Yanis Varoufakis facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Yanis Varoufakis
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| Γιάνης Βαρουφάκης | |
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Varoufakis in 2019
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| Secretary-General of MeRA25 | |
| Assumed office 26 March 2018 |
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| Preceded by | Position established |
| Minister of Finance | |
| In office 27 January 2015 – 6 July 2015 |
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| Prime Minister | Alexis Tsipras |
| Preceded by | Gikas Hardouvelis |
| Succeeded by | Euclid Tsakalotos |
| Member of the Hellenic Parliament | |
| In office 8 July 2019 – 21 May 2023 |
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| Constituency | Thessaloniki A |
| In office 25 January 2015 – 20 September 2015 |
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| Constituency | Athens B |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Ioannis Georgiou Varoufakis
24 March 1961 Palaio Faliro, South Athens, Kingdom of Greece |
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| Political party | MeRA25 (2018–present) |
| Other political affiliations |
Syriza (2015) |
| Spouse | Danae Stratou |
| Children | 1 |
| Education | |
| Academic career | |
| Field |
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| Influences | |
Yanis Varoufakis (born 24 March 1961) is a Greek economist and politician. Since 2018, he has been the leader of Democracy in Europe Movement 2025 (DiEM25). This is a left-wing political group that he helped start in 2016.
Before this, he was a member of the Syriza party. He served as Greece's Minister of Finance from January to July 2015. During this time, he worked for the Greek government to solve the Greek debt crisis.
Varoufakis was first elected to the Hellenic Parliament with Syriza in 2015. He represented the Athens B area. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras made him Finance Minister. Later, from 2019 to 2023, he represented Thessaloniki A as a member of MeRA25.
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Early Life and Education
Yanis Varoufakis was born in Palaio Faliro, Athens, Greece, on 24 March 1961. His parents were Georgios and Eleni Varoufakis.
His father, Georgios, moved to Greece from Cairo in the 1940s. He faced difficulties during the Greek Civil War. After being released from a political re-education camp, he became a successful businessman. He was chairman of Greece's largest steel producer until 2020.
Yanis's mother, Eleni, was a chemistry student. She became an activist for women's rights in the 1970s. She was elected Deputy Mayor of Palaio Faliro before she passed away in 2008.
Yanis was six years old when a military government took over Greece in 1967. This experience taught him about freedom and the possibility of progress. He attended the private Moraitis School. He decided to spell his first name "Yanis" instead of "Yannis" for personal reasons.
In 1978, Varoufakis moved to the United Kingdom for his studies. He first wanted to study physics but chose economics at the University of Essex. He later switched to mathematics. He joined several political groups at university, supporting different causes. He also took part in student debates.
He earned his Master of Science (MSc) in mathematical statistics from the University of Birmingham in 1982. He completed his Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in economics from the University of Essex in 1987.
Academic Career and Work
From 1982 to 1988, Varoufakis taught economics at the University of Essex, the University of East Anglia, and the University of Cambridge. He then taught at the University of Sydney in Australia until 2000. While in Sydney, he also became an Australian citizen.
In 2000, Varoufakis returned to Greece. He became a professor of economic theory at the University of Athens. He started and led a special economics program there until 2008. In 2005, he became a full professor.
From 2004 to 2006, he was an economic advisor to George Papandreou.
In 2012, Varoufakis started working as an economist for the video game company Valve. He studied the virtual economy within their games. He also taught as a visiting professor at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs in the US. In 2013, he became a guest professor at Stockholm University.
Minister of Finance (2015)
Varoufakis was elected to the Greek parliament in January 2015. He became Greece's Finance Minister under Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. His party, Syriza, promised to change Greece's loan agreements and reduce strict spending cuts.
The new government needed to extend its loan agreement, which was ending soon. Varoufakis led these talks with European leaders and the International Monetary Fund. On 20 February 2015, an agreement was made to extend the loan for four months. Varoufakis saw this as a chance for a fresh start.
However, the agreement was still an extension of the old one. It did not allow Greece to completely change the terms or get debt relief right away. Greece also had to agree not to cancel many of the spending cuts it had criticized.
Varoufakis believed that the previous loans given to Greece were not helping. He thought they forced Greece to take on more debt with harsh conditions. He argued that these "bailout" loans mainly helped private banks, not the Greek people.
