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People
Kings Of The Hellenes
Georgios II (1890-1947)
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Georgios II {Γεώργιος Β'} (1890-1947) [Government Gazette]. King of the Hellenes (1922-1923, 1935-1947). Successor and eldest son of King Konstandinos I {Κωνσταντίνος Α'}.
When Konstandinos I was forced by the Allies to abdicate in 1917, Georgios, also suspected of being pro-German, was passed over in favor of his younger brother Aleksandros {Αλέξανδρος} [People], who succeeded to the Greek throne. Later, however, Georgios succeeded Konstandinos I [People], who had been restored in 1920 and again deposed in 1922 [Contents].
Hostility to the dynasty was such, however, that Georgios was compelled to leave Greece in 1923; a plebiscite shortly afterward established a republic. Georgios spent his exile in Romania and later in London. Restored to his throne in 1935, King Georgios allowed his premier, Ioannis Metaksas {Ιωάννης Μεταξάς}, to set up a dictatorship in 1936.
After the conquest of Greece by Germany and Italy in World War II [Contents], Georgios fled his country in 1941. He spent most of his exile in London. When Greece was liberated in 1944, the question of the King’s return was a major issue in the so-called Greek Civil War that began in December 1944 [The Thon Manor]. Georgios returned only in 1946, after a plebiscite had decided in favor of the monarchy.
Although strongly backed by Great Britain and the United States, King Georgios' government and army failed to defeat the rebels, and the so-called Civil War continued after Georgios' death, when his brother Pavlos {Παύλος} [People] succeeded him.
Georgios II (1890-1947)
04-01-2004