Georgios Katechakis

Georgios Katechakis
Katechakis in 1919
Born	1881 Platanos
Died	1939 Athens
Allegiance	Kingdom of Greece Second Hellenic Republic
Service/branch	Hellenic Army
Years of service	1902–1920 1922–1923
Rank	Major General
Wars	Macedonian Struggle, Balkan Wars
Other work	Thrice Minister for Military Affairs, Governor-General of Thrace and Crete

Georgios Katechakis (Greek: Γεώργιος Κατεχάκης, 1881–1939) was a Greek Army officer and politician. He distinguished himself with his participation in the Macedonian Struggle under the nom de guerre Kapetan Rouvas (Καπετάν Ρούβας) in 1904–1905. An ardent Venizelist, he participated in the Movement of National Defence. After his retirement from the army with the rank of Major General, he entered politics, being elected into the Greek Parliament and the Greek Senate. He also served three times as Minister for Military Affairs and as Governor-General for Thrace (1922–1923) and for Crete (1928–1930).

Georgios Katechakis was born in the village of Platanos, in then Ottoman-controlled Crete. His father was Antonios Katechakis, one of the main leaders of the Cretan Revolt of 1866–1869. The elder Katechakis also participated in the uprisings of 1878, 1889 and 1896 and was repeatedly elected to the Cretan Parliament until his death. Georgios Katechakis entered the Hellenic Army Academy and graduated in 1902, being commissioned into the Hellenic Army on 6 July 1902 with the rank of a Lieutenant of Infantry. He was one of the first officers to volunteer for the Macedonian Struggle against the Bulgarian-sponsored Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO). Under the pseudonym of "kapetan Rouvas", he led an armed band in the regions of Grevena, Kastoria and Monastir. He returned to Greece in 1908, and was dispatched to Crete to assist in the establishment of a local national guard. By the time the Balkan Wars broke out in 1912, he had risen to the rank of Captain. He participated in the wars as leader of various Cretan volunteer corps, fighting both in Macedonia and in Epirus.