Manolis Glezos: Greek resistance fighter and long‑time left‑wing activist

Early life and rise to public attention

Glezos was born on the Aegean island of Naxos and came of age during a period of war and occupation. Early in the Second World War he gained national prominence for his part in an act of public resistance: along with a fellow partisan he removed the occupying power's flag from a prominent site in Athens, an episode that was widely publicized and that made him a household name. That event marked the start of a lifetime of political engagement.

Resistance, persecution and political career

During and after the war Glezos was active in resistance networks and in left‑wing politics. He was repeatedly arrested, tried and detained by successive authorities — a fate shared by many in the Greek left during the turbulent mid‑20th century. He opposed the postwar repression of leftist groups and the 1967–1974 military junta, remaining an outspoken critic of authoritarianism.

• Known for his role in the wartime resistance and anti‑occupation actions (World War II).
• Longstanding involvement with leftist and progressive movements; often described as a left‑wing politician.
• Experienced arrests and episodes of state violence during demonstrations; in 2010 he was struck by a tear‑gas canister while protesting in Athens and in 2012 he was detained by riot police.

Public office and later activism

Glezos held elected office at several points. He was a member of the European Parliament briefly in the mid‑1980s and again after being elected in 2014, serving into 2015. Even in advanced age he remained politically active: he participated in protests, public debates and wrote about his experiences to keep the history of resistance alive for new generations.

His life combined grassroots activism with formal political roles, reflecting a career that bridged direct action and representative politics. Glezos also published memoirs and articles recounting the resistance and arguing for social justice, freedom of expression and democratic norms.

Death and legacy

Manolis Glezos died in Athens on 30 March 2020 at the age of 98; reports cited complications from heart failure. He is remembered across Greece and beyond as an emblematic figure of wartime resistance and postwar political struggle, and his image continues to be invoked in discussions about civil courage, memory and the place of the left in modern Greek history.

For further reading and sources related to his life and actions, see contemporary biographies, histories of Greece's wartime resistance and archives collected by institutions that document 20th‑century European political movements. Additional references are available through European parliamentary records and published interviews with Glezos and his contemporaries (accounts by fellow activists). Some overviews of his later years and public interventions can be found in news reports and retrospective essays (Greek language sources, international coverage).

Notable timeline highlights:

1. 1941: High‑profile resistance action that brought national attention.
2. Postwar years: Political activism, arrests and exile episodes.
3. 1984–1985 and 2014–2015: Terms as a member of the European Parliament.