The Provisional Democratic Government () was the name of the administration declared by the

Communist Party of Greece The Communist Party of Greece (, ΚΚΕ; ''Kommounistikó Kómma Elládas'', KKE) is a Marxist–Leninist political party in Greece. It was founded in 1918 as the Socialist Workers' Party of Greece (SEKE) and adopted its current name in Novem ...

on 24 December 1947, during the

Greek Civil War The Greek Civil War () took place from 1946 to 1949. The conflict, which erupted shortly after the end of World War II, consisted of a Communism, Communist-led uprising against the established government of the Kingdom of Greece. The rebels decl ...

. The government controlled various mountainous areas along Greece's northern border, adjoining the communist states of

SFR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

and

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

, and was seen as the succession of the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

-era " Mountain Government" of the Communist-led EAM-ELAS

Resistance movement A resistance movement is an organized group of people that tries to resist or try to overthrow a government or an occupying power, causing disruption and unrest in civil order and stability. Such a movement may seek to achieve its goals through ei ...

. Its main allies were the

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and the

Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc (Combloc), the Socialist Bloc, the Workers Bloc, and the Soviet Bloc, was an unofficial coalition of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America that were a ...

History

The

had broken out in spring 1946, but it was not until June 1947 that the Greek Communists announced their intention to form a separate government. This move was announced by leading Party member Miltiadis Porfyrogennis at the Congress of the

French Communist Party The French Communist Party (, , PCF) is a Communism, communist list of political parties in France, party in France. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its Member of the European Parliament, MEPs sit with The Left in the ...

, in a move designed to garner publicity and highlight the support of other Communist parties and governments to the Greek Communists' cause. The formation of a separate government was not only a renunciation of any chances of reconciliation with the royal government in Athens, but also implied also a move away from guerrilla warfare towards a more "regular" structure. This was in accordance with the Yugoslav-inspired "Lakes Plan", which envisaged the creation of a regular army of 50,000–60,000 men and the occupation of large parts of northern Greece, ultimately including Greece's second largest city,

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

, where the new government would base itself. The new government's formation was announced on 23 December 1947, with Markos Vafiadis, the leader of the Communists'

Democratic Army of Greece The Democratic Army of Greece (DAG; , ΔΣΕ; ''Dimokratikós Stratós Elládas'', DSE) was the army founded by the Communist Party of Greece during the Greek Civil War (1946–1949). At its height, it had a strength of around 50,000 men and w ...

(DSE), as its first chairman. The government was composed exclusively of Party members, with Giannis Ioannidis serving as Vice Chairman and Foreign minister, Petros Rousos as Justice Minister, Miltiadis Porfyrogennis as Health and Welfare Minister, Petros Kokkalis as Finance Minister, Vassilis Bartziotas as Agriculture Minister, Dimitris Vlantas as Minister of National Economy and Leonidas Stringos as Minister of Supply. Notably, Party General Secretary Nikolaos Zachariadis was not a member of the government. The new government actively tried to present itself as a revival of the ideology and practices

-era National Liberation Front, which had dominated the Greek Resistance movement. It was also notable for its active protection of the minorities living in northern Greece, especially as these tended to support the Communists against the nationalist royal government. On 25 December, the DSE attacked the town of

Konitsa Konitsa (, see also Konitsa#Name, names in other languages) is a town of Ioannina (regional unit), Ioannina in Epirus (region), Epirus, Greece. It is located north of the capital Ioannina and near the Albanian Border crossings of Albania, border. ...

, intending to seize the city as the new government's headquarters. According to testimony by Vafiadis, Zachariadis had expressed the hope that if the city fell and became the Communists' capital, the PDG would be recognized by the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and other

states. The attack lasted until 4 January 1948, but ended in failure. In the end, the PDG was never recognized by any government, because the Soviets feared a widening of the conflict into general warfare between the West and their satellite states in the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

. Soviet premier

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

told Zachariadis in February 1948 that the neighbouring governments would only recognize the PDG after other countries had first done so. As the national government pushed the DSE back in 1948, Vafiadis clashed with Zachariadis over the pursuit of the war. Finally, he was ousted from his position as PDG chairman on 7 February 1949. In 3 April 1949, he was succeeded by Dimitrios Partsalidis. Following defeat by government forces in the Battle of Grammos, the Provisional Democratic Government was defeated in the Civil War and left Greece on 28 August 1949. The PDG survived in exile until they were finally dissolved in October 1950.

References

{{Authority control Greek Civil War Communist Party of Greece 1940s in Greek politics Political history of Greece States and territories established in 1947 1947 establishments in Greece States and territories disestablished in 1949 1949 disestablishments in Greece Former unrecognized countries Former socialist republics Provisional governments