the auxiliary vessel Amfitriti in 1925, and of the destroyer in 1926, going on to hold the posts of Commander of the Thessaloniki Naval Defence Area (1926–27), the Naval War School (1928–29), and captain of the Navy training vessel Aris in 1930. Promoted to captain on 22 October 1932, he served as General Director of the Salamis Naval Base, and Commander of the Destroyers Flotilla (1932–35). Promoted to rear admiral on 23 March 1935, he was chairman of the extraordinary court-martial that tried the politicians who had participated in the Venizelist coup attempt in March. In 1935–36 he was Chief of the Light Fleet. From this post he played a key role in the bloodless coup of Georgios Kondylis on 10 October 1935, which quickly abolished the Second Hellenic Republic and restored the monarchy. He became Chief of the Navy General Staff in January 1937, serving in the post (with a brief interruption in August–September 1938) until the aftermath of the German invasion of Greece in April 1941. In the chaos of the German invasion, and following the suicide of Prime Minister Alexandros Koryzis on 18 April, King George II named Sakellariou as Minister for Naval Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister (with Emmanouil Tsouderos assuming office as Prime Minister on 20 April). In the face of the German advance and the heavy losses suffered by the surface vessels to the Luftwaffe, Sakellariou ordered the remaining ships to evacuate Greece towards British-held Egypt, where the Greek king and his government arrived later to form a government in exile, which was based in Cairo until Liberation in 1944. Sakellariou followed the government to Crete and thence, on board , to Alexandria. He resigned his government posts on 2 May 1942, but remained as the head of the exiled fleet until his retirement on 26 December 1943, with the rank of vice admiral in retirement. Post-war career After Liberation, in the 1946 elections he successfully stood for election in Parliament in the Atticoboeotia prefecture at the head of his own party, the Panhellenic National Party (part of the United Alignment of Nationalists alliance). On 29 August 1947 he was named Minister of Supply and pro tempore Minister of Merchant Marine in the Konstantinos Tsaldaris cabinet. In the succeeding cabinet of Themistoklis Sofoulis, he was once again Minister for Naval Affairs (until 18 November 1948). On 31 July 1946, he was awarded the War