23 Facts About Manolis Glezos

Manolis Glezos was a Greek left-wing politician, journalist, author, and folk hero, best known for his participation in the Greek Resistance during World War II.

Manolis Glezos was admitted to the Higher School of Economic and Commercial Studies in 1940.

In 1939, still a high school student, Manolis Glezos participated in the creation of an anti-fascist youth organization against the Italian occupation of the Dodecanese and the dictatorship of Ioannis Metaxas.

Manolis Glezos was arrested by the German occupation forces on 24 March 1942, imprisoned, and tortured.

Manolis Glezos was arrested again on 21 April 1943 by the Italian occupation forces and spent three months in jail.

Manolis Glezos ended his hunger strike upon the release of 7 MPs from their exile.

Manolis Glezos was released from prison on 16 July 1954.

Manolis Glezos's release on 15 December 1962 was a result of the public outcry in Greece and abroad, including winning the Lenin Peace Prize.

At the coup d'etat of 21 April 1967, Manolis Glezos was arrested at 2 am, together with the rest of the political leaders.

Manolis Glezos was the President of EDA from 1985 until 1989.

Manolis Glezos did so in the community of Aperathu, where he was elected as the President of the Community Council in 1986 elections.

In March 2010, Manolis Glezos was participating in a protest demonstration in Athens, when he was hit in the face by a police tear gas canister.

In February 2012, Manolis Glezos was arrested by riot police while protesting in Athens.

Manolis Glezos was sprayed with tear gas by one of the police officers in that area.

Manolis Glezos was a SYRIZA candidate for the European Parliament in the elections of 25 May 2014.

Manolis Glezos was elected to the European Parliament with over 430,000 votes, more than any other candidate in Greece.

In 2015, Manolis Glezos took a firm stance in favour of the "No" vote in the Greek bailout referendum.

Manolis Glezos resigned from his position in the European Parliament in July 2015, being succeeded by Nikolaos Chountis.

In 2018, Manolis Glezos publicly voiced his opposition to the Prespa Agreement between Athens and Skopje on the resolution of the Macedonia naming dispute -despite the agreement being promoted by the SYRIZA government party which he formerly supported.

Apart from his political work, Manolis Glezos invented a system to prevent floods, combat erosion and preserve underground water, that works by the constructions of a series of very small dams that redirect water to aquifers.

On 30 March 2020, Manolis Glezos died of heart failure, at the age of 97.

Manolis Glezos wrote articles in Greek newspapers since 1942 and was the editor of the newspapers Rizospastis and I Avgi in the 1950s.

Manolis Glezos was awarded the International Award of Journalism in 1958, the Golden Medal Joliot-Curie of the World Peace Council in 1959, and the Lenin Peace Prize in 1963.