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George Papandreou

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For George Papandreou's namesake grandfather, see Georgios Papandreou.
Georgios Papandreou
Γεώργιος Παπανδρέου

MP
Prime Minister of Greece
In office
6 October 2009 – 8 November 2011
PresidentKarolos Papoulias
DeputyTheodoros Pangalos
Evangelos Venizelos
Preceded byKostas Karamanlis
Succeeded byTBD
President of Socialist International
Incumbent
Assumed office
30 January 2006
Preceded byAntónio Guterres
Leader of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement
Incumbent
Assumed office
8 February 2004
Preceded byCostas Simitis
Leader of the Opposition
In office
10 March 2004 – 6 October 2009
Preceded byKostas Karamanlis
Succeeded byAntonis Samaras
Minister for Foreign Affairs
In office
6 October 2009 – 7 September 2010
Preceded byDora Bakoyannis
Succeeded byDimitrios Droutsas
In office
18 February 1999 – 13 February 2004
Prime MinisterKostas Simitis
Preceded byTheodoros Pangalos
Succeeded byTassos Yiannitsis
Minister for National Education and Religious Affairs
In office
8 July 1994 – 25 September 1996
Prime MinisterAndreas Papandreou
Preceded byDimitrios Fatouros
Succeeded byGerasimos Arsenis
In office
22 June 1988 – 2 July 1989
Prime MinisterAndreas Papandreou
Preceded byApostolos Kaklamanis
Succeeded byVasileios Kontogiannopoulos
Personal details
Born (1952-06-16) 16 June 1952 (age 72)
Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
Political partyPanhellenic Socialist Movement
SpouseAda Papapanou
ChildrenAndreas
Margarita-Elena
ResidenceMaximos Mansion
Alma materAmherst College
London School of Economics
ProfessionSociologist
Professor
WebsiteOfficial website

Georgios A. Papandreou (Greek: Γεώργιος Α. Παπανδρέου, [ʝe̞ˈo̞ɾʝio̞s papanˈðɾe̞u];[1] born 16 June 1952), commonly anglicised to George and shortened to Γιώργος (Yórgos, [ˈʝo̞ɾɣo̞s]) in Greek, is the current Prime Minister of Greece following his party's victory in the 2009 legislative election. His family comes from a long standing political dynasty. He previously served as Minister for National Education and Religious Affairs (1988–1989 and 1994–1996) and was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1999 to 2004. Following his grandfather Georgios Papandreou and his father Andreas Papandreou, he is the third member of the Papandreou family to serve as the country's prime minister. Papandreou has been leader of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) party since February 2004. In 2006 he became President of the Socialist International. George Papandreou became the 182nd Prime Minister of Greece on 6 October 2009.

Early life

He was born George Jeffrey Papandreou[2] in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States, where his father, Andreas Papandreou, held a university post. His mother is American-born Margaret Papandreou, née Chant. He was educated at schools in Toronto (King City Secondary School), at Amherst College in Massachusetts (where he was a friend and dormitory roommate of fellow Greek Antonis Samaras[3]), Stockholm University, the London School of Economics and Harvard University. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology from Amherst and a Μaster's degree in sociology from the LSE. He was a researcher in immigration issues at Stockholm University in 1972–73. He was also a Fellow of the Foreign Relations Center of Harvard University in 1992–93.

In 2002 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Laws by Amherst College and in 2006 he was named Distinguished Professor in the Center for Hellenic Studies by Georgia State College of Arts and Science.

Papandreou's father studied and worked as professor of Economics from 1939 to 1959. His paternal grandfather, Georgios Papandreou, was three times Prime Minister of Greece.

The younger George Papandreou came to Greece after the restoration of Greek democracy in 1974. He then became active in his father's party, the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK). He joined the Central Committee of PASOK in 1984.

Papandreou was elected to the Greek Parliament in 1981, the year his father became Prime Minister, as MP for the constituency of Achaea. He became Under Secretary for Cultural Affairs in 1985, Minister of Education and Religious Affairs in 1988, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1993, Minister for Education and Religious Affairs again in 1994, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs again in 1996 and Minister of Foreign Affairs in February 1999. He was also Minister Responsible for Government Coordination for the Bid for 2004 Olympic Games in 1997.

Papandreou in 2002, as Minister of Foreign Affairs.

In his second term as Minister of Education, Papandreou was the first politician in Greece to introduce affirmative action, allocating 5% of university posts for the Muslim minority in Thrace. He was also instrumental in initiating the Open University in Greece.

