The political crisis behind the coup
Greece in the mid-1960s was a constitutional monarchy with a bitterly divided politics. The civil war of 1946 to 1949 had ended with a victory for the right over the communist-led side, and its legacy lasted for years. The left was restricted, the army and the palace had considerable influence, and there was a history of suspicion between the political centre and the security services.
The immediate crisis began in July 1965. Prime Minister Georgios Papandreou, leader of the Centre Union, quarrelled with the young King Constantine II over control of the armed forces. The king forced Papandreou from office. The next two years saw a series of short-lived governments, and many Greeks regarded the dismissal as a royal intervention against an elected leader. Street demonstrations were frequent. Elections were finally called for 28 May 1967, and most observers expected the Centre Union, with Papandreou and his son Andreas, to do well.
The night of 21 April
In the early hours of 21 April 1967, a group of middle-ranking army officers used tanks and troops to take control of Athens. The leading figures were Colonel Georgios Papadopoulos, Brigadier Stylianos Pattakos and Colonel Nikolaos Makarezos. They used a military contingency plan, reportedly one drawn up for defence against a communist threat or an attack from outside, so that units followed orders that seemed legitimate. Key politicians, officers and public figures were arrested, including Georgios Papandreou and, after a short time, Andreas Papandreou. Martial law was proclaimed, and the elections were cancelled.
The coup was bloodless in its first stage, partly because the king and most of the political establishment were taken by surprise. Constantine accepted the new government, which was sworn in under his authority, and an interim civilian prime minister was named. In practice, power rested with the colonels.
The justification
The regime said it acted to prevent a communist takeover and to save the nation from political chaos and corruption. It claimed that an election victory for the Centre Union would give the left too much influence. It described its programme as a “Helleno-Christian civilisation” and promised a cleansed national life. Historians generally regard the communist threat as exaggerated, since the Communist Party had been outlawed since 1947 and the Centre Union was not a revolutionary movement. Many conclude that the officers also feared investigations into the army and a loss of their own position.
The coup took place in the context of the Cold War, and Greece was a member of NATO. The United States government was concerned about stability in the region but did not plan the coup. Its response was cautious, and it continued to deal with the regime for strategic reasons, though some heavy arms deliveries were suspended for a period. The extent of American knowledge and influence remains a subject of discussion.
Repression
The new rulers moved quickly against opponents. Several thousand people were reportedly detained in the first weeks, many of them sent to island camps such as Yaros. Political parties were suspended, the press was censored, and strikes were banned. Torture of detainees was reported and was later documented in trials after the regime fell. Mikis Theodorakis, the composer, was arrested, and his music was banned, though he later left the country. Cultural controls reached everyday life, with restrictions on dress, books and entertainment.
International criticism grew. A Council of Europe inquiry found evidence of abuses, and in December 1969 Greece withdrew from the organisation before it could be expelled.
The king’s failure and the regime consolidates
In December 1967, King Constantine tried to dislodge the colonels with a counter-coup, launched from northern Greece. It failed through poor planning and lack of support from senior officers. He fled to Rome, where he stayed in exile. Papadopoulos then became prime minister and took on further roles over time.
A new constitution was approved in a referendum in 1968, though under conditions that gave voters little real choice. Many of its civil liberties provisions were not applied. In June 1973 the regime abolished the monarchy and declared a republic, and Papadopoulos became president after a referendum that was again tightly controlled.
Collapse
The government’s economic record was mixed, with growth in some years but with growing complaints about inflation and inequality. In November 1973 students occupied the Athens Polytechnic. The army ended the protest with tanks, and a number of people were killed. The episode damaged the regime’s image. A few days later, Brigadier Dimitrios Ioannidis, who led the military police, removed Papadopoulos in another coup and took a harder line.
The end came in July 1974, when Ioannidis’s government supported a coup against President Makarios in Cyprus. Turkey invaded the island, and the Greek armed forces were unprepared for a wider war. The military leaders turned power over to civilians, and Konstantinos Karamanlis returned from exile to lead a government. A referendum in December 1974 rejected the monarchy, and the country has remained a republic since. The leading colonels were tried and sentenced to death for treason in 1975, though the sentences were commuted to life in prison.