Greece lays to rest ‘noble’ ex-prime minister Simitis

Greek erstwhile premier curate Costas Simitis, the designer of the country’s eurozone entry, was laid to remainder Thursday successful a state funeral.

Simitis, who died connected Sunday aged 88, received the afloat honours of an incumbent person successful a ceremonial astatine the Athens Metropolitan Cathedral attended by top officials, and was interred astatine the Athens First Cemetery alongside different salient Greeks.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said successful an code astatine the ceremonial that Simitis will beryllium remembered for “his unwavering content successful (Greece’s) European predisposition and his changeless effort for Greece to converge with the astir developed, astir dynamic states of our continent.”

He was a absorption combatant against the Greek dictatorship, a “worthy servant of democracy” and a “noble adversary,” said the blimpish Mitsotakis.

“Today Greece bows earlier 1 of the top leaders of its modern history,” said the person of the socialist Pasok party, Nikos Androulakis, astatine the funeral.

A founding subordinate and veteran curate of Pasok, Simitis succeeded historical person Andreas Papandreou arsenic premier curate and served two consecutive terms from 1996 to 2004, a seminal play successful the country’s modern history.

In summation to overseeing Greece’s eurozone introduction successful 2001, Simitis’s reformist medication secured and managed the mammoth task of preparing for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.

Under Simitis, Greece besides held the 2003 European Union presidency that saw the bloc’s biggest enlargement to date, with the accession of 10 caller EU states including its historical state Cyprus.

“He was a person who near a people connected history, a humble and progressive leader,” retiree Alexandra Kroupi told AFP.

– Turkey detente –
A erstwhile instrumentality professor, Simitis is besides remembered for clashing with Greece’s almighty Orthodox religion to region spiritual affiliation from state individuality cards, a determination hailed by rights groups.

Simitis near Greece “more assured and stronger than ever”, Androulakis said.

In aboriginal years, the bequest of Simitis’s governments was dimmed by probes into a large stock bubble and corruption scandals that saw two of his erstwhile ministers jailed.

Tensions with neighbouring Turkey besides spiked dangerously connected two occasions under Simitis’s administration.

In 1996, the historical rivals and NATO allies astir went to war implicit a clump of uninhabited islets successful the Aegean Sea.

A naval showdown successful the country was averted aft the United States intervened.

In aboriginal 1999, Greece was near red-faced when separatist Kurdish rebel person Abdullah Ocalan was revealed to person been hiding astatine the Greek embassy successful Kenya, and was snatched by Turkish commandos.

Three of Simitis’s ministers were forced to resign implicit the diplomatic debacle.

A fewer months later, some countries were deed by deadly earthquakes and rushed to each other’s aid.

Simitis used the accidental to usher successful a play of detente with Turkey under his overseas curate George Papandreou, which aboriginal became known arsenic “quake diplomacy”.

He is survived by his wife and two daughters.

Source: AFP