George Papandreou
Encyclopedia
Georgios A. Papandreou , commonly anglicised
to George and shortened to Γιώργος (Yórgos, ˈʝo̞ɾɣo̞s) in Greek, is a Greek
politician who served as Prime Minister of Greece
following his party's victory in the 2009 legislative election
. Belonging to a political dynasty of long standing, he previously served as Minister for National Education and Religious Affairs (1988–1989 and 1994–1996) and Minister for Foreign Affairs
from 1999 to 2004. Following his grandfather Georgios Papandreou and his father Andreas Papandreou
, he was 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, and President of the Socialist International
since January 2006. George Papandreou became the 182nd Prime Minister of Greece on 6 October 2009. He resigned on 11 November 2011 to make way for a national unity government
charged with tackling the Greek government debt crisis
.
He was born George Jeffrey Papandreou 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
), at 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 on 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 the political party his father had founded, 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.
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 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 in the publication "The Europeans of the Year" named him as "The Bridge-Builder" and "Diplomat of the Year". 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. 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.
took place on 6 October 2009.
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. This announcement only served to worsen the severe crisis the Greek economy was undergoing, with an unemployment rate of 10% and the country's debt rating being lowered to BBB+, the lowest in the eurozone. Papandreou responded by promoting austerity measures, reducing spending, increasing taxes, freezing additional taxes and hiring and introducing measures aimed at combatting rampant tax evasion and reducing the country's public sector
. The announced austerity program caused a wave of nationwide strikes and has been criticised by both the EU and the eurozone nations' finance ministers as falling short of its goals.
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
'. 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.
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
.
Greece's sovereign debt crisis, which is considered as part of the European sovereign debt crisis is marked by massive strikes and demonstrations
.
On an opinion 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
.
On 25 May 2011 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, with as much as three quarters of the Greek population being against the policies of the Papandreou government. Among the demands of the demonstrations at Athens's central square, who claim to have been over 500,000 at one point, 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. His government currently holds 152 seats.
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.
An opinion poll by Public Issue on behalf of Skai TV
and Kathimerini
in October 2011 showed that Papandreou's popularity has dropped considerably. Of the people asked, only 23% had a positive view of George Papandreou, while 73% had a negative opinion; ranking him lower than any other leader of a party in the Hellenic Parliament
. 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.
On 26 October 2011 the European Summit agreed to hand to the Greek government the Sixth Tranche
of € 8 billion bailout early in the 2012, while the private-sector banks, the holders of Greek debt, have agreed to a 50% haircut
on their outstanding Greek government bonds.
On 28 October 2011 during the national day parade, protesters blocked the parades forcing the President of Greece
and other officials to leave.
On 31 October Papandreou announced his government's intentions to hold a referendum
for the acceptance of the terms of a eurozone
bailout deal. The referendum was to be held in December 2011 or January 2012. On 3 November, however, Papandreou scrapped the plan following vehement opposition both within and outside the country. On 5 November, his government narrowly won a confidence vote
in parliament.
On 6 November, Papandreou met with opposition leaders to try to reach an agreement on the formation of an interim government
.
A day earlier, the leader of the opposition New Democracy
party Antonis Samaras
had rejected the proposal and called for an immediate election.
After Papandreou agreed to step aside, however, the two leaders announced their intention to form a national unity government
that would allow the EU bailout to proceed and pave the way for elections
on 19 February 2012.
The Communist Party
and the Coalition of the Radical Left
Party, refused Papandreou's invitation to join talks on a new unity government.
After several days of intense negotiations, the two major parties along with the Popular Orthodox Rally
agreed to form a grand coalition
headed by former Vice President of the European Central Bank
Lucas Papademos
.
On 10 November George Papandreou formally resigned as Prime Minister of Greece.
The new coalition cabinet
and Prime Minister Lucas Papademos were formally sworn in on 11 November 2011.
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
.
One of his paternal greatgrandfathers was of Polish
descent.
