Georgios Tsolakoglou | |
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Γεώργιος Τσολάκογλου | |
![]() Georgios Tsolakoglou c. 1941 | |
![]() Prime Minister of the Hellenic State | |
In office 30 April 1941 – 2 December 1942 | |
Deputy | Konstantinos Logothetopoulos |
Preceded by | Office established |
Succeeded by | Konstantinos Logothetopoulos |
Personal details | |
Born | April 1886 Rentina, Kingdom of Greece |
Died | 22 May 1948 Athens, Kingdom of Greece | (aged 62)
Occupation | Politician |
Profession | Soldier |
Military service | |
Allegiance | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Branch/service | ![]() |
Rank | ![]() |
Commands | Western Macedonia Army Section Epirus Army Section |
Battles/wars | |
Georgios Tsolakoglou (Greek: Γεώργιος Τσολάκογλου; April 1886 – 22 May 1948) was a Greek army officer who headed the government of Greece from 1941 to 1942, in the early phase of the country's occupation by Axis powers during World War II.
An officer of the Hellenic Army, Tsolakoglou was a veteran of the Balkan Wars, the First World War and the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922. After Greece was overrun following a German invasion in 1941, Tsolakoglou, then a lieutenant general, offered the surrender of the Hellenic Army to the Wehrmacht. In April, he was appointed Prime Minister of the puppet government, which was beset by corruption and infighting from the start. Tsolakoglou's popularity plunged further following the Italian takeover of the occupation, as well as Bulgaria's annexation of Northern Greece. He was unable to alleviate Germany's large-scale plunder of the country, which led to the Great Famine that resulted in the deaths of nearly 300,000 Greeks.
Tsolakoglou remained head of the government until December 1942, when he was dismissed and replaced by Konstantinos Logothetopoulos. After the liberation of Greece, he was arrested, tried and sentenced to death. His sentence was ultimately commuted to life imprisonment, and he died in prison of leukaemia in 1948.