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Anna Diamantopoulou (Greek: Άννα Διαμαντοπούλου, born 1959 in Kozani, Greece), is a Member of Parliament in Greece for the party of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) and the current Minister for Education, Lifelong Learning and Religious Affairs in Greece.[3] She is also a former EU Commissioner, for Employment and Social Affairs, in the Prodi Commission, a post she held between 1999–2004.[1][2]
Career
A civil engineer by training, Diamantopoulou's political career began in 1984, when she was appointed as a Prefect of Kastoria. Two years later (1986), she was appointed as Secretary General for Adult Education and later for Youth. She was appointed President of the Hellenic Organization of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and Handicraft (EOMMEX) in 1993 and left the position to become Secretary General for Industry.
Political career
Anna Diamantopoulou's parliamentary career began in 1996 when she was elected to represent the district of Kozani. She was appointed as Deputy Minister for Development in charge of privatisation and industrial restructuring, a position she left in order to become a European Commissioner. In 2001, while holding that post, Diamantopoulou controversially proposed instituting English as an official language in Greece [1], prompting amid rebuke the Minister of Education Petros Efthimiou to 'express [his] surprise', and the government spokesman to iterate that 'Ms Diamantopoulou is a European Commissioner and not a member of this government'. After being recalled to Greece, she served as an Opposition MP with responsibilities ranging from External Affairs and Defence to Development Policies. She was in charge of PASOK's political platform during the party's failed bid in the 2007 elections. She subsequently served as the Shadow Minister for Education until the 2009 elections, in addition to her post as a Member of Parliament for Athens First Electoral District.
On 4 October 2009 she was re-elected as a Member of Parliament and is the incumbent Minister of Education, Life Long Learning and Religious Affairs in the cabinet of George Papandreou. In her capacity as Minister of Education, Diamantopoulou pleaded diminishing tertiary-education enrollments to abolish minimum academic requirements for admission of undergraduates which had long been suggested by the academic community and been recently introduced by the state to ensure higher education's standards. This measure has helped in the short term to save failing low-ranking institutions such as the TEI of Western Macedonia in her former constituency, as it enabled them to broaden recruitment by admitting students from the lowest percentiles of the nationwide examination rankings. In response to criticism that her policy was diluting academic standards for populistic purposes by including admission of underqualified applicants in Higher Education, Diamantopoulou replied that 'in the past, failed applicants would go to private [tertiary] institutions and abroad' anyway.[4]
Diamantopoulou was a participant in Bilderberg Group conference (Chantilly, Virginia, USA, 2008).
Diamantopoulou declares herself a firm believer in Greece's ability to join the frontrunning countries in the knowledge economy by 2020. She is the author of a book called 'Exipni Ellada' (Intelligent Greece) which outlines the need for innovation, goal-oriented endeavours and professional approaches as the key prerequisites for social and economic progress.
Europe
Diamantopoulou has been very active in European affairs both from her position at the European Commission and since her return to Greece. A champion of women's issues and a staunch supporter of stronger, more competitive Europe, Anna Diamantopoulou continuously stresses the importance of balancing economic efficiency with social justice. She is currently Chair of the Party of European Socialists' Committee on the European Dimension of Social Europe and an active participant in Europe-wide debates on the future of European competitiveness, the constitutional treaty and social issues.
See also
Panhellenic Socialist Movement
Party of European Socialsts
Cabinet of Greece
Politics of Greece
Sources
Official Website of Anna Diamantopoulou – Biography (Greek)
Biography of Anna Diamantopoulou in the Official Website of the Hellenic Parliament] (Greek) – (English)
References
^ a b "About Anna Diamantopoulou". European Commission. (ec.europa.eu). Retrieved 7 October 2009.
^ a b "Members of Parliament – DIAMANTOPOULOU ANNA". Hellenic Parliament. (parliament.gr). Retrieved 7 October 2009.
^ "New Papandreou gov't Cabinet announced". ANA-MPA (ana-mpa.gr). 6 October 2009. Retrieved 7 October 2009.
^ Mastoras, Nikos (26 August 2010), "Νέο εξεταστικό από το 2013", Ta Nea (Athens, Greece)
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