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Anglicisation
Anglicisation, or anglicization , is the process of converting verbal or written elements of any other language into a form that is more comprehensible to an English speaker, or, more generally, of altering something such that it becomes English in form or character.The term most often refers to...
to George and shortened to Γιώργος (Yórgos, ˈʝo̞ɾɣo̞s) in Greek, is a Greek
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
politician who served as Prime Minister of Greece
Prime Minister of Greece
The Prime Minister of Greece , officially the Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic , is the head of government of the Hellenic Republic and the leader of the Greek cabinet. The current interim Prime Minister is Lucas Papademos, a former Vice President of the European Central Bank, following...
following his party's victory in the 2009 legislative election
Greek legislative election, 2009
Parliamentary elections were held in Greece on 4 October 2009. An election was not required until September 2011.On 2 September Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis announced he would request President Karolos Papoulias to dissolve Parliament and call an election...
. Belonging to a political dynasty of long standing, he previously served as Minister for National Education and Religious Affairs (1988–1989 and 1994–1996) and Minister for Foreign Affairs
Minister for Foreign Affairs (Greece)
The Minister for Foreign Affairs is the senior minister at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Greece, established on 3 April 1833. The current Minister for Foreign Affairs, since 11 November 2011 is the former European Commissioner Stavros Dimas...
from 1999 to 2004. Following his grandfather Georgios Papandreou and his father Andreas Papandreou
Andreas Papandreou
Andreas G. Papandreou ; 5 February 1919 – 23 June 1996) was a Greek economist, a socialist politician and a dominant figure in Greek politics. The son of Georgios Papandreou, Andreas was a Harvard-trained academic...
, he was the third member of the Papandreou family to serve as the country's prime minister. Papandreou has been leader of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement
Panhellenic Socialist Movement
The Panhellenic Socialist Movement , known mostly by its acronym PASOK , is one of the two major political parties in Greece. Founded on 3 September 1974 by Andreas Papandreou, in 1981 PASOK became Greece's first social democratic party to win a majority in parliament.The party is a socialist party...
(PASOK) party since February 2004, and President of the Socialist International
Socialist International
The Socialist International is a worldwide organization of democratic socialist, social democratic and labour political parties. It was formed in 1951.- History :...
since January 2006. George Papandreou became the 182nd Prime Minister of Greece on 6 October 2009. He resigned on 11 November 2011 to make way for a national unity government
National unity government
A national unity government, government of national unity, or national union government is a broad coalition government consisting of all parties in the legislature, usually formed during a time of war or other national emergency.- Canada :During World War I the Conservative government of Sir...
charged with tackling the Greek government debt crisis
Greek government debt crisis
From late 2009, fears of a sovereign debt crisis developed among investors concerning Greece's ability to meet its debt obligations due to strong increase in government debt levels. This lead to a crisis of confidence, indicated by a widening of bond yield spreads and risk insurance on credit...
.
Early life
He was born George Jeffrey Papandreou in Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...
, United States, where his father, Andreas Papandreou
Andreas Papandreou
Andreas G. Papandreou ; 5 February 1919 – 23 June 1996) was a Greek economist, a socialist politician and a dominant figure in Greek politics. The son of Georgios Papandreou, Andreas was a Harvard-trained academic...
, held a university post. His mother is American-born Margaret Papandreou, née Chant. He was educated at schools in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
(King City Secondary School
King City Secondary School
King City Secondary School, or KCSS, is a secondary education facility in King City, Ontario, Canada. It is a secular public school administered by the York Region District School Board. The school is located at 2001 King Road, and the current principal is Teresa Micone.- Campus :KCSS is located...
), at Amherst College
Amherst College
Amherst College is a private liberal arts college located in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Amherst is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 1,744 students in the fall of 2009...
in Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
(where he was a friend and dormitory roommate of fellow Greek Antonis Samaras
Antonis Samaras
Antonis Samaras is a Greek economist and politician who has been leader of New Democracy, Greece's major conservative party and main opposition party, since 2009. A Member of Parliament for Messenia, he was Minister of Finance in 1989, then Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1989 to 1990 and again...
