Petros Voulgaris

Petros Voulgaris (Greek: Πέτρος Βούλγαρης; 13 September 1883 – 26 November 1957) was a Greek Admiral who served briefly as Prime Minister of Greece in 1945. He was famous for his role in suppressing the 1944 Greek naval mutiny and restoring the fleet to combat readiness, for which he was awarded the Commander's Cross of the Cross of Valour.

Early career He was born in the island of Hydra on 13 September 1883, to Georgios Voulgaris and Archonto Vatsaxi. After the death of his father in 1885, his family settled in Athens, with his mother's relatives. After finishing school, he entered the Hellenic Naval Academy on 10 October 1899, and was commissioned as Ensign of the Line on 16 July 1903. In 1908–1910 he was detached for training abroad, and briefly served aboard the French Navy cruiser Ernest Renan in 1912. Promoted to Sub-Lieutenant on 29 March 1910, he participated in the Balkan Wars of 1912–13 aboard the destroyer Panthir, taking part in the Battle of Elli and the operations to capture Imbros, Samothrace, and Mount Athos. On 2 June 1913 he was promoted to lieutenant and to lieutenant first class on 16 July 1916, serving as adjutant to the Minister for Naval Affairs, Admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis (1915–16) and captain of the torpedo boat Thetis. When the National Defence revolt broke out in Thessaloniki in August 1916, the pro-Venizelist Voulgaris, like his mentor and fellow Hydriot Kountouriotis, left Athens and joined the revolutionary government. On 26 December 1917 he was promoted to lieutenant commander, retroactive to 3 March. From…Citește mai mult

World War II and aftermath For the next few years, he worked in the private sector, eventually working for the Greek industry magnate Prodromos Bodosakis-Athanasiadis in Egypt. On 6 May 1943, the Greek government in exile recalled him to service, alongside many other officers who had been expelled in 1935, and promoted him to Rear Admiral (retroactively since 26 February 1937). He was again retired on 15 September 1943 as a vice admiral in retirement. On 20 May 1943, he received the post of Aviation Minister in the cabinet of Emmanouil Tsouderos, which he held until 14 April 1944, when the Tsouderos cabinet resigned. With the ongoing pro-EAM Navy mutiny reaching its climax, on 20 April he was recalled to active service with the rank of vice admiral, and was placed as Chief of Fleet Command on the next day. From this position, he oversaw the violent recapture of the mutinied ships by officer detachments. In October 1944, he led the Greek fleet back to Greece, and assumed the duties of Chief of the Navy General Staff. In the months after liberation, the political situation in Greece was extremely unstable: following month-long clashes between government and British forces and the…Citește mai mult