Officers have enjoyed a unique status in Greek society, to the extent that in some respects they have formed a separate caste. During the twentieth century, the military has repeatedly intervened in Greek political life, establishing a military dictatorship on three occasions, in 1925, 1936, and 1967 (see The Military in Politics , ch. 4). Since the restoration of democracy and the trial and incarceration of the leaders of the 1967 coup, however, officers have consistently refrained from intervening in political life. The converse of that statement has not always been true, however, particularly given that general and flag officers serve at the pleasure of the prime minister. In addition, shortly after PASOK's 1993 election victory, a new law legalized the recall of retired officers to active duty. When four retired officers with political connections with PASOK were recalled and appointed chiefs of staff, thirty-five senior army, navy, and air force officers resigned in protest. Although changes in top staff positions had occurred after previous changes of government, this was the first time in the postjunta era that officers had resigned in protest of a government action.

During the political schism between royalists and republicans that continued for most of the first half of the twentieth century, the armed forces were first strongly monarchist and then also strongly anticommunist. Then, the events of the Civil War (1946-49) pitted the World War II resistance forces, which were dominated by the republican Communist Party of Greece (Kommunistikon Komma Ellados--KKE), against a royalist Greek army that had largely spent the war in exile. This conflict further bolstered anticommunism in the officer corps. In the postwar period, however, time and the process of national reconciliation have largely altered the strong conservative attitude of the military--especially once the Karamanlis government reestablished democracy in 1974.

Data as of December 1994

NOTE: The information regarding Greece on this page is re-published from The Library of Congress Country Studies and the CIA World Factbook. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Greece The Officer Corps information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Greece The Officer Corps should be addressed to the Library of Congress and the CIA.