Other political offices

President of the Movement of Democratic Socialists
Incumbent
Assumed office 3 January 2015
Preceded by	Office established
President of the Socialist International
In office 30 January 2006 – 25 November 2022
Secretary General	Luis Ayala
Preceded by	António Guterres
Succeeded by	Pedro Sánchez
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 6 October 2009 – 7 September 2010
Preceded by	Dora Bakoyannis
Succeeded by	Dimitrios Droutsas
In office 18 February 1999 – 13 February 2004
Prime Minister	Costas Simitis
Preceded by	Theodoros Pangalos
Succeeded by	Tassos Yiannitsis
President of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement
In office 8 February 2004 – 18 March 2012
Preceded by	Costas Simitis
Succeeded by	Evangelos Venizelos
Minister of National Education and Religious Affairs
In office 8 July 1994 – 25 September 1996
Prime Minister	Andreas Papandreou
Preceded by	Dimitrios Fatouros
Succeeded by	Gerasimos Arsenis
In office 22 June 1988 – 2 July 1989
Prime Minister	Andreas Papandreou
Preceded by	Apostolos Kaklamanis
Succeeded by	Vasileios Kontogiannopoulos
Member of the Hellenic Parliament
Incumbent
Assumed office 17 July 2019
Constituency	Achaea
In office 18 October 1981 – 31 December 2014
Constituency	Achaea

Personal details

Born

George Jeffrey Papandreou

16 June 1952 (age 72)
Saint Paul, Minnesota, US

Nationality

Greek

Political party

Panhellenic Socialist Movement (before 2015)
Movement of Democratic Socialists (2015–present)

Other political
affiliations

PASOK – Movement for Change

Spouses

Eva Zissimidou

(m. 1976; div. 1987)
Ada Papapanou

(m. 1989; div. 2016)

Children

Parents

Andreas Papandreou (father)
Margaret Chant-Papandreou (mother)

Alma mater

Amherst College (BA)
London School of Economics (MSc)

Signature

George Andreas Papandreou (born 16 June 1952) is a Greek politician. He was the Prime Minister of Greece from 2009 to 2011. He is currently a member of the Greek Parliament.

George Papandreou comes from a famous political family in Greece. His father, Andreas Papandreou, and his grandfather, Georgios Papandreou, were also prime ministers. George Papandreou served as a minister in his father's government. He was also the leader of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) party, which his father started.

George Papandreou: A Greek Leader
See Also

George Papandreou: A Greek Leader

George Papandreou has had a long career in Greek politics. He has held important roles like Minister of Education and Minister of Foreign Affairs. He became Prime Minister during a difficult time for Greece, when the country faced a big economic crisis.

Early Life and Education

George Papandreou was born on 16 June 1952, in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in the United States. His father, Andreas Papandreou, was a professor there at the time. His mother, Margaret Papandreou, was American. In 2000, he gave up his US citizenship.

He went to schools in the United States, Sweden, and Canada. He finished high school in Canada in 1970. He then studied at several universities, including Amherst College, Stockholm University, the London School of Economics, and Harvard University. He earned a bachelor's degree in sociology in 1975 and a master's degree in sociology in 1977.

In 2002, he received an honorary law degree from Amherst College. His grandfather, Georgios Papandreou, was also a three-time prime minister of Greece.

Journey into Politics

George Papandreou moved to Greece in 1974, after democracy was restored. He joined the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK), the political party his father had founded. In 1984, he became part of the party's main committee.

He was first elected to the Greek Parliament in 1981. This was the same year his father became prime minister. He represented the region of Achaea.

Key Roles in Government

Papandreou held many government positions. He was Under Secretary for Cultural Affairs in 1985. He served as Minister of Education and Religious Affairs twice (1988–1989 and 1994–1996). He was also Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs twice (1993 and 1996). From 1999 to 2004, he was the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

As Minister of Education, he introduced a policy to help the Muslim minority in Thrace get into universities. He also helped start the Open University in Greece. As Foreign Minister, he worked to improve relations with Turkey and Albania. He also tried to help solve the Cyprus dispute and tensions over the name of Macedonia. He supported Turkey joining the European Union.

In 2003, he was called "The Bridge-Builder" by Le Monde for his efforts to improve Greek-Turkish relations.

Leading a Political Party

In 2004, the leader of PASOK, Costas Simitis, stepped down. George Papandreou became the new leader. For the first time, PASOK allowed its members to vote for the party leader. Papandreou was the only candidate, but this step helped make the party more democratic.

In 2006, Papandreou was chosen as the president of the Socialist International. This is a worldwide organization of socialist, social democratic, and labor parties. He held this position until 2022.

In the 2009 general elections, his party, PASOK, won with 43.92% of the votes. This victory made him the next Prime Minister of Greece.

Becoming Prime Minister of Greece

On 6 October 2009, George Papandreou officially became the 182nd Prime Minister of Greece. He was the third person from the Papandreou family to hold this high office.

Facing Economic Challenges

When Papandreou became Prime Minister, his government found that Greece's finances were in a much worse state than expected. The country had a very large budget deficit, meaning it was spending much more money than it was taking in. Greece also had a huge national debt.

To fix this, Papandreou's government introduced tough measures. These included reducing government spending, increasing taxes, and trying to stop tax evasion. These measures were called "austerity measures." They caused many strikes and protests across Greece.

In April 2010, Greece officially asked its European partners and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for financial help. On 9 May 2010, Greece received a large bailout package of €110 billion. This was meant to help the country avoid going bankrupt. However, the economic crisis continued, leading to more protests.

Leaving Office

By 2011, many people in Greece were unhappy with the government's economic policies. Papandreou's popularity dropped significantly. In October 2011, he announced plans to hold a public vote (referendum) on the bailout deal. However, this plan was later cancelled after strong criticism from other European leaders and within Greece.

On 5 November 2011, his government barely won a vote of confidence in parliament. The next day, he met with other political leaders to form a new government. Papandreou agreed to step aside to allow a new "national unity government" to be formed. This new government would be led by Lucas Papademos.

On 10 November 2011, George Papandreou officially resigned as Prime Minister of Greece.

After the Prime Ministership

After leaving office, Papandreou was re-elected president of the Socialist International in 2012. In 2015, he left PASOK and started his own political party called the Movement of Democratic Socialists (KIDISO). His new party did not win enough votes to enter Parliament in the 2015 elections. This was the first time since 1923 that no one from the Papandreou family was in the Greek Parliament.

In 2017, KIDISO joined a political group called the Democratic Alignment. This group later became the Movement for Change (Greece). In the 2019 elections, this party was the third most voted-for, and Papandreou returned to Parliament as a member for Achaea.

Personal Life

George Papandreou has two children: a son named Andreas (born 1982) and a daughter named Margarita-Elena (born 1990). He was married to Ada Papapanou until 2016. He also has two younger brothers and two younger sisters.

Besides Greek and English, he can also speak Swedish.

Awards and Recognition

George Papandreou has received many awards for his work. These include:

1997: Abdi Ipekci special award for Peace and Friendship, for his efforts to improve Greek-Turkish relations.
2000: "Statesman of the Year Award" from the Eastwest Institute, for his work in improving relations between Greece and Turkey.
2003: "Defender of Democracy" award from Parliamentarians for Global Action.
2010: Quadriga Award from Germany, for being open about the state of the Greek economy.

He has also received many honors and decorations from different countries, recognizing his contributions to international relations and human rights.

George Papandreou facts for kids

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