George Andreas Papandreou
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| George Papandreou | |
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President of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office February, 2004 |
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| Preceded by | Kostas Simitis |
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President of the Socialist International
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 2006 |
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| Preceded by | António Guterres |
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| Born | June 16, 1952 St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Political party | Panhellenic Socialist Movement |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Religion | Greek Orthodox |
For George Papandreou's grandfather, also called George Papandreou, see George Papandreou, senior.
Georgios Andreas Papandreou (Greek: Γιώργος Ανδρέα Παπανδρέου) (born June 16, 1952), Greek of Greek-American origin, has been leader of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) party since February 2004. The son and grandson of Greek prime ministers, he was Minister for National Education and Religious Affairs two times (1988-1989 and 1994-1996) and Minister of the Foreign Affairs from 1999 to 2004. In 2006 he became President of the Socialist International. He is often referred to by the dimninutive 'Giorgakis' (little George).
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[edit] Background
Papandreou was born in St Paul, Minnesota, in the United States, where his father, Andreas Papandreou, then held a university post. His mother is American-born Margaret Papandreou, née Chant. He was educated at schools in Toronto Canada, at Amherst College in Massachusetts, Stockholm University, the London School of Economics (LSE), and finally at Harvard University. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology from Amhest and a master'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 Centre of the Harvard University in 1992-93. Apart from Greek and English he is also fluent in Swedish.
Papandreou's father was exiled from Greece for political reasons in 1939 and did not return until 1959. His grandfather, the elder George Papandreou, was twice Prime Minister of Greece. G. Papandreou himself 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.
[edit] Entry into politics
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 Coordinator for the Bid for 2004 Olympic Games in 1997.
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.
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 without success 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 unitary state. However, Cyprus entered the European Union and become a full member of the E.U. family in 2004. He also worked to repair the policies of the Macedonia crisis of the early 1990s.
[edit] Party leadership
In anticipation of the 2004 elections, the polls indicated that PASOK was most likely going to lose as the currently ruling conservative 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. Papanderou at the time was, according to the polls, the most popular politician in Greece.
On February 8, 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 the 2007 general election, PASOK lost to the incumbent New Democracy party of Kostas Karamanlis and Papandreou’s leadership was challenged by Evangelos Venizelos and Kostas Skandalidis. He won.
In December 2003 European Voice in the publication "The Europeans of the Year" named him as "The Bridge-Builder" and "Diplomat of the Year". [1]. 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, at the second day of session of the Council of Socialist International held in Ramallah (Palestinian Territories). In January 2006 he was unanimously elected President of the Socialist International.
[edit] Personal
Papandreou and his wife Ada have a daughter, Margarita-Elena. Papandreou also has a son, Andreas II (born 1982) from a previous marriage. He also has two younger brothers, Nikos Papandreou and Andrikos Papandreou, and a younger sister Sophia Papandreou.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Official site
- Personal blog
- Profile by Athens News Agency in English
- Profile by Macedonian Press Agency in Greek
- Acceptance speech at the Socialist International Conference (Athens 2006)
[edit] See also
| Preceded by ' |
Minister of National Education and Religious Affairs 1988–1989 |
Succeeded by ' |
| Preceded by ' |
Minister of National Education and Religious Affairs 1994–1996 |
Succeeded by Gerasimos Arsenis |
| Preceded by Theodoros Pangalos |
Minister for Foreign Affairs 1999–2004 |
Succeeded by Tassos Yiannitsis |
| Preceded by Costas Simitis |
President of PASOK 2004 – present |
Incumbent |
| Preceded by António Guterres |
President of Socialist International 2006 – present |
Incumbent |
