Saraphis, Stephanos

Saraphis, Stephanos 

Born Oct. 26, 1890, in Trikala; died May 31, 1957, in Athens. Greek military and political figure.

In 1907, Saraphis entered the law faculty of the University of Athens. In 1910 he volunteered for the army. He fought in the Balkan Wars of 1912–13, World War I, and the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–22. In 1913, after graduating from military school, he became an officer.

In 1918, Saraphis joined the Liberal Party. He was arrested several times and exiled because of his participation in the democratic movement. After the occupation of Greece in 1941, he was arrested a number of times by the Italian authorities. From May 1943 to February 1945 he was the commander of the National Popular Liberation Army. In 1946 he was exiled by the reactionary Greek authorities. In 1951, while in exile, he was elected a deputy to the parliament, but the authorities voided the election and refused to seat him. After his release from exile in 1951, he was a leading figure in the Union of the Democratic Left. Saraphis was struck and killed in Athens by an automobile driven by an American serviceman.