Papandreou received numerous awards and honorary degrees in recognition of his work for human rights. As Foreign Minister he toned down the inflammatory nationalist rhetoric of his father and fostered closer relations with Turkey and Albania with which Greece had traditionally hostile relations. He worked tirelessly to solve the dispute over Cyprus; his efforts helped bring together the Annan Plan. Papandreou, like all other political leaders, was unwilling to make concessions on Greece's fundamental position that Cyprus must be reunited and accepted that this could not lead to a status quo ante of a normal unified state. However, the Republic of Cyprus entered the European Union and become a full member of the European Union in 2004. Papandreou also worked to resolve tensions regarding the Macedonia naming dispute.

Party leadership

In anticipation of the 2004 national elections in Greece, polls indicated that PASOK was very likely to lose as the conservative New Democracy party was heading towards a landslide. In January 2004, the incumbent PM Costas Simitis announced his resignation as leader of PASOK, and passed the leadership to Papandreou by recommending him as the new leader.

On 8 February 2004 PASOK introduced for the first time the procedure of open primaries for the election of party leadership. Even if Papandreou had no opponent, this was a move designed to solidify the open primaries, democratise the party, and make a clean break with a tradition of “dynastic politics.”

In December 2003 European Voice[4] in the publication "The Europeans of the Year" named him as "The Bridge-Builder" and "Diplomat of the Year".[5] Le Monde has called him the "architect of Greek-Turkish rapprochement". He is a founding member of the Helsinki Citizens Assembly.

In May 2005, Papandreou was elected Vice President of the Socialist International following a proposal by the former President, António Guterres. In January 2006, Papandreou was unanimously elected President of the Socialist International.

In the 2007 general election, PASOK again lost to the incumbent New Democracy party of Kostas Karamanlis and Papandreou’s leadership was challenged by Evangelos Venizelos and Kostas Skandalidis. Papandreou, however, retained his party's leadership at a leadership election in November.

In June 2009 and under his leadership, his party won the 2009 European Parliament election in Greece.[6] Four months later, PASOK won the October 2009 general elections with 43.92 % of the popular vote to ND's 33.48 %, and 160 parliament seats to 91.[7]

Prime Minister

George Papandreou takes the oath of office of the Prime Minister of Greece.

The inauguration of George Papandreou as the 182nd Prime Minister of Greece took place on 6 October 2009.[8][9]

Upon inauguration, Papandreou's government revealed that its finances were far worse than previous announcements, with a budget deficit of 12.7% of GDP, four times more than the eurozone's limit, and a public debt of $410 billion.[10] This announcement only served to worsen the severe crisis the Greek economy was undergoing, with an unemployment rate of 10%[11] and the country's debt rating being lowered to BBB+, the lowest in the eurozone.[12] Papandreou responded by promoting austerity measures,[13] reducing spending, increasing taxes,[14] freezing additional taxes and hiring and introducing measures aimed at combatting rampant tax evasion[15] and reducing the country's public sector. The announced austerity program caused a wave of nationwide strikes[16] and has been criticised by both the EU and the eurozone nations' finance ministers as falling short of its goals.[17]


On 23 April 2010 during a visit at the island of Kastelorizo, Papandreou issued a statement to the press that he instructed the Finance Minister to officially ask the EU partners to activate the support mechanism, 'an unprecedented mechanism in the history and practice of the European Union'.[18] The support mechanism, which was put in place by the European heads of state and government and further elaborated by Euro Group ministers, is a European mechanism to which the IMF is associated with financing and it involves a comprehensive three-year economic program and financing conditions.[19] On 23 April 2010, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced that Greece made a request for a Stand-By Arrangement.[20] Greece's sovereign debt crisis, which is considered as part of the European sovereign debt crisis is marked by massive strikes and demonstrations.

On a poll published on 18 May, 2011, 77% of the people asked said they have no faith in Papandreou as Prime Minister in handling the Greek economic crisis.[21]

On 25 May the Real Democracy Now! movement started protesting in Athens and other major Greek cities. The peaceful protests are ongoing, and are considered to be a sign of popular rejection of Mr. Papandreou and his government's economic policies,[22][23] with as much as three quarters of the Greek population being against the policies of the Papandreou government.[24] Among the demands of the demonstrations at Athens's central square, who claim to have been over 500,000 at one point,[25] is the resignation of Papandreou and his government.

