Petros Garoufalias

'''Petros Garoufalias''' ({{langx|el|Πέτρος Γαρουφαλιάς}}, 1901 – September 17, 1984) was a [[Greece|Greek]] politician and businessman, and President of the [[Fix (beer)|Fix Beer Company]]. He was a major financial backer of Prime Minister [[Georgios Papandreou]], under whom he served as Minister of Defense. However, he was heavily involved in the events known as the "[[Iouliana]]" of 1965, which led to the fall of the [[Center Union]] government.

==Life== Born in [[Arta, Greece|Arta]] in 1901, Garoufalias came from a prominent family of the [[Arta (regional unit)|Arta region]]; his ancestor Nikolaos Garoufalias was a member of [[Filiki Eteria]] and had fought in the [[Greek War of Independence]] in the 1820s.<ref name="gnomiartas">{{cite web|url=http://www.gnomiartas.gr/afierwmata/item/2599-garoyfalias?tmpl=component&print=1|publisher=gnomiartas.gr|title=ΟΙ ΓΑΡΟΥΦΑΛΙΑΔΕΣ|accessdate=2017-05-27}}</ref> His father, Evangelos Garoufalias, had served as Mayor of Arta and as [[Member of Parliament]].<ref name="gnomiartas"/>

Garoufalias graduated from the Law School of [[Athens University]] and earned post-graduate degrees in Commercial Law and Economics in [[Berlin]] and [[Paris]].<ref name="Τα Νέα, 18 Σεπτεμβρίου 1984">Τα Νέα, 18 Σεπτεμβρίου 1984</ref>

He served as a Member of Parliament for [[Arta Prefecture]], and was closely associated with [[Georgios Papandreou]]. With Papandreou's help, Garoufalias was named Minister of Public Order, Minister of the Interior and Deputy Minister of National Economy (Coordination) in the centrist governments of 1950–52, under Prime Ministers [[Nikolaos Plastiras]] and [[Sophoklis Venizelos]] (Papandreou himself was Deputy Prime Minister).

He married Marianthi Fix, widow of industrialist Ioannis Fix, and thus inherited the [[Fix (beer)|Fix Beer Company]]. George Papandreou was [[best man]] at the wedding.

Garoufalias was named Greek Minister of Defense in the third Papandreou government, from February 1964 to July 1965. He clashed with the Prime Minister's son, [[Andreas Papandreou]] (also a minister in the government) over the control of the Greek military; Garoufalias took the side of the King in the events known as the "[[Iouliana]] of 1965", which contributed to the downfall of the government, a deep political crisis and, eventually, to the imposition of the dictatorial [[Regime of the Colonels]].<ref name="Τα Νέα, 18 Σεπτεμβρίου 1984"/>

In his 1982 book "Greece and Cyprus: Tragic Mistakes, Lost Opportunities, February 19, 1964{{snd}}July 15, 1965", Garoufalias claimed that the [[Greek Army]] division that was secretly dispatched to [[Cyprus]] in 1964 was his idea,<ref>[https://www.e-grammes.gr/%CE%A0%CE%B1%CF%81%CE%BF%CF%85%CF%83%CE%AF%CE%B1%CF%83%CE%B7-%CF%84%CE%BF%CF%85-%CE%B2%CE%B9%CE%B2%CE%BB%CE%AF%CE%BF%CF%85-%C2%AB%CE%94%CE%B7%CE%BC%CE%AE%CF%84%CF%81%CE%B9%CE%BF%CF%82-%CE%92%CE%B5%CE%B6%CE%B1%CE%BD%CE%AE%CF%82-%CE%A3%CE%BA%CE%AD%CF%88%CE%B5%CE%B9%CF%82-%CE%BA%CE%B1%CE%B9-%CE%BC%CE%B1%CF%81%CF%84%CF%85%CF%81%CE%AF%CE%B5%CF%82%C2%BB-%CF%83%CF%84%CE%B7%CE%BD-%CE%91%CE%B8%CE%AE%CE%BD%CE%B1 ΠΑΡΟΥΣΙΑΣΗ ΤΟΥ ΒΙΒΛΙΟΥ «ΔΗΜΗΤΡΙΟΣ ΒΕΖΑΝΗΣ - ΣΚΕΨΕΙΣ ΚΑΙ ΜΑΡΤΥΡΙΕΣ» ΣΤΗΝ ΑΘΗΝΑ]</ref> an opinion vociferously rejected by [[Andreas Papandreou]], who maintained that Garoufalias's role on Cyprus was very limited, and that he merely followed orders, without even being invited to the most important meetings.<ref>Andreas Papandreou, Democracy at Gunpoint: The Greek Front, σελίδες 100-101, London: Andre Deutsch, 1971</ref>

Garoufalias died on September 17, 1984, aged 83.<ref name="Τα Νέα, 18 Σεπτεμβρίου 1984"/>

==References== {{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garoufalias, Petros}} [[Category:1901 births]] [[Category:1984 deaths]] [[Category:Greek MPs 1946–1950]] [[Category:Government ministers of Greece]] [[Category:People from Arta, Greece]] [[Category:Ministers of national defence of Greece]] [[Category:Ministers of the interior of Greece]] [[Category:Ministers of public order of Greece]] [[Category:Greek MPs 1950–1951]] [[Category:Greek MPs 1958–1961]] [[Category:Greek MPs 1961–1963]] [[Category:Greek MPs 1963–1964]] [[Category:Greek MPs 1964–1967]] [[Category:20th-century Greek businesspeople]] [[Category:Centre Union politicians]]