Alexandros Papagos

Alexandros Papagos was a Greek army officer who led the Hellenic Army in World War II and the later stages of the subsequent Greek Civil War. The only Greek career officer to rise to the rank of Field Marshal, Papagos became the first Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff from 1950 until his resignation the following year. He then entered politics, founding the nationalist Greek Rally party and becoming the country's Prime Minister after his victory in the 1952 elections. His premiership was shaped by the Cold War and the aftermath of the Greek Civil War, and was defined by several key events, including Greece becoming a member of NATO; U.S. military bases being allowed on Greek territory and the formation of a powerful and vehemently anti-communist security apparatus. Papagos' tenure also saw the start of the Greek economic miracle, and rising tensions with Britain and Turkey during the Cyprus Emergency over the Cyprus issue.

9 December 1883

Born on the same birth date (9 December 1883): Joseph Pilates • Nikolai Luzin

Born on the same birth day (9 December): Donald Byrd • Henk ten Cate • Joel Chandler Harris • John Cassavetes • Mardy Fish • Margaret Hamilton (actress) • MyKayla Skinner • Peter Pelham (composer) • Sonia Gandhi • Tré Cool

Born in the same month (December 1883): Anton Webern • Archer Baldwin • Cyrus S. Eaton • Edgard Varèse • Giovanni Messe • Hana Meisel • Henry Cadbury • Joseph Pilates • Katharine Susannah Prichard • Károly Kós • Lester Patrick • Maurice Utrillo • Morihei Ueshiba • Nikolai Luzin • Stefan Jaracz