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Born on the island of Crete, Stylianos Pattakos was a
brigadier general who commanded armored 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.
(Reporting by George Georgiopoulos; editing by Mark Heinrich)
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