), at Stockholm University
Stockholm University
Stockholm University is a state university in Stockholm, Sweden. It has over 28,000 students at four faculties, making it one of the largest universities in Scandinavia. The institution is also frequently regarded as one of the top 100 universities in the world...
, the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
and Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. 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 on 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
Georgia State University
Georgia State University is a research university in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Founded in 1913, it serves about 30,000 students and is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities...
.
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
Metapolitefsi
The Metapolitefsi was a period in Greek history after the fall of the Greek military junta of 1967–1974 that includes the transitional period from the fall of the dictatorship to the Greek legislative elections of 1974 and the democratic period immediately after these elections.The long...
in 1974. He then became active in the political party his father had founded, 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
Achaea
Achaea is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of West Greece. It is situated in the northwestern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. The capital is Patras. The population exceeds 300,000 since 2001.-Geography:...
. 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
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
in 1997.
In his second term as Minister of Education, Papandreou was the first politician in Greece to introduce affirmative action
Affirmative action
Affirmative action refers to policies that take factors including "race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or national origin" into consideration in order to benefit an underrepresented group, usually as a means to counter the effects of a history of discrimination.-Origins:The term...
, allocating 5% of university posts for the Muslim minority in Thrace
Western Thrace
Western Thrace or simply Thrace is a geographic and historical region of Greece, located between the Nestos and Evros rivers in the northeast of the country. Together with the regions of Macedonia and Epirus, it is often referred to informally as northern Greece...
. He was also instrumental in initiating the Open University
Open University
The Open University is a distance learning and research university founded by Royal Charter in the United Kingdom...
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
Cyprus dispute
The Cyprus dispute is the result of the ongoing conflict between the Republic of Cyprus and Turkey, over the Turkish occupied northern part of Cyprus....
; his efforts helped bring together the Annan Plan
Annan Plan for Cyprus
The Annan Plan was a United Nations proposal to resolve the Cyprus dispute, reuniting the breakaway Northern Cyprus with the Republic of Cyprus. The proposal was to restructure Cyprus as the "United Cyprus Republic", which would be a federation of two states. It was revised a number of times before...
. 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
Status quo ante bellum
The term status quo ante bellum is Latin, meaning literally "the state in which things were before the war".The term was originally used in treaties to refer to the withdrawal of enemy troops and the restoration of prewar leadership. When used as such, it means that no side gains or loses...
of a normal unified state. However, the Republic of Cyprus entered the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
and become a full member of the European Union in 2004. Papandreou also worked to resolve tensions regarding the Macedonia naming dispute
Macedonia naming dispute
A diplomatic dispute over the use of the name Macedonia has been an ongoing issue in the bilateral relations between Greece and the Republic of Macedonia since the latter became independent from former Yugoslavia in 1991...
.
Party leadership
In anticipation of the 2004 national elections in Greece, polls indicated that PASOK was very likely to lose as the conservative New DemocracyNew Democracy (Greece)
New Democracy is the main centre-right political party and one of the two major parties in Greece. It was founded in 1974 by Konstantinos Karamanlis and formed the first cabinet of the Third Hellenic Republic...
party was heading towards a landslide. In January 2004, the incumbent PM Costas Simitis
Costas Simitis
Konstantinos Simitis , usually referred to as Costas Simitis or Kostas Simitis, was Prime Minister of Greece and leader of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement from 1996 to 2004.- Biography :...
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 in the publication "The Europeans of the Year" named him as "The Bridge-Builder" and "Diplomat of the Year". Le Monde
Le Monde
Le Monde is a French daily evening newspaper owned by La Vie-Le Monde Group and edited in Paris. It is one of two French newspapers of record, and has generally been well respected since its first edition under founder Hubert Beuve-Méry on 19 December 1944...
has called him the "architect of Greek-Turkish rapprochement". He is a founding member of the Helsinki Citizens Assembly
Helsinki Citizens Assembly
The Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly is an organization of citizens dedicated to peace, democracy and human rights in Europe. It is a non-governmental organization, working on the notions of fundamental rights and freedoms, peace, democracy and pluralism....
.
