable for its exports of mastic ...
and
Lesbos
Lesbos or Lesvos ( el, Λέσβος, Lésvos ) is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It has an area of with approximately of coastline, making it the third largest island in Greece. It is separated from Anatolia, Asia Minor ...
, headed primarily by
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: ...
officers.
![Gonatas-Plastiras](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/Gonatas-Plastiras.jpg)
The army contingents in Lesbos formed a Revolutionary Committee headed by Colonel Gonatas, which dispatched by airplane the following demands to
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 ...
: the dismissal of the government, the dissolution of Parliament, the holding of new elections, and the abdication of
King Constantine in favour of the Diadoch,
Prince George. The revolutionary movement swiftly spread to other centres of old and new Greece, aided by the Fleet, which had joined their cause. The cabinet immediately resigned, and on September 27 King Constantine abdicated for the second time in the course of his career, and the Diadoch succeeded to the throne of Greece as King George II.
![Plastiras Gonatas and Georgios Papandreou, 1922, in Mousounitsa](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/Plastiras_Gonatas_and_Georgios_Papandreou%2C_1922%2C_in_Mousounitsa.jpg)
On September 28 the revolutionary troops, headed by their leaders, Colonels
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 ...
and Gonatas, entered Athens amidst wild scenes of enthusiasm. The revolutionary committee which took charge selected
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 serv ...
as Prime Minister, but as he was out of the country,
Sotirios Krokidas was appointed as interim Prime Minister.
As prime minister
The first cabinet formed under the regime of the Revolutionary Committee (which had established itself as the real master of Greece with King George II merely as a figurehead) underwent several slight changes, the chief of which was caused by the refusal of Zaimis to retain the premiership (which remained vacant, with Sotirios Krokidas as acting premier), and after having been in power for less than two months resigned on November 24, chiefly owing to internal differences arising from the
Trial of the Six
The Trial of the Six ( el, Δίκη των Έξι, ''Díki ton Éxi'') or the Execution of the Six was the trial for treason, in late 1922, of the Anti-Venizelist officials held responsible for the Greek military defeat in Asia Minor. The tria ...
(ex-ministers, statesmen, and military leaders tried by a revolutionary tribunal on the charges of high treason). The British government, through its minister in Athens, Lindley, urged that the accused should be treated leniently. While certain members of the cabinet were prepared to accept the British suggestion, the more irreconcilable elements refused to submit to what they considered as foreign intervention in Greek internal affairs, and the cabinet accordingly resigned. On November 27, 1922, a new cabinet, composed exclusively of members of the Revolutionary Committee and of the republican group which formed the committee's most active supporters, was appointed. Colonel Gonatas was appointed premier, and
Konstantinos Rentis, one of the leaders of the republican group, as acting minister for foreign affairs (see
1922 Government Crisis).
The Gonatas government served until 11 January 1924, when it resigned in favor of fellow-
liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
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 ...
, who had returned from exile in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
. For his service, Gonatas was given the Grand Cross of the
Order of the Redeemer
The Order of the Redeemer ( el, Τάγμα του Σωτήρος, translit=Tágma tou Sotíros), also known as the Order of the Saviour, is an order of merit of Greece. The Order of the Redeemer is the oldest and highest decoration awarded by the ...
. On 31 May 1924, the National Assembly promoted him and Plastiras to the rank of lieutenant general.
Later political career
After his service as Prime Minister, Gonatas resigned his commission in the army. In the same year, a
Republic
A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...
was proclaimed and the legislature expanded to include a second house: the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
. Gonatas ran for and was elected to the Senate as a Liberal in the
1929 election representing
Attica
Attica ( el, Αττική, Ancient Greek ''Attikḗ'' or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the city of Athens, the capital of Greece and its countryside. It is a peninsula projecting into the Aegean Se ...
and
Boeotia
Boeotia ( ), sometimes Latinized as Boiotia or Beotia ( el, Βοιωτία; modern: ; ancient: ), formerly known as Cadmeis, is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, and its lar ...
. He was re-elected and later served as President of the Senate from 1932 to its dissolution in 1935.
During the
Nazi Occupation of Greece, Gonatas was imprisoned in the
Haidari concentration camp for four months. After the German withdrawal, Gonatas was freed and re-entered political life. When he quarrelled with
Themistoklis Sophoulis
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 ...
, the leader of the Liberal Party, he formed his own party, the
Party of National Liberals (Κόμμα Εθνικών Φιλελευθέρων) which contested the
1946 general election in coalition with the conservative
People's Party. Gonatas' party elected 30 members of Parliament. Having joined forces with the monarchist party, Gonatas committed himself to support the restoration of the monarchy in the
1946 plebiscite, which restored King George II to the throne.
In the
Konstantinos Tsaldaris government from 1946–1947, he served as
Minister for Public Works. In the
1950 general election, Gonatas' party first allied with
Napoleon Zervas
Napoleon Zervas ( el, Ναπολέων Ζέρβας; May 17, 1891 – December 10, 1957) was a Hellenic Army officer and resistance leader during World War II. He organized and led the National Republican Greek League (EDES), the second most signi ...
'
National Party of Greece
The National Party of Greece () was a political party founded by the Greek General Napoleon Zervas in 1946.
The party ran in the 1946 Greek legislative election and elected 25 MPs. It participated in the government of Dimitrios Maximos and Napo ...
but when he was discredited for his collaboration with the Nazis, Gonatas decided to run in coalition with the Liberal Party. In this election, for the first time in his political career, Gonatas was not elected. He never sought public office again; continuing only to serve as former Prime Ministers did on the Crown Council advising the King until his death on March 29, 1966, 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 ...
.
See also
*
Corfu incident
The Corfu Incident was a 1923 diplomatic and military crisis between Greece and Italy. It was triggered when an Italian general heading a commission to resolve a border dispute between Albania and Greece was murdered in Greek territory along w ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gonatas, Stylianos
1876 births
1966 deaths
20th-century prime ministers of Greece
Military personnel from Patras
Liberal Party (Greece) politicians
United Alignment of Nationalists politicians
Prime Ministers of Greece
Government ministers of Greece
Members of the Greek Senate 1929–1932
Members of the Greek Senate 1932–1935
Speakers of the Hellenic Parliament
Greek MPs 1946–1950
Hellenic Army generals
Greek military personnel of the Balkan Wars
Greek military personnel of the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922)
Greek military personnel of the Russian Civil War
National Republican Greek League members
Republicanism in Greece
Recipients of the Cross of Valour (Greece)
Ministers of the Interior of Greece
Politicians from Patras