Nikolaos Petimezas

Who was Nikolaos Petimezas?

Nikolaos Petimezas was a Greek revolutionary leader during the Greek War of Independence, politician and officer of the Hellenic Gendarmerie.

He was born in 1790 in Soudena near Kalavryta. He was the son of Athanasios Petimezas. After his father was murdered in 1804 he fled to British-held Zakynthos, and enrolled in the British-sponsored Greek light infantry units.

He returned to the Peloponnese at the outbreak of the War of Independence, and fought in several battles. In 1826, with 600 men, he occupied Mega Spilaio and drove back the attacks of Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt. He was chosen as a representative of his native Kalavryta in the Greek National Assemblies, and became an MP in the independent Kingdom of Greece.

He died in Kalavryta in 1865.