In May 2005, Papandreou was elected Vice President of the Socialist International
Socialist International
The Socialist International is a worldwide organization of democratic socialist, social democratic and labour political parties. It was formed in 1951.- History :...
following a proposal by the former President, António Guterres
António Guterres
António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres, GCC is a Portuguese politician, a former prime minister and President of the Socialist International. Currently he is the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.-Early life:...
. 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
New Democracy (Greece)
New Democracy is the main centre-right political party and one of the two major parties in Greece. It was founded in 1974 by Konstantinos Karamanlis and formed the first cabinet of the Third Hellenic Republic...
party of Kostas Karamanlis and Papandreou’s leadership was challenged by Evangelos Venizelos
Evangelos Venizelos
Evangelos Venizelos is a Greek politician, currently Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance of Greece since 17 June 2011...
and Kostas Skandalidis
Kostas Skandalidis
Kostas Skandalidis is a Greek Politician and member of the Greek Parliament for the Panhellenic Socialist Movement for the Athens A constituency. Since September 2010 he is the Minister for Rural Development and Food of Greece.-Life:...
. Papandreou, however, retained his party's leadership at a leadership election
Panhellenic Socialist Movement leadership election, 2007
A leadership election was held on November 11, 2007 in the Panhellenic Socialist Movement , Greece's main centre-left party, after it was defeated in the parliamentary election earlier that year...
in November.
In June 2009 and under his leadership, his party won the 2009 European Parliament election
European Parliament election, 2009
Elections to the European Parliament were held in the 27 member states of the European Union between 4 and 7 June 2009. A total of 736 Members of the European Parliament were elected to represent some 500 million Europeans, making these the biggest trans-national elections in history...
in Greece. Four months later, PASOK won the October 2009 general elections
Greek legislative election, 2009
Parliamentary elections were held in Greece on 4 October 2009. An election was not required until September 2011.On 2 September Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis announced he would request President Karolos Papoulias to dissolve Parliament and call an election...
with 43.92 % of the popular vote to ND
New Democracy (Greece)
New Democracy is the main centre-right political party and one of the two major parties in Greece. It was founded in 1974 by Konstantinos Karamanlis and formed the first cabinet of the Third Hellenic Republic...
's 33.48 %, and 160 parliament seats to 91.
Prime Minister
The inauguration of George Papandreou as the 182nd Prime Minister of GreecePrime Minister of Greece
The Prime Minister of Greece , officially the Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic , is the head of government of the Hellenic Republic and the leader of the Greek cabinet. The current interim Prime Minister is Lucas Papademos, a former Vice President of the European Central Bank, following...
took place on 6 October 2009.
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. This announcement only served to worsen the severe crisis the Greek economy was undergoing, with an unemployment rate of 10% and the country's debt rating being lowered to BBB+, the lowest in the eurozone. Papandreou responded by promoting austerity measures, reducing spending, increasing taxes, freezing additional taxes and hiring and introducing measures aimed at combatting rampant tax evasion and reducing the country's public sector
Public sector
The public sector, sometimes referred to as the state sector, is a part of the state that deals with either the production, delivery and allocation of goods and services by and for the government or its citizens, whether national, regional or local/municipal.Examples of public sector activity range...
. The announced austerity program caused a wave of nationwide strikes and has been criticised by both the EU and the eurozone nations' finance ministers as falling short of its goals.
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
Giorgos Papakonstantinou
Giorgos Papakonstantinou , born October 30, 1961 in Athens, Greece, is a Greek economist and politician and the current Minister for the Environment, Energy and Climate Change of Greece, formerly Minister for Finance. He is a member of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement.-Education and career:He...
to officially ask the EU partners to activate the support mechanism, 'an unprecedented mechanism in the history and practice of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
'. The support mechanism, which was put in place by the European heads of state and government and further elaborated by Euro Group
Euro Group
The Euro Group or Eurogroup is a meeting of the finance ministers of the eurozone . It is the political control over the euro currency and related aspects of the EU's monetary union such as the Stability and Growth Pact...
ministers, is a European mechanism to which the IMF
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
is associated with financing and it involves a comprehensive three-year economic program and financing conditions.
