21 April 1967: Greek colonels seize power in military coup

Today in 1967, Athens woke to the rumbling of tanks, as Greece came under military rule when a junta of colonels seized power.

Greece, these days is a modern democracy. But things were very different in the spring of 1967, when a constitutional crisis ended in a group of right-wing colonels seizing power and ushering in a military dictatorship that would last for seven years.

When Prime Minister George Papandreou, who had been elected in 1963, proposed becoming defence minister as well, King Constantine wasn't impressed. The Ministry of Defence at the time was conducting an investigation into Papandreou's son, Andreas. His father becoming minister would bring about all sorts of conflicts of interest. And so Papandreou was eased out of office, and a succession of weak governments followed.

Subscribe to MoneyWeek

Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE

Get 6 issues free
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/mw70aro6gl1676370748.jpg

Sign up to Money Morning

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Sign up
Ben Judge

Ben studied modern languages at London University's Queen Mary College. After dabbling unhappily in local government finance for a while, he went to work for The Scotsman newspaper in Edinburgh. The launch of the paper's website, scotsman.com, in the early years of the dotcom craze, saw Ben move online to manage the Business and Motors channels before becoming deputy editor with responsibility for all aspects of online production for The Scotsman, Scotland on Sunday and the Edinburgh Evening News websites, along with the papers' Edinburgh Festivals website.

Ben joined MoneyWeek as website editor in 2008, just as the Great Financial Crisis was brewing. He has written extensively for the website and magazine, with a particular emphasis on alternative finance and fintech, including blockchain and bitcoin. 

As an early adopter of bitcoin, Ben bought when the price was under $200, but went on to spend it all on foolish fripperies.