{{Short description|Greek politician and soldier}} '''Dimitrios Tsitsimis''' ([[Greek language|Greek]]: Δημήτριος Τσιτσίμης) was a [[Greeks|Greek]] chieftain of the [[Macedonian Struggle]]. {{Infobox Soldier | honorific_prefix = Kapetan (Chieftain) | name = Dimitrios Tsitsimis | native_name = Δημήτριος Τσιτσίμης | birth_date = Late 1800s | birth_place = Üstrümce, [[Salonika Vilayet]], [[Ottoman Empire]] (now [[Strumica]], [[North Macedonia]]) | allegiance = {{flagicon|Greece|royal}} [[Kingdom of Greece]] | branch = * {{flagicon image|Seal of the Greek-Macedonian Committee.jpg}} [[Hellenic Macedonian Committee|HMC]] * {{army|Greece}} | battles = [[Macedonian Struggle]]<br>[[Balkan Wars]] *[[First Balkan War]] *[[Second Balkan War]] | other_work = Tobacco Trader<br>[[Mayor]] of [[Kilkis]] }}
== Biography == Tsitsimis was born in the late 19th century in Üstrümce, then [[Ottoman Empire]] (now [[Strumica]], [[North Macedonia]]). He was a tobacco trader in the profession but quickly took action to contribute to the [[Macedonian Struggle]]. He initially joined [[Georgios Karaiskakis (chieftain)|Georgios Karaiskakis']] armed group, a local of [[Bogdanci]], who became a coleader.<ref>Γεώργιος Μόδης, Αγώνες στη Μακεδονία, Εκδόσεις Μπαρμπουνάκης, Thessaloniki, 1975, p. 200</ref> He then set up his own small armed group and became leader. He acted in the regions of Strumica, [[Gevgelija]], nearby [[Doiran Lake]] and [[Kilkis (regional unit)|Kilkis]]. For some time he was the leader of the militia of the village Gabrovo of Strumica.<ref>"Αφανείς Γηγενείς Μακεδονομάχοι", επιστημονκή επιμέλεια Ιωάννης Σ. Κολιόπουλος, Εταιρεία Μακεδονικών Σπουδών (ΕΜΣ), University Studio Press, Thessaloniki, 2008, p. 182</ref> He was pursued by the [[Bulgarians|Bulgarian]] [[komitadji]]s and the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman authorities]] but was never caught.
During the [[Balkan Wars]] he participated as a volunteer and undertook various missions in [[Central Macedonia]], as a detector and guide of the [[Hellenic Army]]. After the end of the [[Second Balkan War]] and the migration of the Greeks of Strumica, he settled in Kilkis where he continued to practice his profession, tobacco trading. He was the first Greek mayor of Kilkis. He was also the director of the first group of scouts of Kilkis.
For his national action, he was awarded several times by the [[Kingdom of Greece|Greek state]]. His military equipment and his weapons are displayed at the [[Museum for the Macedonian Struggle (Thessaloniki)|Macedonian Struggle Museum]] in [[Thessaloniki]].
== References == {{reflist}}
== Sources == * Κωνσταντίνος Βακαλόπουλος, Ο Μακεδονικός Αγώνας (1904-1908), Η ένοπλη φάση, Thessaloniki, 1987 * [https://web.archive.org/web/20100912002433/http://www.scoutsofkilkis.gr/F1FDFC27.el.aspx Περιφερειακή Εφορεία Προσκόπων Κιλκίς, Ο Προσκοπισμός στο Κιλκίς] * [http://kilkis.wordpress.com/2008/10/27/%CE%B7-%CF%87%CE%B1%CE%BC%CE%B5%CE%BD%CE%B7-%CF%84%CE%B9%CE%BC%CE%B7-%CF%84%CE%BF%CF%85-%CE%BA%CE%B1%CF%80%CE%B5%CF%84%CE%B1%CE%BD-%CE%BC%CE%B9%CE%BA%CE%B7-%CE%B6%CE%B5%CE%B6%CE%B1/ Κοινωνία Πολιτών Ν. Κιλκίς, 27 Οκτωβρίου 2008, Ιωάννης Τσιτσίμης, "Η χαμένη τιμή του καπετάν Μίκη Ζέζα, Στη μνήμη του οπλαρχηγού Β΄, Στρώμνιτσας, Δημήτρη Τσιτσίμη"]
{{Macedonian Struggle}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Tsitsimis, Dimitrios}} [[Category:Greek people of the Macedonian Struggle]] [[Category:Greek Macedonians]] [[Category:People from Strumica]] [[Category:Macedonian revolutionaries (Greek)]] [[Category:Greek military personnel of the Balkan Wars]]