Kostas Kotzias

Fencer, mayor of Athens (1892–1951)

Κώστας Κοτζιάς

Born

17 May 1892, Athens

Died

8 December 1951, Athens

Citizenship

Greece

Sport

fencing

Occupation

politician, fencer, athlete

Konstantinos "Kostas" Kotzias (Greek: Κωνσταντίνος (Κώστας) Κοτζιάς; 17 May 1892 – 8 December 1951) was a Greek politician and fencer. He competed at the 1912 and 1924 Summer Olympics.

In 1934 he was elected Mayor of Athens. In the dictatorial Metaxas Regime, he served as Minister for the Capital District.

Following the suicide of Prime Minister Alexandros Koryzis on 18 January 1941, amidst the German invasion of Greece, King George II of Greece considered him to head a new cabinet, but his candidacy was unsuccessful, as he was closely associated with the Metaxas Regime and few politicians were willing to work under him; the British ambassador to Greece, Michael Palairet, also opposed his nomination in talks with the King, due to Kotzias' Germanophile reputation.

During the Axis Occupation of Greece, he lived in the United States. He was elected an MP for Athens in 1950 and was re-elected as the city's mayor in 1951, shortly before his death. Kotzia Square in Athens is named after him.

Competitions

External links

• Wikipedia
• Wikidata

Facts from Wikidata Q3566272 (CC0); quoted introduction from English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Data retrieved 2026-10-22.

Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.