On this day, September 4, 2005, Nikon Arkudeas died. Nikon Arkoudeas, born on November 26, 1928, was a senior officer of the Greek Police, reaching the rank of Lieutenant General. In the 1980s, he became commander of the MAT and MEA, then Attikarchis, and finally Chief of ELAS between 1986-1988.
Maniatis by origin, was born in 1928 in Poliana Laconia (now Agios Nikos Messinias) and went to school in Areopolis Laconia. He was a graduate of the School of City Police Officers and the Panteion School of Political Sciences (now Panteion University).
He made a career in the City Police, constantly in combat positions. Among other things, he served in the 1st Police Department of Athens, the 2nd Police Department of Piraeus, the Policing Department of the then Athens Police Directorate and as director of the 3rd Police Sub-Directorate.
Nikon Arkoudeas was a warm supporter of Andreas Papandreou and with the rise of PASOK to power in 1981, he took over as Director of Attica, a position that included MAT and MEA. When in 1984 the Gendarmerie and the City Police were merged to form the present Hellenic Police, Arkoudeas was appointed General Police Director of Attica, and was referred to by the press of the time as "Attikarchis", a nickname that over time was adopted for the current holder of the position . Arkoudeas then served as head of the Hellenic Police from December 1986 to April 1988, when he resigned.
After his discharge from the army, he was elected to the Central Committee of PASOK and was a candidate for Member of Parliament of Athens in the elections of the period 1989-1990, but by a few votes he failed to be elected. Later he became Security Manager at the Ionian Bank and for a time was appointed general manager of the Olympic Stadium in Kalogreza.
In 1994 he was elected a municipal councilor of the Municipality of Athens with the party of Theodoros Pagalos, and in 1998 with the party of Maria Damanaki. In his last years, he was the president of the Polianites Association of Mani and an executive of PASOK Palaio Faliros. He contributed to many cultural activities of Maniats.
As Wikipedia writes, Nikon Arkudeas was the most recognizable police officer of the Post-colonial period. He stood out for his unprecedented tactic of going down the streets himself and coordinating operations, which endeared him to the citizens and gave him a level of publicity that a policeman never before had. The anarchists of the Exarchias had issued the slogan "Change is not possible without Arkudea, he is not a person, he is an idea"!
Characteristically, when Arkoudea's career peaked in December 1986 when he assumed the leadership of ELAS, the then Minister of Public Order, Antonis Drosogiannis, said that the new leader needed no introduction because he is known and loved by all Greeks.
Arcudea's critics accused him of police brutality and excessive cruelty, particularly in the so-called "virtue operations" he carried out in Exarchia. He categorically denied it and emphasized that given the situation at the time, he was probably restrained in police operations, while before the MAT intervened he always tried to solve the matter through negotiations
Nikon Arkudeas died on September 4, 2005, at the age of 77.
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