On 23 April 2010, Dominique Strauss-Kahn
Dominique Strauss-Kahn
Dominique Gaston André Strauss-Kahn , often referred to in the media, and by himself, as DSK, is a French economist, lawyer, politician, and member of the French Socialist Party...
, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
(IMF) announced that Greece made a request for a Stand-By Arrangement
IMF Stand-By Arrangement
The IMF Stand-By Arrangement is an economic program of the International Monetary Fund involving financial aid to a member state in need of financial assistance, normally arising from a financial crisis...
.
Greece's sovereign debt crisis, which is considered as part of the European sovereign debt crisis is marked by massive strikes and demonstrations
2010–2011 Greek protests
The 2010–2011 Greek protests are an ongoing series of demonstrations and general strikes taking place across Greece. The protests, which began on 5 May 2010, were sparked by plans to cut public spending and raise taxes as austerity measures in exchange for a bail-out, aimed at solving the...
.
On an opinion 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
Greek government debt crisis
From late 2009, fears of a sovereign debt crisis developed among investors concerning Greece's ability to meet its debt obligations due to strong increase in government debt levels. This lead to a crisis of confidence, indicated by a widening of bond yield spreads and risk insurance on credit...
.
On 25 May 2011 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, with as much as three quarters of the Greek population being against the policies of the Papandreou government. Among the demands of the demonstrations at Athens's central square, who claim to have been over 500,000 at one point, 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. His government currently holds 152 seats.
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.
An opinion poll by Public Issue on behalf of Skai TV
Skai TV
Skai TV is a Greek TV station, based in Pireus, Athens. It is part of the Skai Group one of the largest media groups in Greece. It was relaunched in its present form on April 1, 2006 in Athens and gradually managed to spread its coverage nationwide. Besides analog over-the-air transmission, it is...
and Kathimerini
Kathimerini
I Kathimerini is a daily morning newspaper published in Athens. It is published in the Greek language, as well as in an abridged English-language edition. The English edition is sold separately in the United States and as a supplement to the International Herald Tribune in Greece and Cyprus. On 2...
in October 2011 showed that Papandreou's popularity has dropped considerably. Of the people asked, only 23% had a positive view of George Papandreou, while 73% had a negative opinion; ranking him lower than any other leader of a party in the Hellenic Parliament
Hellenic Parliament
The Hellenic Parliament , also the Parliament of the Hellenes, is the Parliament of Greece, located in the Parliament House , overlooking Syntagma Square in Athens, Greece....
. Papandreou also ranked low on the question of who is more suitable for Prime Minister, with just 22%, as both Antonis Samaras
Antonis Samaras
Antonis Samaras is a Greek economist and politician who has been leader of New Democracy, Greece's major conservative party and main opposition party, since 2009. A Member of Parliament for Messenia, he was Minister of Finance in 1989, then Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1989 to 1990 and again...
(28%) and "neither" (47%) ranked higher than him.
On 26 October 2011 the European Summit agreed to hand to the Greek government the Sixth Tranche
Tranche
In structured finance, a tranche is one of a number of related securities offered as part of the same transaction. The word tranche is French for slice, section, series, or portion, and is cognate to English trench . In the financial sense of the word, each bond is a different slice of the deal's...
of € 8 billion bailout early in the 2012, while the private-sector banks, the holders of Greek debt, have agreed to a 50% haircut
Haircut (finance)
In finance, a haircut is a percentage that is subtracted from the market value of an asset that is being used as collateral. The size of the haircut reflects the perceived risk associated with holding the asset...
on their outstanding Greek government bonds.
On 28 October 2011 during the national day parade, protesters blocked the parades forcing the President of Greece
President of Greece
The President of the Hellenic Republic , colloquially referred to in English as the President of Greece, is the head of state of Greece. The office of the President of the Republic was established after the Greek republic referendum, 1974 and formally by the Constitution of Greece in 1975. The...
and other officials to leave.
