FILE - In this July 29, 1973 file photo, Deputy Premier Stylianos Pattakos casts his ballot in a referendum in Athens. Pattakos, the last survivor among the leaders of a 1967 coup that ruled Greece for seven years, has died at 103. The state-run Athens Ne
ATHENS: The last survivor from the right-wing junta that staged Greece's 1967 military coup and ruled for seven years has died at the age of 103, the state-run Athens News Agency reported on Sunday.
Born on the island of Crete, Stylianos Pattakos was a brigadier general who commanded armoured tank forces when he took part in the April 21, 1967 coup led by Colonel George
Papadopoulos. Pattakos's tanks were pivotal in the junta's seizure of the capital Athens.
He served as interior minister as well as first deputy prime minister. After democracy was restored in 1974, Pattakos and Papadopoulos were arrested and sentenced to death. Their
sentences were later commuted to life imprisonment.
Pattakos was released in 1990 for health reasons. He remained unrepentant to his death on Saturday, insisting that the coup had saved Greece from communism. Papadopoulos, who refused to seek his own release, died in prison in 1999.
