Ioannidis Coup

On 25 November 1973, just days after the bloody suppression of the Athens Polytechnic uprising, Brigadier Dimitrios Ioannidis, the powerful head of the military police, known as ESA, overthrew Georgios Papadopoulos, the leader of the junta. In 1973, Papadopoulos had abolished the monarchy, declared himself president and begun a limited process of political liberalization, appointing a civilian government under Spyros Markezinis and promising elections. Hardliners in the army, led by Ioannidis, opposed this opening, and the Polytechnic uprising gave them the opportunity to act. Tanks took over the streets of Athens, and Papadopoulos was placed under house arrest. Ioannidis did not take any official position himself. He installed General Phaedon Gizikis as president and a puppet government, while ruling from behind the scenes. His regime was even more repressive than the one before it. It ended the liberalization, reimposed martial law and crushed opponents. The regime lasted only eight months. Its disastrous decision to back a coup in Cyprus in July 1974 led to the Turkish invasion and the collapse of the junta.