Greece’s top decision-making body for foreign affairs and defense matters KYSEA, conducted a major overhaul of the military leadership on Friday.
Chaired by PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis, KYSEA, ended the four-year term of General Konstantinos Floros as Chief of Hellenic National Defense General Staff (HNDGS).
It appointed a new chief of HNDGS and new heads of the Hellenic Army General Staff, the Hellenic Navy General Staff, and the Hellenic Air Force General Staff.
The new faces of the military hierarchy in Greece
The new HNDGS chief is Lieutenant General Dimitrios Houpis, the former Commander of the Special Warfare Command.
Houpis, born in 1965 near Serres in northern Greece, was admitted to the Hellenic Military Academy (Evelpidon) in 1983 and graduated in 1987.
He rose in the ranks and served for three years on the International Staff of the Hellenic Military Delegation in NATO (Brussels, 2006-2009) and as Allied Communications Planning Staff Officer in Afghanistan (ISAF).
In 2019, he was promoted to Major General and assigned as Superintendent of the Hellenic Military Academy (Evelpidon) in 2020 as Commanding General of the 95th Higher National Guard Battalions Command (Diagoridon). In 2021, he became Director of the E Staff Directorate (Military Intelligence – Security) of HNDGS.
On April 9, 2022, he was promoted to Lieutenant General and assigned as Commanding General of the Higher Military Command of Interior and Islands.
On January 17, 2023, upon decision of the Governmental Council for Foreign Affairs and Defense, he was promoted to Commanding General of the Special Warfare Command.
Lieutenant General Georgios Kostidis has been appointed as the Chief of the Hellenic Army General Staff (HAGS), while Dimitrios Kataras, formerly the Vice Admiral of the Hellenic Navy, has taken on the position of Chief of the Hellenic Navy General Staff (HNGS).
Dimosthenis Grigoriadis, the former Commander of the Air Support Command, is now the Chief of the Hellenic Air Force General Staff (HAFGS).
Rear Admiral Polychronis Koulouris, previously the Deputy Fleet Commander in Chief of the Hellenic Fleet and possessing extensive maritime experience in the Greek fleet’s frigates, has been promoted to the position of Chief of the Hellenic Fleet.
Panagiotis Georgakopoulos, formerly the Director of the D Branch of the Hellenic Air Force General Staff, now assumes the role of Chief of the Hellenic Tactical Air Force Command (HTAF).
In a statement, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis expressed gratitude to the outgoing HNDGS chief, General Konstantinos Floros, for his substantial contribution over the past four years—a period characterized by “significant geopolitical volatility and crises.”
“He has played an invaluable role, [addressing] both conventional and hybrid challenges, and actively participating in the strategic planning and execution of the government program aimed at quantitatively and qualitatively strengthening the Armed Forces,” he said.
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