Andreas Georgiou
Andreas Georgiou | |
|---|---|
 | |
| President of the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT). | |
| In office August 2, 2010 – August 2, 2015 | |
| Personal details | |
| Alma mater | Amherst College (B.A.) University of Michigan (Ph.D.) |
Andreas Georgiou (Greek: Ανδρέας Γεωργίου, born Patras, 1960) is a Greek economist. On 2 August 2010 he was appointed as President of the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT).[1] On 2 August 2015, he surprisingly resigned from office with immediate effect.[2][3]
In July 2016, the Greek Supreme Court upheld charges against Georgiou for having harmed the "national interest",[4] with a possible sentence of up to 10 years in prison.[5][6]
These charges have been widely criticized as spurious by numerous international statistical bodies and experts who have backed the accuracy and ethics of his work. As the Financial Times reported,
"The case has sparked outrage from economists and statisticians worldwide who believe Mr. Georgiou has become a scapegoat for Greece's political class." [1]
Mr. Georgiou's prosecution has been denounced as a violation of scientific freedom and human rights by the American Statistical Association's Committee on Scientific Freedom and Human Rights [2], the editorial board of The Economist [3], and others.
Life
He completed his secondary education in Athens College. He studied at Amherst College, where he received his Bachelor of Arts (Summa Cum Laude) in Economics and in Political Science-Sociology. He went on to receive his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Michigan with specialization in Monetary Theory and Stabilisation Policy as well as in International Trade and Finance. From 1989 to July 2010 he was staff of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He has been head of missions, responsible for the preparation, negotiation, and monitoring of economic programs with IMF member countries. From March 2004 to July 2010 he was deputy division chief in the IMF Statistics Department. During that period, among other things, he led the work of the statistical program for the methodological development and dissemination of new indicators of stability of financial systems (Financial Soundness Indicators). He has taught economics at the University of Michigan and he is a visiting professor at the Economics University of Bratislava. In addition, he has conducted seminars and courses in statistical methodologies for IMF staff as well as state officials of more than 120 countries.
He speaks English, French, Slovak and Russian.
Among his personal interests are the protection of the environment and the preservation and dissemination of Greek culture and heritage.
See also
- Greek debt crisis of 2010
- First Cabinet of Alexis Tsipras (26 January 2015 - 27 August 2015)
- Judicial system of Greece
References
- ^ Bio of Georgiou from the Hellenic Statistical Authority site, archived 2011
- ^ sueddeutsche.de 3. August 2015: Athener Börse öffnet wieder - und stürzt ab
- ^ Kathimerini 2. August 2015: Αποχωρεί από την ΕΛΣΤΑΤ μετά τη λήξη της θητείας του ο Ανδρέας Γεωργίου
- ^ 1331/2016 (Supreme Court refers Andreas Georgiou with felony charges (2nd August 2016))
- ^ ft.com: Greece to press ahead with criminal trial for ex-statistics chief
- ^ FAZ.net 3 August 2016: Defizit zu hoch? Statistiker verklagen! (translated: deficit too high ? Bring the statistician to trial!)