On the early hours of 22 June, George Papandreou and his government narrowly survived a vote of confidence in the Greek parliament, with 155 of the 300 seats in parliament.[26] His government currently holds 152 seats.[27]

On 17 September, he cancelled a visit to the IMF building in Washington D.C and the UN Headquarters in New York City amid mounting concern over the country's debt crisis.[28]

A poll by Public Issue on behalf of Skai TV and Kathimerini in October 2011 showed that Papandreou's popularity has dropped considerably.[29] Of the people asked, only 23% had a positive view of George Papandreou,[29] while 73% had a negative opinion;[29] ranking him lower than any other leader of a party in the Hellenic Parliament.[29] Papandreou also ranked low on the question of who is more suitable for Prime Minister, with just 22%, as both Antonis Samaras (28%) and "neither" (47%) ranked higher than him.[29]

On 31 October Papandreou announced his government's intentions to hold a referendum for the acceptance of the terms for a Eurozone bailout deal.[30] The referendum was to take place once plans were finalised in 2012. [31] On 3 November, however, Papandreou scrapped this plan. On 5 November his government narrowly won a confidence vote in parliament.[32]

On 6 November Papandreou met with opposition leaders to try and find an agreement on forming an interim government. The day before Antonis Samaras, leader of the opposition New Democracy party, said that they would not take part in a coalition and called for an immediate election. A condition for New Democracy's support for a "unity government" appeared to be the resignation of Papandreou.[33] PASOK MPs said that they expected him to resign;[34] later that day, Papandreou and Samaras agreed to a deal that would form a new unity government and allow for the EU bailout.[35] Among the potential candidates of the interim government, Lucas Papademos, a former vice-president of the European Central Bank, Nikiforos Diamandouros, the current European Ombudsman, Panagiotis Roumeliotis[36], an Alternate Executive Director ofIMF[37], and Stavros Dimas, a former European commissioner have been mentioned.[38] [39]

Personal life

Papandreou and his wife attend the Quadriga Award 2010 ceremony on 3 October 2010 in Berlin.

George Papandreou is married to Ada Papapanos and they have a daughter, Margarita-Elena (born 1990).[40] He also has a son, Andreas, (born 1982) from a previous marriage, 1976–1987[citation needed], to Evanthia Zissimides, born in Cyprus and raised in England.[41]

He has two younger brothers, Nikos Papandreou and Andreas Papandreou, and two younger sisters, Sophia Papandreou and Emilia Nyblom.

Apart from Greek and English, he is also fluent in Swedish[42], French[citation needed] and Spanish[citation needed].

One of his paternal greatgrandfathers was of Polish descent.

Honours and decorations

Awards

  • 1988: " Botsis's Foundation for the Promotion of Journalism " award for "his multifaceted struggles, which established the Free Radio as part of our democratic institutions"
  • 1996: SOS against anti-Semitism, and affiliated organizations" Committee award, for his work against anti-Semitism
  • 1997: Abdi Ipekci special award for Peace and Friendship ( June 1997) "for his activities in favor of Greek-Turkish approach during the period 1995–1996 while serving as Minister of National Education and Religion"
  • 2000: Eastwest Institute 2000 Awards – Peace Building Awards . The 2000 "Statesman of the Year Award" given to Foreign Minister George Papandreou of Greece and Foreign Minister Ismail Cem of Turkey for their great efforts at improving relations between their respective countries
  • 2002: Jackie Robinson Humanitarian Award (United States Sport Academy)
  • 2003: Recipient: Defender of Democracy (Parliamentarians for Global Action)
  • 2006: Open Fields Award (Truce Foundation USA)
  • 2010: Quadriga Award (Werkstatt Deutschland, Germany), for The Power of Veracity (transparency regarding the state of the Greek economy)

