January 29th 1941: Ioannis Metaxas died
On this day in 1941, Greek dictator Ioannis Metaxas died in Athens aged 69. Born in Ithaca in 1871, Metaxas joined the army and served in the 1897 Greco-Turkish War and in the Balkan Wars from 1912-13, becoming a general in 1916. Due to his staunch monarchism, the general was briefly exiled after the monarchy was deposed in 1917, but returned upon restoration in 1920. After the monarchy was deposed again in 1923, Metaxas entered politics as a loyalist and received strong electoral support. His loyalty was rewarded, as upon the restoration of the monarchy, Metaxas was appointed to a ministerial position, and then premier in April 1936. However, soon into his premiership, Metaxas dissolved Parliament and began a dictatorship - known as the Fourth of August regime - which was authorised by the monarch. Metaxas intended to create a new Greek civilisation to emulate the glory of ancient Greece, but instead his regime was fascistic and fiercely repressive of political dissent. Metaxas is best known for his refusal to allow Benito Mussolini’s troops occupy Greece in 1940. Metaxas’s defiant ‘ohi’ (’no’) to Mussolini began the Greco-Italian War, and the general lead the small Greek army to victory, making the dictator a popular figure in Greece. Metaxas’s sudden death in 1941 was shrouded in mystery, as while the official cause of death was septicemia, rumours abounded that he had been assassinated by the British. Metaxas was replaced by Alexandros Koryzis, who had to deal with the German invasion and ultimately committed suicide in April 1941 as German troops marched on Athens. While he ruled with an iron fist, and is reviled by many for his fascist sympathies, Ioannis Metaxas was hailed as a Greek national hero for his successful defence of Greece during the Second World War.
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