Alexandros Othonaios was a distinguished Greek general, who became briefly Prime Minister of an emergency government during an abortive coup in 1933.

Early life and career

Othonaios was born at Gytheion in 1879, and enrolled in the Hellenic Military Academy

Hellenic Military Academy

The Evelpidon Military Academy is the oldest tertiary level educational institution in Greece. It was founded in 1828 in Nafplio by Ioannis Kapodistrias, the first Governor of the modern Greek State....

. He participated in the Macedonian Struggle

Macedonian Struggle

The Macedonian Struggle was a series of social, political, cultural and military conflicts between Greeks and Bulgarians in the region of Ottoman Macedonia between 1904 and 1908...

 with the nom de guerre of Kapetan Palamidis, and was a member of the Military League. He fought in the Balkan Wars

Balkan Wars

The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe in 1912 and 1913.By the early 20th century, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia, the countries of the Balkan League, had achieved their independence from the Ottoman Empire, but large parts of their ethnic...

, and sided with Eleftherios Venizelos

Eleftherios Venizelos

Eleftherios Venizelos was an eminent Greek revolutionary, a prominent and illustrious statesman as well as a charismatic leader in the early 20th century. Elected several times as Prime Minister of Greece and served from 1910 to 1920 and from 1928 to 1932...

 during the National Schism, commanding the 7th Cretan Regiment in the Macedonian Front

Macedonian front (World War I)

The Macedonian Front resulted from an attempt by the Allied Powers to aid Serbia, in the autumn of 1915, against the combined attack of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria. The expedition came too late and in insufficient force to prevent the fall of Serbia, and was complicated by the internal...

 of World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. He also took part in the Allied Expedition to the Ukraine in 1919 with the rank of Colonel. Subsequently, he was appointed Commanding Officer of the Kydoniai Division and participated in the occupation of the Smyrna

Izmir

Izmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...

 district in the early stages of the Asia Minor Campaign

Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922)

The Greco–Turkish War of 1919–1922, known as the Western Front of the Turkish War of Independence in Turkey and the Asia Minor Campaign or the Asia Minor Catastrophe in Greece, was a series of military events occurring during the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire after World War I between May...

. After the electoral defeat

Greek legislative election, 1920

The legislative elections of 1920 were probably the most crucial elections in the modern history of Greece, influencing not only the few years afterwards, including Greece's defeat by Kemal Atatürk's reformed Turkish army in 1922, but setting the stage for Greece's political landscape for most of...

 of Venizelos in 1920, he was dismissed from the army and fled to Constantinople

Constantinople

Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...

, where he joined several other Venizelist officers.

Later career

He was recalled after the catastrophic defeat and evacuation of the Greek forces in Asia Minor, which led to a military revolt led by Colonels Nikolaos Plastiras

Nikolaos Plastiras

Nikolaos Plastiras was a Greek general and politician, who served thrice as Prime Minister of Greece. A distinguished soldier and known for his personal bravery, he was known as "O Mavros Kavalaris" during the Greco-Turkish War of 1919-1922...

 and Stylianos Gonatas

Stylianos Gonatas

Stylianos Gonatas was a Greek military officer and Venizelist politician and Prime Minister of Greece between 1922 and 1924.- Early life and military career :...

 in September 1922. Othonaios was appointed chief judge of the military tribunal that tried and convicted several prominent leaders of the anti-Venizelist camp to death (the infamous "Trial of the Six

Trial of the Six

The Trial of the Six or the Execution of the Six was the trial for treason, in late 1922, of the officials held responsible for the Greek military defeat in Asia Minor...

"). He was promoted to Lieutenant General in 1923, commanding II and III Army Corps, but resigned after the coup of General Theodoros Pangalos

Theodoros Pangalos (general)

Major General Theodoros Pangalos was a Greek soldier and politician. A distinguished staff officer and an ardent Venizelist and anti-royalist, Pangalos played a leading role in the September 1922 revolt that deposed King Constantine I and in the establishment of the Second Hellenic Republic...

 in 1925.

He returned to the Army in 1928 as head of the Second Army Inspectorate. In 6-10 March 1933, he led the military government that was formed to confront an attempted coup by Plastiras. An outspoken Venizelist and Republican, he was again removed from the Army, along with many Republicans, in the aftermath of another failed Venizelist coup

Greek coup attempt of 1935

The attempted coup of March 1935 was a Venizelist revolt against the People's Party government of Panagis Tsaldaris, which was suspected of pro-royalist tendencies....

 two years later. Subsequently, the monarchy

Kingdom of Greece

The Kingdom of Greece was a state established in 1832 in the Convention of London by the Great Powers...

 was restored, and eventually a conservative dictatorship was established in Greece by General Ioannis Metaxas

Ioannis Metaxas

Ioannis Metaxas was a Greek general, politician, and dictator, serving as Prime Minister of Greece from 1936 until his death in 1941...

.During this period, and the Axis Occupation that followed, Othonaios remained in Greece, but engaged in no political activity. After Liberation in October 1944, he was placed as nominal commander-in-chief because of his democratic credentials, but the virulent political atmosphere, which soon led to the Greek Civil War

Greek Civil War

The Greek Civil War was fought from 1946 to 1949 between the Greek governmental army, backed by the United Kingdom and United States, and the Democratic Army of Greece , the military branch of the Greek Communist Party , backed by Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Albania...

, forced him to permanently resign in 1945.