Theodoros Pangalos

, commander of the 1st Infantry Division, at the Macedonian front during World War I. Pangalos was born on the island of Salamis on 23 January 1878 (11 January on the Julian calendar used at the time in Greece). His mother was descendant of the local Arvanite fighter of the Greek Revolution, Giannakis Meletis (Hatzimeletis), while his paternal side came from an aristocratic family of Kea island. He graduated from the Hellenic Army Academy on 29 July 1900 (16 July Greek calendar) as an Infantry Second Lieutenant, == In power ==

On 24 June 1925, officers loyal to Pangalos, fearing that the political instability was putting the country at risk, overthrew the government in a coup and forced President Pavlos Kountouriotis to appoint Pangalos as Prime Minister. Pangalos immediately abolished the young republic and began to prosecute anyone who could possibly challenge his authority, including his old chief, Plastiras. Freedom of the press was abolished, and a number of repressive laws were enacted (including a law dictating the length of women's skirts — at no more than 30 cm above the ground), while Pangalos awarded himself the Grand Cross of the Order of the Redeemer. Pangalos declared a state of emergency on 3 January 1926 and assumed dictatorial powers. In April 1926, he had himself elected president in a rigged election. On the economic front Pangalos attempted to devalue the currency by ordering paper notes cut in half. His political and diplomatic inability however became soon apparent. He conceded too many rights to Yugoslav commerce in Thessaloniki, but worst of all, he embroiled Greece in the so-called War of the Stray Dog, harming Greece's already strained international relations. Soon, many of the officers who had helped him come to power decided that he had to be removed. Regarding relations with Turkey, he still did not agree with the Treaty of Lausanne and tried to form an alliance with fascist Italy in a war against Turkey, with no success. On 22 August 1926 , a counter-coup led by General Georgios Kondylis deposed him. Pangalos was captured the next day after a group of sympathetic officers had helped him escape., and Kountouriotis returned as president, while Pangalos was imprisoned for two years in the Izzeddin Fortress. == After his rule ==

In 1930, Pangalos was sent to prison for a building scandal. He remained in prison for two years and was released during a period when a number of amnesties were issued by Venizélos. He never regained the popular support he had before the coup, and never again played a role in Greek politics. After Greece fell to the Germans in 1941, Pangalos and other Venizelist officers moved to support the new collaborationist regime. He also played an important role, albeit from behind the stage, in the establishment of the Security Battalions, which he hoped to use against both the Communist-dominated National Liberation Front and against a possible return of King George II and the royal government from exile. Ambitious, tough and able, Pangalos was also widely distrusted for his rashness, megalomania and for being generally "half mad". Through Pangalos did not formally take a position with the Security Battalions, but he ensured his followers were given key positions in the Security Battalions. Pangalos was especially close to SS-Standartenführer Walter Blume, who was regarded as the most extreme and violent of all the SS leaders in Greece. Blume intrigued in the summer of 1944 to have Pangalos appointed prime minister of the puppet Hellenic State to replace Ioannis Rallis, who was very close to a nervous breakdown by that point. After liberation, Pangalos was arrested and put in Averof prison in Athens waiting trial for collaboration, but was cleared of all charges in September 1945. He unsuccessfully ran for parliament in 1950 and died in Kifissia two years later. His grandson, also named Theodoros Pangalos, served as the Deputy Prime Minister of Greece. He was a member of the PASOK socialist party. == In popular culture ==

Theodoros Pangalos is mentioned in the song "Stin epohi tou Pangalou" (In the times of Pangalos, ) by Giorgos Mitsakis, originally sung by George Dalaras. == References ==