George S. Petalotis ( el, Γεώργιος Σ. Πεταλωτής, born 11 March 1964 in

Komotini Komotini ( el, Κομοτηνή, tr, Gümülcine, bg, Комотини) is a city in the region of East Macedonia and Thrace, northeastern Greece. It is the capital of the Rhodope. It was the administrative centre of the Rhodope-Evros super-pr ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

) is a Greek politician of the Movement of Democratic Socialists. Under the former Greek prime minister George Papandreou he served as government spokesman and as Deputy Minister for Justice, Transparency and Human Rights.

Life

Early life

Petalotis graduated from the Law School of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He continued his studies in the Law School of the Democritus University of Thrace, obtaining a Ph.D. in Penal and Criminal Science. He completed his academic studies in the

University of Heidelberg } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, with a Major of Sciences in Legal Terminology, Language and Culture.

Professional career

In 1993, Petalotis became a member of the bar association of the

Rhodope Prefecture Rhodope ( el, Ροδόπη, ''Rodópi'' ) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of East Macedonia and Thrace. Its name is derived from the Rhodope Mountains, which cover the northern part of its territory. Together with ...

, and was elected as the body's president in 1998. He remained active until 2002, when he quit his position to undertake responsibilities in the coordinating committee of the plenary of presidents of the bar associations of Greece. In 2005, he was re-elected as a president of the bar association of the Rhodope Prefecture. Petalotis was the first correspondent of the

Greek Council for Refugees 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 ...

, in cooperation with the corresponding

United Nations High Commission for Refugees The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integratio ...

Political career

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

, Petalotis was elected on the list of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) to represent the Rhodope constituency in the

Hellenic Parliament The Hellenic Parliament ( el, Ελληνικό Κοινοβούλιο, Elliniko Kinovoulio; formally titled el, Βουλή των Ελλήνων, Voulí ton Ellínon, Boule (ancient Greece), Boule of the Greeks, Hellenes, label=none), also kno ...

. After the 2009 election, Petalotis was appointed Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister and Government Spokesman. From 17 June 2011 until the May 2012 election, he was Deputy Minister for Justice, Transparency and Human Rights. On 3 January 2015, it was announced that Petalotis would join former

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Papandreou Papandreou () is a Greek surname. It is the surname of: * Andreas Papandreou (1919–1996), Greek economist and politician and Prime Minister of Greece. * Dimitrios Papandreou (1891–1949), Archbishop Damaskinos of Athens. * George Papandreou (bo ...

in leaving PASOK to found the new Movement of Democratic Socialists. Petalotis and

Filippos Sachinidis Filippos Sachinidis ( el, Φίλιππος Σαχινίδης; born 1963) is a Greek politician of the Movement for Change. Elected on the list of his former party PASOK, he served as a Member of the Hellenic Parliament from 2007 to 2014. In 2012, ...

were appointed the media representatives of the new party.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Petalotis, Georgios 1964 births Living people People from Komotini PASOK politicians Greek MPs 2007–2009 Greek MPs 2009–2012 Government ministers of Greece Heidelberg University alumni Movement of Democratic Socialists politicians Aristotle University of Thessaloniki alumni Democritus University of Thrace alumni