Evangelos Venizelos
Evangelos Venizelos (Greek Ευάγγελος Βενιζέλος; * January 1, 1957 in Thessaloniki ) is a Greek lawyer and politician. Between June 2011 and March 2012, he was Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister. On 18 March 2012, he was elected Chairman of the Greek Socialists (PASOK ). In June 2013 he resigned as Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras.
Life
Venizelos studied from 1974 to 1978 Law at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. After graduating, he joined post-graduate studies at the University of Paris II. In 1980 he received his doctorate from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. There he became a lecturer in 1984 and later a professor of constitutional law. He also worked as an attorney at the Council of State ( Συμβούλιο της Επικρατείας ) and the Supreme Court ( Άρειος Πάγος ).
Εr was also a board member of the National Bank of Greece ( at that time under the direction of Loukas Papademos ), the National Centre for Public Administration and a member of the Commission's local radio ( an independent supervisory body over the radio stations). He has authored numerous papers in the field of constitutional law and political science.
In October 1993, he was elected as a candidate of the Socialist PASOK deputy for Thessaloniki in the Greek Parliament. In the parliamentary elections of 1996, 2000, 2004, 2007 and 2009, he was re-elected.
Venizelos was the rapporteur of the comprehensive revision of the Greek Constitution, which began in 1996 and was completed in April 2001.
Between October 1993 and March 2004, he held the following positions in the governments of Andreas Papandreou and Simitis:
- Minister of State to the Prime Minister and Government Spokesman
- Communications Minister and government spokesman
- Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications
- Minister of Justice
- Minister of Culture
- Development Minister (responsible for energy, industry, trade, tourism and technology )
- Minister of Culture.
In his second term as Minister of Culture from November 2001 to March 2004 Venizelos was responsible for coordinating the preparation of the 2004 Olympic Games.
After the electoral defeat of PASOK in 2007 he was a candidate for the party presidency of PASOK, but lost Giorgos Papandreou.
After the election victory of PASOK in the parliamentary elections in 2009 Venizelos took over on 7 October 2009, the Minister of Defence in the government of Prime Minister George Papandreou.
As part of a cabinet reshuffle after mass protests against the austerity measures of the government Prime Minister Papandreou Venizelos appointed in June 2011 in which, due to the Greek financial crisis particularly important office of the Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister.
After Papandreou had completely surprising announced a referendum on the austerity plans on 1 November 2011, Venizelos presented on 3 November openly against the referendum plans. Papandreou offered to resign shortly thereafter.
Venizelos was from 10 November 2011, the Cabinet Papademos. After he was elected on 18 March 2012 as the new leader of PASOK, he took a day later returned as Minister of Finance. His successor was Filippos Sachinidis.
In the Greek parliamentary elections of 6 May 2012, the PASOK was 13.2 percent, only the third strongest party after the party's left coalition SYRIZA with 16.8 percent and the New Democracy party with 18.9 percent.
Venizelos as Minister of Culture
In 1998, he campaigned as culture minister about to bid on the palimpsest of Archimedes for the Greek State. After the Estimate of 800,000 was exceeded, the consortium of Greek private people finally succumbed to the bidding war, which won an unknown person with $ 2.2 million, respectively.
In the German Architecture Museum an exhibition on the architecture of Greece in 2001 was seen with a focus on the 20th century - this was initiated by Venizelos as part of the accompanying program of the Frankfurt Book Fair to Greece as a host country.
Venizelos succeeded in 2000 to convince the heir and owner of the collection Costakis to bring them permanently to Greece, as had George Costakis once desired. The cost of some 1,300 masterpieces of Russian avant-garde, including the restoration and treatment amounted to 29 million euros. The acquisition of works of art has been made within the budget for the European Capital of Culture Thessaloniki, today they form the foundation of the State Museum of Contemporary Art in Thessaloniki.
Positioning
- On January 21, 2012 Venizelos published the names of the biggest tax evaders in Greece on the internet.
- May 27, 2012 Venizelos accused IMF chief Christine Lagarde, these have offended the Greeks after they had declared in an interview that she had no sympathy with the Greeks, they should start paying taxes rather.
- Beginning of 2014 - at the start of the Greek EU Presidency (first half 2014) - he called on Germany, reluctant to perform in Europe. It was not easy for the Germans to accept " European diversity and the right to a different approach ", but also Greece have to show something, for example " impressive fiscal adjustment ". The troika ( the reforms in his country monitors ) should the control of the European Parliament shall be subject.