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Evangelos Venizelos (Greek: Ευάγγελος Βενιζέλος, pronounced [eˈvanɟelos veniˈzelos]) (born 1 January 1957) is a Greek politician, foreign Minister, former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance of Greece .[1] He is a member of the Greek Parliament for the Panhellenic Socialist Movement for the first electoral district of Thessaloniki.
He is a Professor of Constitutional Law at the Law School of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.
Personal life and studies
Evangelos Venizelos was born in Thessaloniki on 1 January 1957. He is married to Lila A. Bakatselou and has a daughter. He was an undergraduate at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki from 1974 through 1978 and completed postgraduate studies at the University of Paris II in France. In 1980, he received his Ph.D. in Law from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
In 1984, Venizelos was appointed lecturer at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, and subsequently Professor of Constitutional Law. Among other positions, he has held a post on the board of the National Centre of Public Administration , the National Bank of Greece, and the Committee for Local Radio (independent authority responsible for the oversight of local radio stations in Greece). He became a national figure in 1989, when he successfully defended Andreas Papandreou from corruption allegations. During the trial, Venizelos demonstrated his powerful gift of oratory. Impressed with his young lawyer, Andreas Papandreou included him in the PASOK list of parliamentary candidates in 1993, and when PASOK returned to power that year, Venizelos became the Government Spokesman.
He speaks French and English.
Venizelos is the author of a number of books, monographs and papers, including most recently Agenda 16 Greek: Ατζέντα 16) in 2007, a collection of writings about the future of the university system in Greece, including some articles previously published on the web. Other writings have dealt with current political issues and the media, foreign policy, and developmental policy. His recent works focus more on political theory and cultural issues. He strongly opposes the clash of civilizations theory, and has written extensively about the Greek "civilization of civilizations" (Venizelos, 2001).
Parliamentary activities
E. Venizelos was elected MP with PASOK in the Thessaloniki A constituency in the general elections of 1993, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2007 and 2009. He has been a member of the parliamentary committee for the Revision of the Constitution, on which he was spokesman for the majority party in the parliaments elected in 1993, 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2007. Moreover, he was a member of the Standing Committees on National Defence and Foreign Affairs, on Public Administration, Public Order and Justice and on European Affairs.
Political activities
As a student, Venizelos served on the Central Council of the Student Union of the University of Thessaloniki (FEAPT) in 1977, and the National Student Union of Greece (EFEE) in 1975.
He has been a member of the PASOK Central Committee since 1990. In the past he was a member of the PASOK Executive Bureau.
He has held the following government posts:
Deputy Minister to the Presidency, and government spokesman, 13-10-1993 to 08-07-1994.
Minister for the Press and the Media, and government spokesman, 08-07-1994 to 15-09-1995;
Minister for Transport and Communications, 15-09-1995 to 22-01-1996;
Minister for Justice, 22-01-1996 to 05-09-1996;
Minister for Culture, 25-09-1996 to 19-02-1999;
Minister for Development, 19-01-1999 to 13-04-2000;
Minister for Culture, 21-11-2000 to 10-03-2004;
After the legislative elections of 2007, in which PASOK was soundly defeated, Venizelos announced his candidacy for the leadership of the party. In the leadership election, held on 11 November 2007, Venizelos was defeated by incumbent party leader George Papandreou, receiving 38.18% of the vote against 55.91% for Papandreou.[2]
When named by Papandreou to the finance and deputy PM positions in June, 2011, Venizelos said "'I am leaving defense today to go to the real battle' to reduce Europe’s biggest debt load -- almost 1 1/2 times the size of its economy."[3] David Marsh of London and Oxford Capital Markets in MarketWatch wrote that both "German parliamentarians who voted solidly earlier this month to involve private-sector creditors in the next bail-out package," which Angela Merkel has now dropped as a precondition, and "Greece’s politicians and people, who must bow to further austerity as the price for fresh external support," were central as "the stage now shifts to further players in the theatre of Greek affairs." And "[n]obody knows whether the burly new Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos will put in a starring role or turn out merely as a transitory figure."[4]
Committees
Member of the Special Standing Committee on Institutions and Transparency
Issues
Venizelos was active in the Macedonia naming dispute, when elements in Greece opposed the use of the name Macedonia by the new state, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia sometimes abbreviated as FYROM. Columnist Dragoumis opined that, "[i]n February 1994, as minister of information, [Venizelos] was instrumental in convincing the ailing Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou to impose that idiotic 'embargo' on the country later named FYROM." Dramoulis maintained that Venizelos' motivation was to gain "nationalist votes in his Thessaloniki constituency."
Dragoumis also criticised Venizelos for helping pass a law -- "in order to boost [his] popularity among Greek republicans" -- to impose a requirement on Constantine II, ex-king of Greece, and his family if they wanted to be granted Greek nationality. The requirement was to submit a declaration that they "unreservedly respected the 1975 Constitution and accepted and recognised the Hellenic Republic." The columnist termed it a "silly precondition - reminiscent of the 'declarations of repentance' that Greek leftists were obliged to sign under pressure during the civil war and after."
There is mounting criticism in Greece for the last 5 years about the law "about responsibilities of ministers" which Venizelos authored during the previous Simitis government. According to this law which has been passed, ministers are practically immune to public prosecution for cases of political corruption. The case is a subject of repeated and regular commentary in Greece for the last years, triggered from the political situation in Greece. Venizelos has never commented on the commentaries. As a result of this particular law there was not even one politician that could be prosecuted effectively, contrary to the extend of huge financial scandals that shaken Greece the last decade. "[5]
Notes
^ "Ανακοινώθηκε το νέο υπουργικό σχήμα" (in Greek). ana-mpa.gr. 17 June 2011. Retrieved 17 June 2011 work=ANA-MPA.
^ "George Papandreou wins PASOK leadership election with 55.91 pc", Athens News Agency (hri.org), November 15, 2007.
^ Petrakis, Maria, and Natalie Weeks, "Greek New Finance Minister Venizelos Says Prepared for Battle", Businessweek, June 17, 2011, 11:29 AM EDT. Retrieved 2011-06-21.
^ Marsh, David, "For Greece, a delicate endgame of fingerpointing ", MarketWatch, June 20, 2011 12:01 a.m. EDT. Retrieved 2011-06-21.
^ http://www.whatis-theplan.org/t19161-open-letter-from-mr-vaxevanis-journalist-to-ev-venizelos-minister-of-finance
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