Solon Gikas
| Solon Gikas | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1898 Trikala |
| Died | 1978 |
| Allegiance |
 Greece
|
| Service/branch | Hellenic Army |
| Rank |
 Lieutenant General
|
| Commands held | 42nd Infantry Brigade, 7th Infantry Division, 8th Infantry Division, III Army Corps, Chief of the Hellenic Army General Staff |
| Wars | Macedonian Front, Greco-Turkish War of 1919–22, Greco-Italian War, Dekemvriana, Greek Civil War |
| Awards | Cross of Valour in Gold (twice) |
| Other work | Minister for Communications and Public Works, Minister for Public Order |
Solon Gikas (Greek: Σόλων Γκίκας, 1898–1978) was a Greek Army officer who rose to the rank of Lieutenant General and held the post of Chief of the Hellenic Army General Staff in 1954–1956. He also served as Minister for Communications and Public Works in 1958–63 and Minister for Public Order in 1974–76 under Konstantinos Karamanlis.
He was born in Trikala in western Thessaly in 1898. He entered the Hellenic Army Academy and graduated on 28 June 1918 as a Cavalry 2nd Lieutenant. He fought in the last months of World War I in the Macedonian Front, and then participated in the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–22, fighting both in Thrace as well as in Asia Minor, and being promoted to Lieutenant in 1920.
A French-speaker, during the interwar period he completed his studies at the Hellenic Army's Cavalry Application School and the French Army's Cavalry School at Saumur, as well as graduating from the Superior War School, in which he later taught. He was promoted to Captain in 1924, Major in 1935, and Lt. Colonel in 1940. During the Greco-Italian War of 1940–41, he served as the chief of staff of the Hellenic Army's sole Cavalry Division. Following the German invasion of Greece and the country's occupation, in 1943 he fled to the Middle East, where he joined the armed forces of the Greek government-in-exile. He held various staff positions, as well as the post of Commander of the Training Schools in Palestine.
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