Panagiotis Daglis

Panagiotis Daglis was born in Agrinio, in 1853, and he died in Athens in 1924. He was educated at the School of Evelpidon and in 1883 he continued his post-graduate studies in artillery in Belgium. With his return, he was appointed as the commander of the French Organizational Military Expedition and after some years he taught at the School of Evelpidon and at the School of Cadets. He took part in the luckless Greek-Turkish war in 1897 and after the reformation of the Greek army he was appointed as the director of the division of artillery. In the following years he entered the hierarchy of the army officers and he invented the unbound mountaineering gun of 7,5 cm which is known as "Schneider-Dagli Gun". Panagiotis Daglis played an important part in the Macedonian Battle and till the assumption of the throne by King Constantine, he directed from many distinct places very important divisions on the Greek army.

In 1914 Panagiotis Daglis decided to retire and turn his mind to politics. Therefore, in June 1915 and due to the disagreement of the King Constantine he entered "The Liberal Party". After the elections of the other year he undertook the Military Ministry and in 1916 he followed Elefterios Venizelos and went to Chania where he became a member of "The Government of the Three". With the deployment of the government, formed by Venizelos, at Thessaloniki and with the help of the French forces he formed the Army of National Defence. With the removal of King Constantine and the formation of the new government, he came back to his previous duties as the commander of the Greek army.

In 1921 after the departure of Eleftherios Venizelos, Panagiotis Daglis undertook the presidency of the executive committee of the Liberal Party and he kept this place for all the dramatic years which followed, and also after the elections of the Fourth National Convention was held. Panagiotis Daglis died in Athens on 9th March 1924.

Zina Michou & Niki Papamichalopoulou

5th Lyceum of New Smyrna, Athens