Nikolaos Michaloliakos

Nikolaos G. "Nikos" Michaloliakos (, ; born 11 December 1957) is a Greek politician and neo-Nazi. He is the founder and leader of the far-right ultranationalist organisation and political party Golden Dawn. In October 2020, he and 67 other Golden Dawn leaders were found guilty of leading a criminal organisation by the Athens Appeals Court.

Political involvement At the age of 16, he joined the nationalist 4th of August Party of Konstantinos Plevris. He also participated in the Athens local organisation of EOKA-B. He was arrested for the first time in July 1974, during a protest outside the British embassy in Athens, against the stance of the United Kingdom toward the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. during the Regime of the Colonels, assassinated by the terrorist group 17N, but was released. While he was in prison, Michaloliakos met the leaders of the Greek military junta of 1967–1974. He took this step due to clashes with anti-fascists.

Golden Dawn as a political party drew public attention in the 1990s and early 2000s. A particularly controversial point was Michaloliakos's denial of the existence of the gas chambers, which the Nazis used to pepetrate the Holocaust and other crimes.

Arrest

Following the fatal stabbing of the antifascist rapper Pavlos Fyssas on 17 September 2013 by a supporter of his party, Michaloliakos was arrested in a 28 September 2013 sweep, along with numerous other Golden Dawn leaders on the charges of allegedly being involved in a criminal organisation. The charge sheet included murder, extortion, and involvement in the disappearance of up to 100 immigrants. After 18 months of pretrial detention, the maximum allowed, Michaloliakos was released from jail and placed under house arrest. On 29 July 2015, his house arrest was lifted, but he was prohibited from leaving the Attica region.

In April 2015, the trial of Michaloliakos and 68 other defendants began at the high-security Korydallos prison in Athens, but was adjourned a number of times for technical reasons and to find a more suitable setting. Michaloliakos was one of 68 Golden Dawn leaders who were found guilty in October 2020. He was sentenced to 13.5 years in prison but was granted early release in May 2024 following a legal request and on account of his elderly age, albeit with several conditions such as a ban on traveling outside the greater Athens area. However, his release was subsequently overturned by another panel of judges following an appeal that found that he had shown no repentance for his crimes and was capable of reoffending. This led to him being rearrested in his residence in Athens on 3 June.

On 12 September 2025, a judicial council allowed Michaloliakos to serve his sentence at his residence on grounds of ill-health.

Personal life

He is the husband of fellow Golden Dawn member Eleni Zaroulia. His daughter Ourania was one of six people arrested during a motorcycle attack against immigrants; all six were later released.

In a televised interview, Michaloliakos publicly insulted Milwaukee Bucks forward and 2019 and 2020 NBA Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo after he was selected as the 15th overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft, calling him a "chimpanzee". He even publicly stated that Antetokounmpo and his family should have been detained and deported immediately after their meeting with then-Prime Minister Antonis Samaras.

Publications

Enemies of the Regime (Εχθροί του Καθεστώτος), 2000 Against All (Εναντίον Όλων), 2001 The Last Loyals (Οι Τελευταίοι Πιστοί), 2002 For a Greater Greece in a Free Europe (Για μια Μεγάλη Ελλάδα σε μια Ελεύθερη Ευρώπη), 2000 Pericles Giannopoulos: The Apollonian Speech (Περικλής Γιαννόπουλος: Ο Απολλώνιος Λόγος), 2006 The Confession of a National (Η Εξομολόγηση ενός Εθνικού), reprinted in 2008 From the Ashes of Berlin to Globalisation (Από τις Στάχτες του Βερολίνου στην Παγκοσμιοποίηση), 2008 Defending National Memory (Υπερασπίζοντας την Εθνική Μνήμη), 2009