Ioannis Metaxas

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Ioannis Metaxas
Ιωάννης Μεταξάς
Prime Minister of Greece
In office 13 April 1936 – 29 January 1941
Monarch	George II
Preceded by	Konstantinos Demertzis
Succeeded by	Alexandros Koryzis
Deputy Prime Minister
In office 30 November 1935 – 12 April 1936
Monarch	George II
Prime Minister	Konstantinos Demertzis
Preceded by	Ioannis Theotokis
Succeeded by	Konstantinos Zavitsianos
Minister of Defense
In office 5 – 13 March 1935
President	Alexandros Zaimis
Prime Minister	Panagis Tsaldaris
Preceded by	Georgios Kondylis
Succeeded by	Georgios Kondylis
In office 14 March 1936 – 29 January 1941
Monarch	George II
Prime Minister	Konstantinos Demertzis Himself
Preceded by	Konstantinos Demertzis
Succeeded by	Alexandros Koryzis
Minister of the Interior
In office 4 November 1932 – 16 January 1933
President	Alexandros Zaimis
Prime Minister	Panagis Tsaldaris
Preceded by	Ioannis Tsirimokos
Succeeded by	Georgios Maris
Minister of Public Transport
In office 4 December 1926 – 4 July 1928
President	Pavlos Kountouriotis
Prime Minister	Alexandros Zaimis
Personal details
Born	(1871-04-12)12 April 1871 Ithaca, Kingdom of Greece
Died	29 January 1941(1941-01-29) (aged 69) Athens, Kingdom of Greece
Cause of death	Toxemia
Political party	Freethinkers' Party (1922–1936) Independent (1936–1941)
Alma mater	Hellenic Army Academy Prussian War College
Awards	Gold Cross of the Order of the Redeemer
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	Kingdom of Greece
Branch/service	Hellenic Army
Years of service	1890–1920
Rank	Lieutenant General
Unit	Army of Thessaly
Commands	Epistratoi
Battles/wars	Greco-Turkish War (1897) Balkan Wars First Balkan War Battle of Bizani Second Balkan War World War I National Schism Noemvriana

Ioannis Metaxas (/ˈmɛtəksæs/;^[1] Greek: Ιωάννης Μεταξάς; 12 April 1871^[2] – 29 January 1941) was a Greek military officer and politician who was Prime Minister of Greece from 1936 until his death in 1941. He governed constitutionally for the first four months of his tenure, and thereafter as the strongman leader of the 4th of August Regime following his appointment by King George II.

Born to an aristocratic family in Ithaca, Metaxas took part in the Greco-Turkish War of 1897 and the Balkan Wars (1912–13), and quickly rose through the ranks of the Hellenic Army. As a monarchist during the National Schism, Metaxas unsuccessfully opposed Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos and Greece's entry in World War I; he was exiled to Corsica in response in 1917. On his return, Metaxas moved into politics and founded the Freethinkers' Party, but had only limited success under the Second Hellenic Republic.

Metaxas was appointed Prime Minister in April 1936, a year after the Greek monarchy was restored. With the support of King George II, Metaxas initiated a self-coup and established an authoritarian, nationalist, and anti-communist regime. The ideology associated with his rule, Metaxism, has sometimes been characterized as fascist, though scholars have described his rule as a conventional authoritarian-conservative dictatorship akin to Francoist Spain or the Estado Novo in Portugal.^[3][4]

Metaxas attempted to maintain Greek neutrality early in the Second World War. On 28 October 1940, Metaxas rejected an ultimatum imposed by the Italians to surrender, committing Greece to the Allies and bringing the country into the war. He died in January 1941, before the German invasion and subsequent fall of Greece.