Knowra Greek junta Greek junta The Greek junta was a military dictatorship that ruled Greece from 1967 to 1974 after army officers seized power in a coup. It ended when the regime collapsed amid the Cyprus crisis.
Coup d'état of 21 April 1967 : The army officers’ seizure of power in Greece on 21 April 1967, which established the military dictatorship. The coup installed the regime and arrested political leaders, suspending constitutional rule.
Greek Civil War : A conflict from 1946 to 1949 between the Greek government and communist-led insurgents. Its aftermath strengthened anti-communist institutions that later supported the junta.
Greek metapolitefsi : The transition from military rule to democracy in Greece beginning in 1974. The junta’s collapse began this period of democratic restoration.
Greek democracy : A political system in Greece based on elected government, political competition, and constitutional rule. The junta suspended the democratic institutions restored after its fall.
Georgios Papadopoulos : A Greek army officer who became the junta’s leading figure and served as prime minister and president. Papadopoulos shaped the regime’s early rule and attempted a controlled liberalization.
Greek military : The armed forces of Greece, including the army, navy, and air force. Army officers carried out the coup and supplied the regime’s governing core.
Athens Polytechnic uprising : A student-led protest in Athens in November 1973, suppressed by the junta with military force. The uprising became a defining symbol of resistance to the dictatorship.
Greek parliamentary system : A system of government in which the Greek cabinet depends on the confidence of parliament. The coup replaced parliamentary government with rule by military officers.
Greek military police : A Greek security force responsible for surveillance, interrogation, and repression under the junta. Its officers enforced political control through arrests, torture, and intimidation.
Greek parliamentary election of 1964 : A Greek election won by the Centre Union under Georgios Papandreou. The political tensions following Papandreou’s victory fed military fears of a leftward shift.
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