Anastasios Charalambis
Anastasios Charalambis c. 1913-17
Native name
Αναστάσιος Χαραλάμπης
Born22 September 1862[1]
Kalavryta, Kingdom of Greece
Died11 March 1949(1949-03-11) (aged 86)
Athens, Kingdom of Greece
Allegiance
Service/branch Hellenic Army
Years of service1884–1922
1927
Rank Lieutenant General
Commands held1st Infantry Division (Chief of Staff)
6th Infantry Division (Chief of Staff)
II Army Corps (Chief of Staff)
WarsGreco-Turkish War (1897)
Balkan Wars

World War I

Awards Order of the Redeemer
Legion of Honour
Other workPrime Minister
Minister of Military Affairs
Chairman of Military Council
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Anastasios Charalambis (Greek: Αναστάσιος Χαραλάμπης, 22 September 1862 – 11 March 1949) was a Greek Lieutenant General and interim Prime Minister of Greece for one day in 1922.

Military service

Anastasios Charalambis was born in Kalavryta on 22 September 1862.[2] After studying in the Hellenic Military Academy, he was commissioned as 2nd Lieutenant of Cavalry on 25 July 1884. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1888 and captain in 1895, and fought in the Greco-Turkish War of 1897.[2][3]

He was again promoted to major in 1908, lieutenant colonel in 1910 and colonel in 1913. During the Balkan Wars of 1912–1913, he served as Chief of Staff of the 1st Infantry Division in Macedonia, then of the 6th Infantry Division in the operations in Epirus, before returning to the 1st Division for the operations against the Kingdom of Bulgaria in the Second Balkan War.[2][3]

In 1914 he was placed as Chief of Staff to the II Army Corps, and then as Director of the Artillery Bureau of the Ministry of Military Affairs.[2][3] From 26 April to 19 May and from 22 May to 14 June 1917 he served as Minister of Military Affairs, and then from 26 June as Chief of the Army's Staff Service until November. In early 1918 he was placed in command of the II Army Corps, and retired from the Army on 23 July 1918.[2][3] He was promoted to major general in 1917 and Lt. General in 1918.[3]

Prime Minister

Following the defeat against Turkey in Anatolia, the government of Petros Protopapadakis fell, and Greece was plunged into a political crisis. A military revolt, led by Venizelist officers, erupted in September 1922, and demanded the resignation of King Constantine I and of Prime Minister Nikolaos Triantafyllakos. Their demands were met, and the revolutionary committee installed a new government, with Alexandros Zaimis as Prime Minister and Charalambis as Minister of Military Affairs. As Zaimis was out of the country, Sotirios Krokidas was appointed as interim Prime Minister.

Until Krokidas could reach Athens to be sworn in, Charalambis was sworn in as temporary Prime Minister and Minister for Military Affairs on 16 September, serving for one day (and concurrently also as provisional Interior Minister).[4] After Krokidas arrived, he assumed the posts of Prime Minister and Interior Minister, while Charalambis remained Minister for Military Affairs until the cabinet's resignation on 14 November 1922.[2][5]

Council chairman

He was recalled from retirement in 1927 to serve as chairman of the military council for the re-admission of officers purged for political reasons over the previous years.[2][3] Charalambis died on 11 March 1949.[3]

References

  1. ^ Note: Greece officially adopted the Gregorian calendar on 16 February 1923 (which became 1 March). All dates prior to that, unless specifically denoted, are Old Style.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Μεγάλη Στρατιωτική και Ναυτική Εγκυκλοπαιδεία. Τόμος Στ′: Σαράντα Εκκλησίαι – Ώχρα [Great Military and Naval Encyclopedia. Volume VI] (in Greek). Athens. 1930. p. 567.((cite book)): CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Αντιστράτηγος ΧΑΡΑΛΑΜΠΗΣ A. ΑΝΑΣΤΑΣΙΟΣ, ΑΜ 3202. Αρχηγός ΓΕΣ 1917". Συνοπτική Ιστορία του Γενικού Επιτελείου Στρατού 1901–2001 [A Concise History of the Hellenic Army General Staff 1901–2001] (in Greek). Athens: Hellenic Army History Directorate. 2001. p. 143. ISBN 960-7897-44-7.
  4. ^ "Κυβέρνησις ΑΝΑΣΤΑΣΙΟΥ ΧΑΡΑΛΑΜΠΗ - Από 16.9.1922 έως 17.9.1922" (in Greek). General Secretariat of the Government. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  5. ^ "Κυβέρνησις ΣΩΤΗΡΙΟΥ ΚΡΟΚΙΔΑ - Από 17.9.1922 έως 14.11.1922" (in Greek). General Secretariat of the Government. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
Military offices Preceded byMajor General Xenofon Stratigos Chief of the Hellenic Army Staff Service 26 June – November 1917 VacantTitle next held byMajor General Aristotelis Vlachopoulos Political offices Preceded byNikolaos Triantafyllakos Prime Minister of Greece 16–17 September 1922 Succeeded bySotirios Krokidas Preceded byG. Bousios Minister for the Interior of Greece 16–17 September 1922 Preceded byNikolaos Triantafyllakos Minister for Military Affairs of Greece 16 September – 14 November 1922 Succeeded byTheodoros Pangalos
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