Dimitrios Partsalidis

Dimitrios "Mitsos" Partsalidis (Greek: Δημήτρης Παρτσαλίδης) (1905–1980) was a Greek communist politician.

Biography

He was a Pontic Greek born in Trabzon, Trabzon Province. During population exchange between Greece and Turkey Partsalidis was expelled to Greece as did all "adherents" of the Greek Orthodox Church.

He soon joined the Communist Party of Greece and became involved in politics. In 1934, with the backing of the tobacco cultivators, he was elected mayor of Kavala, being the first member of the Communist Party to be elected mayor of any Greek city. There followed a wave of electoral wins in Communist strongholds and those elected were nicknamed the Red Mayors.

During the Greek Civil War, on April 3, 1949, Partsalidis became head of the Provisional Democratic Government formed by the Communists in areas under their effective control, succeeding Nikolaos Zachariadis. He remained in office until October 1950 (in exile after August 28, 1949). At the Battle of Grammos-Vitsi the communist Democratic Army of Greece (DSE) was defeated and he was forced into exile.

In October 1971, Partsalidis was arrested by the Greek military junta of 1967-1974 along with Charalambos Drakopoulos.^[1] Partsalidis died in Athens on June 22, 1980. He published his memoirs in 1978.^[2]

Attribution

• This article contains text from the article Dimitrios Partsalidis at Phantis, a GFDL wiki.

References

1. ^ Eve, Martin; Marion Saraphē (1990). Background to Contemporary Greece. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 281. ISBN 0850363934. http://books.google.com/books?id=ZCSzc6em25gC&pg=PA281&lpg=PA281&dq=%22dimitrios+partsalidis%22&source=web&ots=OZjcFCIoPl&sig=_PdolrJpCeamyM299xTzp1SKvqA. 
2. ^ Partsalidis, Dimitrios (1978). Dipli Apokatastasi tis Ethnikis Amynis (Διπλή αποκατάσταση της Εθνικής Αντίστασης). Athens: Themelio (Θεμέλιο). 

Preceded by Nikolaos Zachariadis

Head of Provisional Democratic Government April 3, 1949 - October 1950

Succeeded by (None)

Persondata
Name	Partsalidis, Dimitrios
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1905
Place of birth
Date of death	1980
Place of death