Nikolaos Makarezos was a Greek Army officer and one of the masterminds of the Greek military junta of 1967-1974

Greek military junta of 1967-1974

The Greek military junta of 1967–1974, alternatively "The Regime of the Colonels" , or in Greece "The Junta", and "The Seven Years" are terms used to refer to a series of right-wing military governments that ruled Greece from 1967 to 1974...

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Early life and career

He was born in 1919 in the village of Gravia

Gravia

Gravia is a village and a former municipality in the northeastern part of Phocis, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Delphi, of which it is a municipal unit. Its 2001 population was 897 for the village and 2,975 for the municipality. The municipal unit...

, in the prefecture of Phocis

Phocis

Phocis is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Central Greece. It stretches from the western mountainsides of Parnassus on the east to the mountain range of Vardousia on the west, upon the Gulf of Corinth...

. After finishing the local school and the gymnasium at Lamia

Lamia (city)

Lamia is a city in central Greece. The city has a continuous history since antiquity, and is today the capital of the regional unit of Phthiotis and of the Central Greece region .-Name:...

, he entered 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....

 in 1937, graduating in 1940 with the rank of 2nd Lieutenant of Artillery. His first posting was in the 1st Heavy Artillery Regiment. He took part in the Greco-Italian War

Greco-Italian War

The Greco-Italian War was a conflict between Italy and Greece which lasted from 28 October 1940 to 23 April 1941. It marked the beginning of the Balkans Campaign of World War II...

 and the Battle of Greece

Battle of Greece

The Battle of Greece is the common name for the invasion and conquest of Greece by Nazi Germany in April 1941. Greece was supported by British Commonwealth forces, while the Germans' Axis allies Italy and Bulgaria played secondary roles...

, following which he served in the armed forces of the Greek government in exile

Greek government in exile

The Greek government in exile was the official government of Greece, headed by King George II, which evacuated from Athens in April 1941, after the German invasion of the country, first to the island of Crete and then to Cairo in Egypt. Hence it is also referred to as the "Cairo Government"...

. Following the war, he completed his studies at the Greek Artillery School at Megalo Pefko, where he also served as an instructor in later years. He also completed a course at the US Army's Artillery School at Babenhausen

Babenhausen

Babenhausen is a town in the Darmstadt-Dieburg district, in Hesse, Germany.-Geography:It is situated on the river Gersprenz, 25 km southeast of Frankfurt, and 14 km west of Aschaffenburg. South of its general borders, the mountain range of the Odenwald is situated about 15 km away...

 in West Germany

West Germany

West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....

, and studied Economics and Political Science. In 1962-1965, he was placed as a military attaché

Military attaché

A military attaché is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission . This post is normally filled by a high-ranking military officer who retains the commission while serving in an embassy...

 at the Greek embassy in Bonn

Bonn

Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....

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Junta

Along with fellow Colonel Georgios Papadopoulos and Brigadier Stylianos Pattakos

Stylianos Pattakos

Stylianos Pattakos is a Greek military man who was one of the principals of the Greek military junta of 1967-1974 that overthrew the government of Panagiotis Kanellopoulos in a coup d'état on April 21, 1967....

, he led the group of mid-ranking officers that overthrew the government of Panagiotis Kanellopoulos

Panagiotis Kanellopoulos

Panagiotis Kanellopoulos or Panayotis Kanellopoulos was a distinguished Greek politician and Prime Minister of Greece. He was the Prime Minister of Greece deposed by the Greek military junta of 1967-1974....

 in a coup d'état

Coup d'état

A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...

 on 21 April 1967 and established a military regime—the "Junta of the Colonels"—that lasted for seven years. Makarezos was a central figure in most of the ensuing dictatorial governments, as Coordination Minister until August 1971 and from then on until October 1973 as Deputy Prime Minister. Among the senior junta leadership, he alone had a knowledge of economics, so he was entrusted with the country's economy. The early years of the regime saw a notable economic boom, with increased development rates, low unemployment and low inflation. This was achieved through extensive foreign investments, the construction of infrastructure projects and considerable investments in the tourism industry. By 1973 however, the rate of development had begun falling, and the widespread corruption and financial scandals, as well as political stagnation, resulted in a drop in the regime's popularity. When Papadopoulos attempted to slowly democratize the regime in 1973, appointing the civilian Spyros Markezinis as Prime Minister, Makarezos was dropped from his government role.

Later life

Following the collapse of the junta in July 1974, Makarezos was placed under arrest and sent to the island of Kea

Kea (island)

Kea , also known as Gia or Tzia , Zea, and, in Antiquity, Keos , is an island of the Cyclades archipelago, in the Aegean Sea, in Greece. Kea is part of the Kea-Kythnos peripheral unit. Its capital, Ioulis, is inland at a high altitude and is considered quite picturesque...

. Along with other junta leaders, he was then put on trial

Greek Junta Trials

The Greek Junta Trials were the trials involving members of the military junta that ruled Greece from 21 April 1967 to 23 July 1974. These trials involved the instigators of the coup as well as other junta members of various ranks who took part in the events of the Athens Polytechnic uprising and...

 for treason

Treason

In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...

 and rebellion

Rebellion

Rebellion, uprising or insurrection, is a refusal of obedience or order. It may, therefore, be seen as encompassing a range of behaviors aimed at destroying or replacing an established authority such as a government or a head of state...

. Found guilty and sentenced to death

Capital punishment in Greece

In Greece the last execution took place on the 25th of August 1972. The 27 year old Vassilis Lymberis was shot by firing squad for the murder of his wife, mother-in-law and two children on the island of Crete....

, his sentence

Sentence (law)

In law, a sentence forms the final explicit act of a judge-ruled process, and also the symbolic principal act connected to his function. The sentence can generally involve a decree of imprisonment, a fine and/or other punishments against a defendant convicted of a crime...

  was later commuted

Commutation of sentence

Commutation of sentence involves the reduction of legal penalties, especially in terms of imprisonment. Unlike a pardon, a commutation does not nullify the conviction and is often conditional. Clemency is a similar term, meaning the lessening of the penalty of the crime without forgiving the crime...

 to life imprisonment

Life imprisonment

Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...

.

Since 1990, Makarezos was released from jail on medical grounds on successive temporary leaves

Furlough

In the United States a furlough is a temporary unpaid leave of some employees due to special needs of a company, which may be due to economic conditions at the specific employer or in the economy as a whole...

, but was confined to his house. He claimed to have regrets for many of his actions but continued to boast about his economic achievements during the junta. He died on August 3, 2009.