Christos Spirtzis ( el, Χρήστος Σπίρτζης; born 1969 in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

) is a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

and centre-left

independent politician An independent or non-partisan politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent. Some politicians have political views th ...

. From 2015 to 2019, he served as the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport in the government of

Alexis Tsipras Alexis Tsipras ( el, Αλέξης Τσίπρας, ; born 28 July 1974) is a Greek politician serving as Leader of the Official Opposition since 2019. He served as Prime Minister of Greece from 2015 to 2019. Tsipras has led the Coalition of th ...

Biography

Early life and education

Born 1969 in Athens and raised in the nearby Ampelokipoi, Spirtzis studied

Electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

at the

Democritus University of Thrace The Democritus University of Thrace (DUTH; el, Δημοκρίτειο Πανεπιστήμιο Θράκης), established in July 1973, is based in Komotini, Greece and has campuses in the western Thrace, Thracian cities of Xanthi, Komotini, Alex ...

Professional career

In 1999 he was appointed a member of the Economic and Social Committee of Greece, a post he would hold until 2008. One year later, in 2000, Spirtzis was elected to the executive committee of the

Technical Chamber of Greece The Technical Chamber of Greece ( el, Τεχνικό Επιμελητήριο Ελλάδας) (TEE-TCG) is the Greek professional organization that serves as the official technical advisor of the Greek state and is responsible for awarding professio ...

(TEE). In 2007, he became vice president responsible for energy, development, employment, insurance, licensing, publications, ethics in representation, and the databank. In September 2010, he was promoted to the post of the president of the chamber. Presiding over the ''Democratic Coalition of Technicians'' (), he was re-elected as president of TEE in 2013. He also chairs the Hellenic National Committee at the

World Energy Council The World Energy Council is a global forum for thought-leadership and tangible engagement with headquarters in London. Its mission is 'To promote the sustainable supply and use of energy for the greatest benefit of all people'. The idea for the fo ...

Political career

Spirtzis, who has been described as a "child" of social-democratic

PASOK The Panhellenic Socialist Movement ( el, Πανελλήνιο Σοσιαλιστικό Κίνημα, Panellínio Sosialistikó Kínima, ), known mostly by its acronym PASOK, (; , ) is a social-democratic political party in Greece. Until 2012, it ...

, however wasn't hesitant to clash with his party, especially in strongly opposing the

Memorandum A memorandum ( : memoranda; abbr: memo; from the Latin ''memorandum'', "(that) which is to be remembered") is a written message that is typically used in a professional setting. Commonly abbreviated "memo," these messages are usually brief and ...

. After the January 2015 legislative election, Spirtzis was appointed ''Alternate Minister of Infrastructure, Transport and Networks'' by the

Syriza The Coalition of the Radical Left – Progressive Alliance ( el, Συνασπισμός Ριζοσπαστικής Αριστεράς – Προοδευτική Συμμαχία, Synaspismós Rizospastikís Aristerás – Proodeftikí Simachía), ...

-led government of

. He was sworn in on 28 January 2015, one day later than most ministers, as the

Council of State A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head o ...

had to approve the merging of ministries first. Announcing that the government would stop the privatization of fourteen regional airports, he said: "The central position of the government is to stop the privatizations of infrastructure which serve and can help the development of the country."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Spirtzis, Christos 1969 births Engineers from Athens Living people Democritus University of Thrace alumni Greek electrical engineers Syriza politicians Government ministers of Greece Greek MPs 2015–2019 Politicians from Athens Greek MPs 2019–2023