Costas Simitis, Former Greek Prime Minister, Dies at 88

Former Greek premier curate Costas Simitis died connected Sunday astatine the property of 88, his backstage bureau announced.

He was transferred without a pulse aboriginal Sunday greeting astatine the Corinth infirmary from his  summertime location of Agii Theodoroi successful the Peloponnese. He has pronounced dead, contempt efforts to resuscitate him.

The Greek government has declared 4 days of nationalist mourning portion Simitis volition beryllium buried with the afloat honors bestowed connected an progressive premier minister.

Simitis, besides a founding subordinate of the socialist enactment Panhellenic Socialist Movement known arsenic PASOK aft the autumn of the subject junta successful 1974, near his people connected Greece’s governmental life.

He held respective ministerial posts earlier taking the helm of the country, erstwhile helium succeeded PASOK laminitis Andreas Papandreou and became Greece’s premier curate from 2006 until 2004. He is remembered for his captious relation successful the country’s adoption of the euro successful 2001.

During his tenure, Simitis pushed for privatizations, fiscal stableness and mean overseas policies, aiming to modernize Greek system and society, portion Cyprus became a subordinate of the European Union. He leaves a bequest of modernization and deeper European cohesion.

Simitis has besides written respective governmental and technological books.

Condolences began pouring successful from Greece’s politicians for Simitis’ loss

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who calls Simitis “a deserving and noble opponent,” connected a station connected his Facebook account, says that Simitis was the Prime Minister “who accompanied Greece during its big, nationalist steps: entering the Eurozone and the euro and seeing Cyprus becoming a subordinate of the European Union. (He was) the personality, who, without a uncertainty leaves its ain people connected the improvement of the country, passim each past decades.”

Nikos Androulakis, person of PASOK, has offered his condolences to Costas Simitis’ wife, Daphne.

Several PASOK party members person besides been paying tributes to the precocious erstwhile premier minister. Anna Diamantopoulou, successful complaint of the party’s governmental planning, posted connected Facebook that Simitis “with the mode helium lived and behaved, (he) taught righteousness. A teacher for each of america who worked with him.”

Who was Costas Simitis

Born Konstantinos (Costas) G. Simitis, successful Piraeus to Georgios Simitis, a Professor astatine the School of Economic and Commercial Sciences, and to his woman Fani Christopoulou. Simitis studied instrumentality astatine the University of Marburg successful Germany and economics at the London School of Economics. He was joined to Daphne Arkadiou and had 2 daughters, Fiona and Marilena.

Simitis was known arsenic the Greek person who led the ‘Modernization’ question of Greece.

Simitis was appointed Minister of Agriculture successful Papandreou’s archetypal government. He stayed determination until 1985. He was moved to beryllium Minister of National Economy successful 1985 erstwhile PASOK’s profligacy needed a caller financial ‘stability’ to beryllium imposed successful the signifier of an economical accommodation programme and this marked Simitis’ consequent reputation. With stableness achieved and the party’s popularity waning, Andreas distanced himself from Simitis’ policies and Simitis resigned. Simitis gained further ministerial acquisition successful 1989–90 arsenic Education Minister successful the Zolotas all-party authorities (and again aboriginal arsenic Industry, Energy, Technology, and Commerce Minister from 1993 to 1995).

In 1996, Simitis won the enactment of PASOK aft Papandreou’s failing health. However, the enactment modulation from Papandreou to Simitis was confrontational by loyalists of the erstwhile Prime Minister, who wanted to forestall specified a modulation from being realized. Simitis lacked his predecessor’s charisma, and the fractured party’s enactment constricted galore of his actions successful government. However, by the extremity of his tenure successful 2004, Simitis had respective important achievements and reforms successful the wider nine and system to proclaim.

The show of the Greek system nether Simitis sealed the Greek introduction into the Euro currency and closing the travel of aligning Greece with the West that started with Eleftherios Venizelos and continued with Constantine Karamanlis. Simitis besides succeeded successful the Cypriot accession into the EU, a diplomatic precedence for Greece.

The palmy completion of the Athens 2004 Summer Olympics besides boosted Greece’s affirmative representation arsenic a modern authorities susceptible of undertaking blase tasks. Moreover, a assortment of large-scale infrastructure projects were completed, similar the caller Eleftherios Venizelos airport, the Athens ringing road, Athens Metro, and Rio–Antirrio Bridge. New institutions were besides introduced, specified arsenic the Greek Ombudsman and a fig of regulatory bodies to supervise marketplace liberalization.

After the indebtedness situation erupted successful Greece successful 2009, the bequest of Simitis would beryllium re-interpreted by critics arsenic not being capable oregon misleading. However, authorities institutions nether Simitis were developed and strengthened successful their capableness to reform, appearing some much ‘modern’ and ‘European.’

This is simply a breaking quality story; much to follow.