Greece - US Department of State

Greece 685
269. Telegram From the Embassy in Greece to the Department of
State 1
Athens, March 2, 1970, 1618Z.
970. 1. The speed with which the Greek regime carries out its publicly
expressed desire to put the 1968 Constitution into full effect is likely
to be very much affected by the relative strengths of the forces within the
regime which favor a return to constitutional government, as opposed to
those who prefer to prolong the present regime indefinitely. In this context
the present Greek regime should not be viewed as a personal dictatorship
but rather as collegiate in its make-up. Prime Minister George Papadopoulos
plays the main role, but he by no means enjoys a free hand.
He has shrewdly manipulated the other key players in the regime so that
his freedom of action has been steadily increased. Those who collaborated
with him most closely on 21 April and 13 December 1967 still count
very heavily in terms of influence and political power, but Papadopoulos
has managed to consult with the Revolutionary Council as a whole
less and less and to broaden his base by relying more on civilian ministers
and senior army officers such as General Odysseus Angelis, while
keeping a wary eye on the young commanders of combat units.
2. Furthermore, in understanding the regime it is essential to keep
in mind that its leaders and supporters consider themselves a revolutionary
regime empowered to make revolutionary reforms, and not
merely as another coup group taking power as an interim measure
prior to handing affairs back to the politicians.
3. At this time the Greek regime functions roughly as follows:
A. Papadopoulos is the undisputed leader.
B. Next in line of authority are his fellow Revolutionary Council
members, Vice Premier Stylianos Pattakos and Minister of Coordination
Nicholas Makarezos. They are often joined by Vice President Patilis
(who “saved Thessaloniki for the revolution” on 13 December 1967),
and Lt. General Odysseus Angelis, who is the highly respected commander
of the Hellenic Armed Forces, to form the top five.
C. After the top five we would place the three members of the
twelve-man Revolutionary Council who elected to remain in the army
and who fill key functions as follows:
(1) Colonel Mihail Roufogalis, who is the most intimate friend of Papadopoulos
and who as “coordinator” of the Greek Central Intelligence
1
Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Files 1970–73, POL 2 GREECE. Confidential;
Limdis.