Phédon Gizikis

Phédon Gizikis was a senior military officer who served as the figurehead President of Greece during the final phase of the Greek military junta of 1967–1974. Appointed by the junta leadership following the Athens Polytechnic uprising and the ouster of Georgios Papadopoulos, his tenure was marked by the Turkish invasion of Cyprus and the subsequent collapse of the dictatorship. Gizikis played a crucial, though largely procedural, role in the Metapolitefsi transition by summoning former Prime Minister Konstantinos Karamanlis back from exile to oversee the restoration of democracy.

Early life and military career

Phédon Gizikis was born in Volos in 1917 and graduated from the Hellenic Military Academy in 1939. He served in the Hellenic Army during World War II, participating in the Greco-Italian War and the subsequent Battle of Greece against Nazi Germany. Following the Axis occupation of Greece, he continued his service in the post-liberation armed forces. During the Greek Civil War, he fought against the communist Democratic Army of Greece, aligning with the nationalist government forces. His career progressed through various command and staff positions, and he developed close ties within the conservative military establishment, which later facilitated his alignment with the Revolutionary Committee that seized power in the Greek coup d'état of 1967.

Presidency (1973–1974)

Following the violent suppression of the Athens Polytechnic uprising in November 1973, the hardline faction of the junta, led by Brigadier General Dimitrios Ioannidis, overthrew the more reformist regime of President Georgios Papadopoulos. On 25 November 1973, Gizikis, then a Lieutenant general, was installed as President of the republic proclaimed by the junta. His presidency was largely ceremonial, with real power residing with Ioannidis and the security apparatus. The regime's foreign policy adventurism culminated in the July 1974 coup in Cyprus against President Makarios III, which triggered the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. This national disaster led to the immediate collapse of the junta's credibility and forced its leadership to seek a political solution.

Role in the Metapolitefsi

In the immediate aftermath of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus and the mobilization failure of the Hellenic Armed Forces, the junta's authority disintegrated. On 23 July 1974, under immense pressure from political and military figures, President Gizikis convened a council of senior political leaders, including Panagiotis Kanellopoulos and Evangelos Averoff. This council unanimously agreed to call upon the veteran conservative leader Konstantinos Karamanlis, who was in exile in Paris, to return and form a government of national unity. Gizikis formally tendered the invitation, a critical constitutional act that transferred power to a civilian administration. Karamanlis returned to Athens on 24 July, marking the beginning of the Metapolitefsi transition to democracy. Gizikis remained in the presidential office as a caretaker until the formal restoration of the republic and the election of interim President Michail Stasinopoulos in December 1974.

Later life and death

After the restoration of democracy, Phédon Gizikis retired from public life and faced no formal prosecution for his role in the junta, partly due to his instrumental role in the peaceful transfer of power. He lived quietly in Athens, largely avoiding the public spotlight and the trials that implicated other junta leaders like Georgios Papadopoulos and Dimitrios Ioannidis. He died in Athens on 26 July 1999 at the age of 82. His passing was noted as the death of a controversial transitional figure, a military officer whose brief presidency coincided with one of the most critical junctures in modern Greek history.

Category:Presidents of Greece Category:Greek military personnel of World War II Category:Greek military personnel of the Greek Civil War Category:Greek junta