Georgios Karatzaferis
Encyclopedia
Georgios Karatzaferis is a Greek
politician, a member of the Hellenic Parliament
and the president of the Popular Orthodox Rally
. Previously, Karatzaferis was a member of parliament of the liberal
-conservative
New Democracy
party, from which he was expelled in 2000. He is a former Member of the European Parliament
and former vice-president of the Independence and Democracy
group. His party's views, ideas, and electoral campaigns are often broadcast and promoted by the relatively minor private Greek TV
channel TeleAsty (former Telecity), which he founded and owns. The party's ideas are also disseminated in the party’s weekly newspaper, A1.
In 1983, he was offered a scholarship by Konrad Adenauer Foundation
and also obtained an honours diploma from the London School of Journalism
in 1994. He became a draftsman with the newspaper Alpha Ena in 2000. In the beginning of the 1980s he was also a columnist for Nea Poreia, the official publication of the political organization to which he belonged and was an MP. He also wrote contributed to daily newspapers including Eleftheros, Apogevmatini, and Eleftheros Typos. In 2005, he founded the Academy of Communications Studies in Athens.
As a member of the Greek Parliament his responsibilities included the chairmanship of the Parliamentary Watchdog Committee, the Public Order Committee and the Press and Mass Media Committee (1993–2000). He was a member of the Committees on Public Administration and Foreign Affairs (1993–2004), Member of the National Communications' Confidentiality Protection Committee and Vice-Chairman of the Greco Spanish Friendship Association (1999).
In 2000, Karatzaferis was expelled from the New Democracy party for what were considered to constitute derogatory and inflammatory remarks, amongst a wide variety of which were also his call for the party to "hire 100.000 of our boys" in the public sector, and his accusations that the party's leader Costas Karamanlis was uncritically following Spiliotopoulos' wishes. Karatzaferis then announced the foundation of the Popular Orthodox Rally
.
While on the New Democracy ticket, he had been elected Representative for Athens in 1993, in 1996 and in 2000. In 2002, after being expelled from New Democracy, he unsuccessfully ran for the position of hyper-nomarchis in Athens, where he was elected as a Prefectural Councilor on the Me Kathari Kardia (With Clean Heart) slate. In the National Elections of 2004, his party failed to tally the 3% threshold of popular votes, and did not enter the parliament. In the subsequent European Parliament Elections of 2004, LAOS received 4.2% of the votes and Karatzaferis became member of the European Parliament. In 2006 Karatzaferis ran for mayor of Thessaloniki. He tallied 7,5% of the vote trailing three other candidates.
He has made numerous anti-Semitic remarks and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has voicedits concern regarding his appointment to the Greek government. Karatzaferis has referred to the Holocaust and the Auchwitz and Dachau death camps as "myths," and said Jews "have no legitimacy to speak in Greece." According to a US State Department report from 2008, he was not invited to formal embassy events due to his repeated denial of the Holocaust.
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
politician, a member of 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....
and the president of 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...
. Previously, Karatzaferis was a member of parliament of the liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
-conservative
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
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, from which he was expelled in 2000. He is a former Member of the European Parliament
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
and former vice-president of the Independence and Democracy
Independence and Democracy
The Independence/Democracy Group in the European Parliament was a group of eurosceptic and eurorealist political parties in the 2004-2009 term of the European Parliament. It collapsed following the 2009 European elections after losing many of its MEPs....
group. His party's views, ideas, and electoral campaigns are often broadcast and promoted by the relatively minor private Greek TV
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
channel TeleAsty (former Telecity), which he founded and owns. The party's ideas are also disseminated in the party’s weekly newspaper, A1.
Biography and career
Born in 1947, Karatzaferis became a producer of radio broadcasts at the age of 15 and a television producer at 22. In 1977 he founded R.TV.P.R. AE advertising body and he created the TV Press Video Review in 1983. In 1990 he established the radio and television stations Radio City and TeleAsty (the latter was initially known as TeleCity).In 1983, he was offered a scholarship by Konrad Adenauer Foundation
Konrad Adenauer Foundation
The Konrad Adenauer Foundation is a German political party foundation associated with the centre-right Christian Democratic Union . The foundation's headquarters are located in Saint Augustine and Berlin. Globally, the KAS has 78 offices and runs programs in over 100 countries...
and also obtained an honours diploma from the London School of Journalism
London School of Journalism
The London School of Journalism is an independent journalism school based in London, England, which offers qualifications in journalism, freelance journalism and creative writing. The LSJ provides both on-site and distances learning to its students, ranging from short courses to postgraduate...
in 1994. He became a draftsman with the newspaper Alpha Ena in 2000. In the beginning of the 1980s he was also a columnist for Nea Poreia, the official publication of the political organization to which he belonged and was an MP. He also wrote contributed to daily newspapers including Eleftheros, Apogevmatini, and Eleftheros Typos. In 2005, he founded the Academy of Communications Studies in Athens.
As a member of the Greek Parliament his responsibilities included the chairmanship of the Parliamentary Watchdog Committee, the Public Order Committee and the Press and Mass Media Committee (1993–2000). He was a member of the Committees on Public Administration and Foreign Affairs (1993–2004), Member of the National Communications' Confidentiality Protection Committee and Vice-Chairman of the Greco Spanish Friendship Association (1999).
In 2000, Karatzaferis was expelled from the New Democracy party for what were considered to constitute derogatory and inflammatory remarks, amongst a wide variety of which were also his call for the party to "hire 100.000 of our boys" in the public sector, and his accusations that the party's leader Costas Karamanlis was uncritically following Spiliotopoulos' wishes. Karatzaferis then announced the foundation of 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...
.
While on the New Democracy ticket, he had been elected Representative for Athens in 1993, in 1996 and in 2000. In 2002, after being expelled from New Democracy, he unsuccessfully ran for the position of hyper-nomarchis in Athens, where he was elected as a Prefectural Councilor on the Me Kathari Kardia (With Clean Heart) slate. In the National Elections of 2004, his party failed to tally the 3% threshold of popular votes, and did not enter the parliament. In the subsequent European Parliament Elections of 2004, LAOS received 4.2% of the votes and Karatzaferis became member of the European Parliament. In 2006 Karatzaferis ran for mayor of Thessaloniki. He tallied 7,5% of the vote trailing three other candidates.
He has made numerous anti-Semitic remarks and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has voicedits concern regarding his appointment to the Greek government. Karatzaferis has referred to the Holocaust and the Auchwitz and Dachau death camps as "myths," and said Jews "have no legitimacy to speak in Greece." According to a US State Department report from 2008, he was not invited to formal embassy events due to his repeated denial of the Holocaust.
Books
Karatzaferis is also the author of five books which are the following:- 1) Το Μοντέλο της Δημοκρατίας-The Model of Democracy
- 2) Η Γυναίκα Σήμερα-The Woman of Today
- 3) Η Λιάνη στηρίζει την Aλλαγή - Liani supports the Allagi (change)
- 4) Αγώνες και Αγωνίες της δεκαετίας 1990-2000-Struggles and agonies of the 1990–2000 decade
- 5) Βίοι Αγίων - Biographies of saints
External links
Official Website http://www.karatzaferis.gr/index.asp?epilogi=bioSee also
- Popular Orthodox RallyPopular Orthodox RallyThe 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...