Napoleon Zervas
The military man and politician from Arta who founded EDES in 1941.
- Born
- 17 May 1891, Arta
- EDES
- Founded in September 1941
- Gorgopotamos
- November 1942
- Died
- 10 December 1957, Athens
Napoleon Zervas was born in Arta on 17 May 1891, with ancestors from Souli. He served in the Balkan Wars and on the Macedonian front and was promoted to major. In 1926 he opposed General Kondylis and was sentenced to life imprisonment, but was amnestied around 1928.
The Occupation
In September 1941 he co-founded EDES (the National Republican Greek League) and in August 1942 its military branch, the EOEA, in Epirus. In November 1942 EDES and ELAS, with British and New Zealand saboteurs, destroyed the Gorgopotamos Bridge. In December 1944 ELAS drove him out of Epirus and EDES fled to Corfu.
After the war
In 1946 he was elected MP for Ioannina. He served as Minister for Public Order (1947) and Minister of Public Works (1950–1951). He died in Athens on 10 December 1957.