Leonidas Vasilikopoulos

Leonidas Vasilikopoulos (Λεωνίδας Βασιλικόπουλος; 1932 – 30 May 2014) was a Greek Navy admiral, serving as Chief of the Hellenic Navy General Staff in 1986–89 and then as head of the Greek National Intelligence Service in 1993–96.

Born in 1932, Leonidas Vasilikopoulos entered the Hellenic Navy Academy and graduated in 1954 as an Ensign. He later finished various staff schools, including Greece's National Defence Academy and the NATO staff officers school.

During the Greek military junta of 1967–74, he was an active opponent of the military regime, and was imprisoned and tortured by the Greek Military Police (EAT-ESA). Following the re-establishment of democracy in 1974 he resumed his active career, rising to the posts of Chief of Naval Training, Chief of the Fleet Command and finally, on 22 December 1986, to Chief of the Hellenic Navy General Staff. The chief event of his tenure, which lasted until his retirement on 17 July 1989, was the Greco-Turkish crisis in March 1987.

In October 1993, he was appointed as head of the National Intelligence Service by Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou, a post he held until dismissed following the Imia crisis with Turkey in early 1996. During the latter crisis, the Greek government's handling of the situation was hampered by the intense distrust shown by the newly appointed Prime Minister, Kostas Simitis, towards the incumbent military and intelligence chiefs, Vasilikopoulos among them.

Admiral Vasilikopoulos died on 30 May 2014.