Polycarpos Yiorkadjis
| Polycarpos Georgatzis | |
|---|---|
| Πολύκαρπος Γεωρκάτζης | |
| Minister of the Interior | |
|
In office 16 Aug 1960 – 1 Nov 1968 |
|
| Preceded by | Tassos Papadopoulos (Provisional) |
| Succeeded by | Epaminondas Komodromos |
| Minister of Defence | |
|
In office 1 Jul 1964 – 1 Nov 1968 |
|
| Preceded by | Osman Örek |
| Succeeded by | Epaminondas Komodromos |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1932 Palaichori, Cyprus |
| Died | 15 March 1970 Mia Milia, Cyprus |
| Nationality | Greek Cypriot |
| Spouse(s) | Fotini Leventi (m. 1967; d. 1970) |
| Children | Constantinos Georkadjis Maria Georkadji |
Polycarpos Georkadjis (Greek: Πολύκαρπος Γεωρκάτζης (locally [poˈlikaɾ̥poz‿ʝoɾ̥ˈkat͡ʃis]); 1932 - 15 March 1970) was a Cypriot politician. He served as the first Minister of the Interior of the Republic of Cyprus. He also served as provisional minister of Labour in the period leading to Cyprus being proclaimed an independent state. Before entering the political stage he fought for EOKA. His political career evolved from a staunch supporter of Makarios to becoming one of the archbishop's principal political rivals. He was assassinated in 1970.
Georgadzis joined the ranks of EOKA in his twenties and assumed the nom de guerre Laertes. He became regional commander of EOKA operations in Nicosia. He was nicknamed the Houdini in reference to his several successful escapes including once on 31 August 1956 from the Nicosia hospital and once from Nicosia Central Prisons on 2 May 1958. After the end of the struggle he claimed to have been tortured whilst held captive by the colonial security forces.
Georgadtzis was appointed Minister of Labour in the transitional government set up immediately before the Republic of Cyprus became independent. The Ministry of Labour, however, was effectively run by Tassos Papadopoulos, who held the official title of Minister of the Interior. British pressure had forced Makarios to distance Georgadjis, a former active EOKA member from the Ministry of Interior which was in charge of internal security, police and intelligence.
Following the first elections in 1960, Archbishop Makarios III, officially swapped the ministries between the two men. Typically for the ex-EOKA ministers in Makarios' first Council of Ministers, Georkadjis was very young at the time, aged 29. He also had no higher education.
As Minister of the Interior, Georkadtzis quickly became notorious for using the police as his personal army. It is rumoured that he also set up a vast information network. He was also the leader of the underground Greek Cypriot pro-Enosis movement, initially known simply as the Organisation, which later clashed with the Turkish Cypriot TMT in the intercommunal strife which began in December 1963. Georkadjis' code name in the Organisation was "Akritas", another name for the legendary Byzantine hero Digenis, an obvious link to the pseudonym of EOKA leader Georgios Grivas. Georkadjis is alleged to have authored the so-called Akritas plan (plan of action in case of clashes between the Greek and Turkish communities in Cyprus). The document became famous after it was leaked to the press, and acquired its popular name from the codename signed under it. With Glafkos Clerides he established the first centre right party of Cyprus, attracting many of the EOKA members in its ranks.
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