See also

References

  1. ^ "/ George A. Papandreou :: Personal Site \". Papandreou.gr. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
  2. ^ "George Papandreou - Minnesota Birth Index, 1935-2002". Ancestry.com. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
  3. ^ "As good as it gets". ekathimerini. 4 December 2009. Retrieved 8 December 2009.
  4. ^ "An independent voice on EU news and affairs". European Voice. 27 October 2011. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
  5. ^ Papandreou[dead link]
  6. ^ "European election results 2009 for Greece". Results of the 2009 European Elections. Ministry of Internal Affairs. Retrieved 6 October 2009.
  7. ^ "Greek legislative election, 2009 results". Results of the 2009 Greek legislative elections. Ministry of Internal Affairs. Retrieved 6 October 2009. [dead link]
  8. ^ Mavrona, Katerina (6 October 2009). "New PM George Papandreou takes office". ANA-MPA. ana-mpa.gr. Retrieved 6 October 2009.
  9. ^ "Papandreou sworn in as Greek PM". BBC News. 6 October 2009. Retrieved 6 October 2009.
  10. ^ "Greece Bailout: France, Germany Angry Over Rescue". Time Magazine. 16 February 2010. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  11. ^ "Greece's unemployment rate hits 10%". BBC News. 11 February 2010. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  12. ^ "Greece's Debt and Economy Woes: As Bad as Dubai's?". Time Magazine. 9 December 2009. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  13. ^ "Greece unveils austerity programme to cut deficit". BBC News. 3 February 2010. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  14. ^ "Greek Tragedy: Athens' Financial Woes". Time Magazine. 15 February 2010. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  15. ^ "No tax please, we're Greek". BBC News. 11 February 2010. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  16. ^ "Greece hit by nationwide strike over austerity measures". BBC News. 10 February 2010. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  17. ^ "Greece told to make more spending cuts". BBC Nwes. 16 February 2010. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  18. ^ "/ George A. Papandreou :: Personal Site \". Papandreou.gr. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
  19. ^ "Transcript of a Press Conference by George Papaconstantinou, Finance Minister of Greece". IMF. 25 April 2010. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
  20. ^ "Statement by IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn on Greece". IMF. 23 April 2010. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
  21. ^ "Mνημόνιο ένα χρόνο μετά: Aποδοκιμασία, αγανάκτηση, απαξίωση, ανασφάλεια (One Year after the Memorandum: Disapproval, Anger, Disdain, Insecurity)". skai.gr. 18 May 2011. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
  22. ^ "Inside the Greek parliament protest camp". BBC. 24 June 2011. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  23. ^ "Greece austerity: PM Papandreou tries to persuade MPs". BBC. 22 June 2011. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  24. ^ "EU leaders urge Greek politicians to support new cuts". BBC. 24 June 2011. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  25. ^ "«Αγανακτισμένοι»: Πρωτοφανής συμμετοχή σε Αθήνα και άλλες πόλεις" (in Greek). skai.gr. 5 June 2011. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  26. ^ "Greek government survives confidence vote". BBC. 21 June 2011. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
  27. ^ "Βουλευτές - Ανά Κοινοβουλευτική Ομάδα". www.hellenicparliament.gr. Retrieved 25 August 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  28. ^ "Greek crisis: PM George Papandreou cancels US visit". BBC News. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
  29. ^ a b c d e "Πολιτικό Βαρόμετρο 95 - Οκτώβριος 2011" (PDF). Public Issue. www.skai.gr. October 2011. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
  30. ^ "Ρίσκα και αβεβαιότητες από την πολιτική «βόμβα» για δημοψήφισμα". Skai TV. Retrieved 31 October 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  31. ^ "Ευ. Βενιζέλος: Από το νέο έτος το δημοψήφισμα". Skai TV. Retrieved 31 October 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  32. ^ "Greek PM Papandreou faces unity challenge over bailout" at bbc.co.uk
  33. ^ "Greek Crisis: George Papandreou Expected To Resign " at http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk
  34. ^ "Greek PM 'will quit today' says his own party as coalition deal appears imminent" at dailymail.co.uk
  35. ^ Kington, Tom; Smith, Helena (6 November 2011). "Papandreou out as Greek leaders agree unity government deal". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 November 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  36. ^ "Panagiotis Roumeliotis CV" (PDF). Panteion. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
  37. ^ "Another potential PM". Forex News. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
  38. ^ "Exclusive: The three candidates for the premiership". Athens News Portal. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
  39. ^ "Papandreou steps aside; Elections on Feb 19". FXstreet.com. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
  40. ^ "/ George A. Papandreou :: Personal Site \". Papandreou.gr. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
  41. ^ "Greece, Papandreou's son, in protest of the unemployed". www.rtvfan.net. 26 September 2011. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
  42. ^ "/ George A. Papandreou :: Personal Site \". Papandreou.gr. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to George Papandreou.
Political offices
Preceded by Minister for National Education and Religious Affairs
1988–1989 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister for National Education and Religious Affairs
1994–1996 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister for Foreign Affairs
1999–2004 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Prime Minister of Greece
2009–present 		Incumbent
Preceded by Minister for Foreign Affairs
2009–2010 		Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Leader of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement
2004–present 		Incumbent
Preceded by President of the Socialist International
2006–present


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