Nikolaos Michaloliakos

Early life and education

Michaloliakos was born in Athens in 1957. According to his party, he completed his studies at the Faculty of Mathematics of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.

Political involvements

At the age of 16, he joined the nationalist 4th of August Party of Konstantinos Plevris. He also participated in the Athens local organisation of EOKA-B. He was arrested for the first time in July 1974, during a protest outside the British embassy in Athens, against the stance of the United Kingdom toward the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. He was arrested again for assaulting journalists covering the December 1976 funeral of Evangelos Mallios, a policeman who allegedly tortured people during the Regime of the Colonels, assassinated by the Revolutionary Organization 17 November, but was released due to technical issues related to his arrest. While he was in prison, Michaloliakos met the leaders of the Greek military junta of 1967-1974. After that he joined the Hellenic Army and became a commander of the Fast Attack Craft Command. He was arrested again in July 1978 after he had become a member of a far-right extremist group, and sentenced to one year imprisonment in January 1979 for illegally carrying guns and explosives. He was also dismissed from his position in the army.

After he was released, he launched the Golden Dawn magazine. The politics of the magazine were, at least initially, closely aligned with National Socialist beliefs. The publication of the magazine ceased in April 1984, when Michaloliakos joined the National Political Union, and took over the leadership of its youth section, after a personal order of Georgios Papadopoulos. In January 1985 he broke away from the National Political Union and founded the "Popular National Movement - Golden Dawn".

Michaloliakos remained the leader of Golden Dawn until he announced its disbandment in November 2005. He took this step due to clashes with anti-fascists. In 2005–2007 he (like most members of Golden Dawn) continued his political activity through the Patriotic Alliance. The party was reformed under his leadership in 2007.

Golden Dawn as a political party drew public attention in the 1990s and early 2000. In May 2012, under Michaloliakos' leadership, it garnered 21 seats in Parliament during an election conducted amid Greece's severe fiscal crisis, and was embroiled in various controversies, attracting international attention and often, condemnation. A particularly controversial point was Michaloliakos's denial of the existence of the gas chambers which the Nazis used to murder Jews, homosexuals, and other persons during World War II.

Arrest

Following the fatal stabbing of anti-fascist rapper Pavlos Fyssas on 17 September 2013 by an alleged supporter of his party, Michaloliakos was arrested on 28 September 2013, along with several other Golden Dawn members on the charges of being involved in a criminal organisation. The charge sheet includes murder, extortion, and involvement in the disappearance of up to 100 immigrants. After 18 months of pretrial detention, the maximum allowed, Michaloliakos was released from jail and placed under house arrest. On July 29, 2015, his house arrest was lifted but he is prohibited from leaving the Attica region.

In April 2015, the trial of Michaloliakos and 68 other defendants began at the high-security Korydallos prison in Athens, but was adjourned a number of times for technical reasons and to find a more suitable setting.

Personal life

He is the husband of fellow Golden Dawn member Eleni Zaroulia. His daughter Ourania was one of six people arrested during a motorcycle attack against immigrants, all six were later released.

Publications