Georgios Ziras

Georgios Ziras was a Greek Royalist colonel mostly known for his role in the attempted coup d'etat of 1923.

Ziras, as a Second Lieutenant, fought in the struggle for Macedonia in the early part of the 20th century. He later fought in the Greco-Turkish war of 1919 - 1922 as commander of the 16th Infantry Regiment and became known for his bravery and refusal to surrender even when the front collapsed in 1922. Instead, he led his men safely to Kios (Gemlik) and from there, by sea, to the Greek mainland.

At midnight of October 21 towards October 22, 1923, Ziras, along with Generals Panagiotis Gargalidis and Georgios Leonardopoulos, staged an anti-Venizelist, pro-Royalist coup d'etat against the Revolutionary government that governed Greece after the Asia Minor Disaster.

The coup was initially successful in the Greek countryside but government forces quickly took the initiative and put it down on October 27, 1923.

Ziras fled to Yugoslavia.