Negotiations continued for many weeks. The lenders did not agree to change the terms or restructure Greece's debt. There were disagreements among the lenders themselves. Some European countries also did not want Greece's new government to succeed easily.
On 25 June 2015, Varoufakis faced a difficult proposal from the Eurogroup. He and his government felt it was not workable. The next day, Prime Minister Tsipras called for a public vote (referendum) on the proposal for 5 July.
Varoufakis strongly supported a "No" vote in the referendum. He said he would resign if Greeks voted "Yes." On 5 July 2015, 61.5 percent of Greeks voted "No." Despite this clear result, Varoufakis resigned a few hours later. He explained that other European leaders wanted him gone. He also said he resigned because the Prime Minister decided to accept the lenders' terms, which Varoufakis could not agree with.
He stated that he would not support a plan that continued to add debt and austerity. He believed it would hurt the economy and create a humanitarian crisis.
In August 2015, the Greek government (without Varoufakis) approved a third bailout agreement. Varoufakis and many other Syriza members voted against it. He then resigned from his parliamentary seat. Prime Minister Tsipras also resigned and called for new elections. Varoufakis chose not to run again for Syriza. He wanted to focus on creating a European network to improve democracy.
Later Political Career (2015–Present)
In September 2015, Varoufakis appeared on a British TV show called Question Time. He was praised for his clear explanations. He describes himself as a "libertarian Marxist."
In October 2015, he spoke about the UK's vote on staying in the European Union. He urged the UK to remain in the EU and fight to make it more democratic.
On 9 February 2016, Varoufakis launched the Democracy in Europe Movement 2025 (DiEM25) in Berlin. This movement aims to bring more democracy to Europe.
In March 2018, Varoufakis started his own political party in Greece, called MeRA25. Its goal is to free Greece from "debt bondage." The party is linked to DiEM25.
He has also worked with other international figures to create the Progressive International. This group aims to build a global progressive movement.
In 2019, his party MeRA25 won enough votes to enter the Greek parliament. Varoufakis was re-elected as an MP. He supported Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the British Labour Party, in the 2019 UK general election.
In late 2021, Varoufakis wrote about and criticized Facebook's new Meta project.
In October 2022, Varoufakis discussed the Russo-Ukrainian War. He suggested ways for the war to end peacefully. He stated his support for Ukraine's defense of its homes.
In March 2023, Varoufakis was attacked in Athens. DiEM25 described it as a "fascist attack." After this, he accepted police protection.
In the May and June 2023 Greek elections, his party MeRA25 did not get enough votes to enter parliament. So, Varoufakis was not re-elected as an MP. He also ran in the 2024 European Parliament election but was not elected.
Gaza and German Entry Ban
In April 2024, Varoufakis's party helped organize a pro-Palestinian conference in Berlin. The conference was stopped by the Berlin Police. The German State also banned Varoufakis from entering Germany for four days and from political activities. Varoufakis said this was a step "towards totalitarianism" and decided to sue the German State.
Works and Films
Varoufakis has written several books. These books are about the European debt crisis, global financial issues, and game theory.
A Modest Proposal
In 2010, he co-authored A Modest Proposal. This book suggested economic policies to solve the euro crisis. A later version in 2013 included American economist James K. Galbraith as a co-author.
Books in English
- Game Theory: A critical introduction (1995)
- Foundations of Economics: A beginner's companion (1998)
- Modern Political Economics: Making sense of the post-2008 world (2011)
- The Global Minotaur: America, the True Origins of the Financial Crisis and the Future of the World Economy (2011)
- Europe after the Minotaur: Greece and the Future of the Global Economy (2015)
- And the Weak Suffer What They Must? Europe's crisis, America's economic future (2016)
- Adults in the Room: My Battle With Europe's Deep Establishment (2017)
- Talking to My Daughter About the Economy (2017)
- Another Now: Dispatches from an Alternative Present (2020)
- Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism (2023)
Films
A film based on his book Adults in the Room was released in 2019. It was directed by Costa-Gavras. Varoufakis is played by actor Christos Loulis.
In 2024, a six-part documentary series about him was released. It is called In the Eye of the Storm: The Political Odyssey of Yanis Varoufakis.
Personal Life
Varoufakis is married to installation artist Danae Stratou. He has one child. He has reported his income and assets, showing he is a successful individual.
See also
In Spanish: Yanis Varoufakis para niños
