Agelos S. Vlachos

Angelos S. Vlachos (1915-2003). Angelos S. Vlachos was born in Alexandria, with roots in Athens, and was the grandson of the writer and politician Angelos Vlachos (1838-1920). His father was a judge. He studied at the Law School of the University of Athens and joined the diplomatic corps in 1939. During the Greco-Italian War, he served in the military and fought on the Albanian front. In 1943, he was imprisoned by the Germans but managed to escape to the Middle East, where he joined the exiled Greek government in Cairo. After the liberation, he pursued a diplomatic career, serving as the first secretary of the embassies in Ankara and Rome, the Consul General in Jerusalem and Nicosia, and the Greek representative in Geneva. He eventually became the Greek ambassador to Moscow. He also distinguished himself in politics, serving as Deputy Minister of Education in the interim government of Pipinelis in 1963, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs until the declaration of the April dictatorship and his resignation, and Minister to the Prime Minister in the national unity government in 1974. Vlachos made his literary debut in 1945 with the prose work "The Old Woman's Tomb," which drew its theme from the war in Albania. His literary achievements earned him several awards, including the Prize of the Group of Twelve (1954 for the novel "My Master Alcibiades"), the Ministry of Education Award (1958 for the novella "Hours of Life" and 1968 for the short story collection "Lucky Daimas"), the Academy of Athens Award (1972), and in 1985, he was elected a member of the Academy of Athens in the Literature/Prose seat. He also engaged in journalism, collaborating with Athenian newspapers under the pseudonym Andreas Velos. Vlachos's prose work is dominated by historical themes, either as an attempt to comprehensively depict a specific era or by integrating individual cases into the corresponding historical context. His writing is carefully structured, concise, and emotionally restrained. For more biographical details on Angelos Vlachos, see Angelos Afroudakis, "Angelos S. Vlachos," in "Post-War Prose; from the War of '40 to the Dictatorship of '67," vol. III, pp. 54-63, Athens: Sokolis, 1988; Alexis Ziras, "Vlachos Angelos," in "World Biographical Dictionary," vol. 2, Athens: Ekdotiki Athinon, 1984; and Fr. Pharmakis, "Vlachos Angelos," in "Great Encyclopedia of Modern Greek Literature," vol. 4, Athens: Haris Patsis, n.d. (Source: Archive of Greek Authors, E.KE.VI.).