On 31 October Papandreou announced his government's intentions to hold a referendum
Greek economy referendum
A referendum to decide whether or not Greece was to accept the conditions under which the EU, the IMF and the ECB would allow a 50% haircut of Greek debt owed to private creditors. However, Prime Minister George Papandreou decided to cancel the referendum on 3 November if the opposition parties...
for the acceptance of the terms of a eurozone
Eurozone
The eurozone , officially called the euro area, is an economic and monetary union of seventeen European Union member states that have adopted the euro as their common currency and sole legal tender...
bailout deal. The referendum was to be held in December 2011 or January 2012. On 3 November, however, Papandreou scrapped the plan following vehement opposition both within and outside the country. On 5 November, his government narrowly won a confidence vote
Motion of no confidence
A motion of no confidence is a parliamentary motion whose passing would demonstrate to the head of state that the elected parliament no longer has confidence in the appointed government.-Overview:Typically, when a parliament passes a vote of no...
in parliament.
On 6 November, Papandreou met with opposition leaders to try to reach an agreement on the formation of an interim government
Provisional government
A provisional government is an emergency or interim government set up when a political void has been created by the collapse of a very large government. The early provisional governments were created to prepare for the return of royal rule...
.
A day earlier, the leader of the opposition New Democracy
New Democracy (Greece)
New Democracy is the main centre-right political party and one of the two major parties in Greece. It was founded in 1974 by Konstantinos Karamanlis and formed the first cabinet of the Third Hellenic Republic...
party Antonis Samaras
Antonis Samaras
Antonis Samaras is a Greek economist and politician who has been leader of New Democracy, Greece's major conservative party and main opposition party, since 2009. A Member of Parliament for Messenia, he was Minister of Finance in 1989, then Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1989 to 1990 and again...
had rejected the proposal and called for an immediate election.
After Papandreou agreed to step aside, however, the two leaders announced their intention to form a national unity government
National unity government
A national unity government, government of national unity, or national union government is a broad coalition government consisting of all parties in the legislature, usually formed during a time of war or other national emergency.- Canada :During World War I the Conservative government of Sir...
that would allow the EU bailout to proceed and pave the way for elections
Next Greek legislative election
Parliamentary elections were held in Greece on Sunday, September 16, 2007, to elect the 300 members of the Hellenic Parliament. The leading party for a second term was New Democracy under the leadership of Kostas Karamanlis with 41.83%, followed by George Papandreou and PASOK with 38.10%...
on 19 February 2012.
The Communist Party
Communist Party of Greece
Founded in 1918, the Communist Party of Greece , better known by its acronym, ΚΚΕ , is the oldest party on the Greek political scene.- Foundation :...
and the Coalition of the Radical Left
Coalition of the Radical Left
The Coalition of the Radical Left , commonly known by its Greek abbreviation ΣΥΡΙΖΑ , is a coalition of left political parties in Greece...
Party, refused Papandreou's invitation to join talks on a new unity government.
After several days of intense negotiations, the two major parties along with the Popular Orthodox Rally
Popular Orthodox Rally
The Popular Orthodox Rally or The People's Orthodox Rally , often abbreviated to ΛΑ.Ο.Σ as a pun on the Greek word for people, is a Greek party. According to its political program LA.O.S...
agreed to form a grand coalition
Grand coalition
A grand coalition is an arrangement in a multi-party parliamentary system in which the two largest political parties of opposing political ideologies unite in a coalition government...
headed by former Vice President of the European Central Bank
European Central Bank
The European Central Bank is the institution of the European Union that administers the monetary policy of the 17 EU Eurozone member states. It is thus one of the world's most important central banks. The bank was established by the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1998, and is headquartered in Frankfurt,...
Lucas Papademos
Lucas Papademos
Lucas Papademos is a Greek economist who has been appointed as Prime Minister of Greece since 11 November 2011.Previously, he was Governor of the Bank of Greece from 1994 to 2002 and Vice President of the European Central Bank from 2002 to 2010...
.
On 10 November George Papandreou formally resigned as Prime Minister of Greece.
