Greece - US Department of State

686 Foreign Relations, 1969–1976, Volume XXIX
Service acts as Papadopoulos’ Chief Counsel in affairs dealing with the
security of the revolution,
(2) Colonel Antonios Lekkas, who screens army personnel assignments
and keeps an eye on the senior generals, and
(3) Lt. Colonel Dimitrios Ioannidis, who as Director of Military Police
is responsible for the reliability of the army, who transmits to the
Prime Minister the views of the younger unit commanders, and who in
turn explains the revolution’s policies and actions to these officers.
D. The six other members of the Revolutionary Council, who in
December 1967 were persuaded to resign their army commissions and
become secretaries-general but not ministers, are probably still next in
political power. They derive power from their prestige as members of
the Revolutionary Council and resist Papadopoulos’ tendency to overlook
the Revolutionary Council as a corporate body. Constantine
Aslanides, the Director General of Athletics, who is establishing a considerable
reputation for himself in this field, figures prominently in this
group.
E. They are however being challenged by the civilian ministers
who may in the long run have greater influence in shaping the future
of Greece than any of the above outside the top five. The Prime Minister
consults the Council of Ministers for hours at a time each week,
and the Council not only thrashed out the 1968 Constitution article by
article, but is doing the same with its enabling legislation, which will
be the law of the revolution. Some of the new civilian secretariesgeneral
are being drawn from what appears to be an embryonic political
party loyal to Papadopoulos. Among the ministers, Foreign Minister
Panagiotis Pipinellis enjoys considerable freedom of action in foreign affairs,
as does Finance Minister Adamantios Androutsopoulos in matters
of budget and taxes.
F. Senior army officers who hold senior commands or staff positions
or have left the army to assume key jobs in civilian agencies provide
Papadopoulos with a core of executives. They look to Papadopoulos
for guidance and they tend to support his moves toward
implementing the Constitution. This group includes the directors of the
State and Armed Forces radios, directors in the Prime Minister’s and
Regent’s offices, the directors of the Central Intelligence Service and of
the National Security Directorate and the Citizens’ Commissioner.
G. Important policy decisions are usually made by the top five,
taking into account the pressures of the various “constituents” of the
revolution. The most important of these “constituents” are:
(1) The officers who now command the combat companies and
battalions, mainly those officers who pulled guns on their superiors on
21 April or 13 December, and who have reason to fear for their careers,
if not their personal safety, should the regime falter. They very much
fear that the King will return with vengeance in his heart. Their cur-