Editing Governor-general (section)

===Greece===
The [[Balkan Wars]] of 1912–13 led to the Greek acquisition of the so-called "New Lands" ([[Epirus (Greece)|Epirus]], [[Macedonia (Greece)|Macedonia]], [[Crete]] and the islands of the eastern Aegean), almost doubling the country's territory. Instead of fully incorporating these new lands into Greece by dividing them into [[prefectures of Greece|prefectures]], the Ottoman administrative system continued in existence for a while, and Law ΔΡΛΔ΄ of 1913 established five governorates-general (Γενικαὶ Διοικήσεις, sing. Γενική Διοίκησις): Epirus, Macedonia, Crete, [[Northern Aegean|Aegean]] and [[Samos]]–[[Ikaria]]. The governors-general had wide-ranging authority in their territories, and were almost autonomous of the government in Athens.

Law 524 in 1914 abolished the governorates-general and divided the New Lands into regular prefectures, but in 1918 Law 1149 re-instated them as a superordinate administrative level above the prefectures, with Macedonia now divided in two governorates-general, those of Thessaloniki and [[Kozani]]–[[Florina]]. The governors-general of Thessaloniki, Crete and Epirus were also given ministerial rank. To these was added the Governorate-General of Thrace in 1920–22, comprising [[Western Thrace]] and [[Eastern Thrace]] (returned to Turkey in the [[Armistice of Mudanya]] in 1922). The extensive but hitherto legally rather undefined powers of the governors-general created friction and confusion with other government branches, until their remit was exactly delineated in 1925. The governorates-general, except for that of Thessaloniki, were abolished in 1928, but re-established in December 1929—for Crete, Epirus, Thrace, and Macedonia—and delegated practically all ministerial authorities for their respective areas. Over the next decade, however, in a see-saw of legislative measures that in turn gave and took away authority, they gradually lost most of their powers in favour of the prefectures and the central government in Athens.

Following liberation from the [[Axis occupation of Greece|Axis occupation]], in 1945 the Governorate-General of Northern Greece was established, initially with subordinate governorates for [[West Macedonia]], [[Central Macedonia]], [[East Macedonia and Thrace|East Macedonia, and Thrace]], the first three of which were then grouped anew into a new Governorate-General of Macedonia, albeit still subject to the Governorate-General of Northern Greece. This awkward arrangement lasted until 1950, when the administration of Macedonia was streamlined, the junior governorates abolished and only the Governorate-General of Northern Greece retained. Finally, in 1955, the Governorate-General of Northern Greece was transformed into the [[Ministry of Northern Greece]], and all other governorates-general elsewhere in Greece were abolished.