The new coalition cabinet
Coalition Cabinet of Lucas Papademos
The Cabinet of Lucas Papademos succeeded the cabinet of George Papandreou, as an interim three-party coalition cabinet, leading a coalition government formed by the PASOK party, New Democracy party and Popular Orthodox Rally party, after Papandreou's decision to step down, and allow a provisional...
and Prime Minister Lucas Papademos were formally sworn in on 11 November 2011.
Personal life
George Papandreou is married to Ada Papapanos and they have a daughter, Margarita-Elena (born 1990). He also has a son, Andreas (born 1982), from a previous civil wedding to Evanthia Zissimides (1976–1987).He has two younger brothers, Nikos Papandreou and Andreas Papandreou, and two younger sisters, Sophia Papandreou and Emilia Nyblom.
Apart from Greek and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, he is also fluent in Swedish
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
.
One of his paternal greatgrandfathers was of Polish
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
descent.
Honours and decorations
- 1996: Commander of the Order of Prince Yaroslav the WiseOrder of Prince Yaroslav the WiseThe Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise is an award of Ukraine. It is awarded for distinguished services to the state and people of the Ukrainian nation. The Order was instituted on August 23, 1995 by the Ukrainian President, Leonid Kuchma....
(Ukraine) - 1996: Grand Cross of the Order of the LionOrder of the Lion of FinlandThere are three official orders in Finland: the Order of the Cross of Liberty, the Order of the White Rose of Finland and the Order of the Lion of Finland . The President of Finland is the Grand Master of all three orders. The orders are administered by boards consisting of a chancellor, a...
(Finland) - 1996: Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland II class (Poland)
- 1998: Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit (Spain)
- 1999: Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar StarOrder of the Polar StarThe Order of the Polar Star is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I of Sweden on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the Seraphim....
(Sweden)
- 1999: Grand Cross of the Order of the White StarOrder of the White StarThe Order of the White Star was instituted on 1936. The Order of the White Star is bestowed on Estonian citizens and foreigners to give recognition for services rendered to the Estonian state.- Classes :The Order of the White Star comprises five classes:...
(Estonia) - 1999: Grand Cross of the Order of Honour, first class (Austria)
- 2000: Grand Cross of the Order of MeritBundesverdienstkreuzThe Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany is the only general state decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has existed since 7 September 1951, and between 3,000 and 5,200 awards are given every year across all classes...
, first class (Germany) - 2001: Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic (Spain)
- 2001: Grand Cross of the Order of the CrownOrder of the Crown (Belgium)The Order of the Crown is an Order of Belgium which was created on 15 October 1897 by King Leopold II in his capacity as ruler of the Congo Free State. The order was first intended to recognize heroic deeds and distinguished service achieved from service in the Congo Free State - many of which acts...
(Belgium)
- 2002: Grand Cross of the Order of Infante dom Henrique (Portugal)
- 2002: Grand Cross of the Order of Pius IXOrder of Pius IXThe Order of Pius IX , also referred as the Pian Order , is a Papal order of knighthood founded on 17 June 1847 by Pope Pius IX.-Classes:The Order comprises five classes:...
(Vatican) - 2003: Grand Commander of the Order of Merit (Hungary)
- 2003: Grand Cross of the Order of MeritItalian orders of meritThere are five orders of knighthood awarded in recognition of service to the Italian Republic. Below these sit a number of other decorations, associated and otherwise, that do not confer knighthoods...
(Italy) - 2003: Gran Cruz El Sol de Peru (Peru)
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 InstituteEastWest InstituteThe EastWest Institute , originally known as the Institute for East West Security Studies, is an international not-for-profit, non-partisan "think and do" tank focusing on international conflict resolution through a variety of means, including track 2 diplomacy and track 1.5 diplomacy , hosting...
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 AwardQuadriga (award)Quadriga is an annual German award sponsored by Netzwerk Quadriga gGmbH, a non-profit organization based in Berlin. The award recognizes four people or groups for their commitment to innovation, renewal, and a pioneering spirit through political, economic, and cultural activities.The award consists...
(Werkstatt Deutschland, Germany), for The Power of Veracity (transparency regarding the state of the Greek economy)
External links
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