George Vassilakopoulos (alternate spellings: Georgios, Giorgos, Vasilakopoulos, Vassilacopoulos, Vasilacopoulos; el, Γιώργος Βασιλακόπουλος; born 18 January 1939) is a Greek politician, former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player, former professional

basketball coach Basketball coaching is the act of directing and strategizing the behavior of a basketball team or individual basketball player. Basketball coaching typically encompasses the improvement of individual and team offensive and defensive skills, as wel ...

, the former President of FIBA Europe, the European division of the international governing body of the sport of

FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. Originally known as the (hence FIBA), in 1989 it dropped the word ''amateur'' from its nam ...

, and the former President of the

Hellenic Basketball Federation The Hellenic Basketball Federation ( el, Ελληνική Ομοσπονδία Καλαθοσφαίρισης, abbreviated as Ε.Ο.Κ.) is the main basketball governing body for the sport in Greece. It directs and oversees all of the national b ...

Basketball playing career

Vassilakopoulos played professional basketball in the Greek League with

Peiraikos Peiraikos, or Piraeicus, was an Ancient Greek painter of uncertain date and location. None of his work is known to have survived and he is known only from a brief discussion by the Latin author Pliny the Elder. Pliny's passage comes in the midd ...

and

Panathinaikos Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos ( el, Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club ba ...

. With Panathinaikos, he won 3 Greek League championships, in the years 1961, 1962, and 1967. He was also the captain of Panathinaikos.

Basketball coaching and managing career

After his basketball playing career ended, Vassilakopoulos went into

coaching Coaching is a form of development in which an experienced person, called a ''coach'', supports a learner or client in achieving a specific personal or professional goal by providing training and guidance. The learner is sometimes called a ''coa ...

. He worked as a coach with

Ethnikos Piraeus Ethnikos Piraeus (Greek: Εθνικός Πειραιώς) is a Greek multisport club based in Piraeus. It was founded in 1923. The full name of the club is Ethnikos Omilos Filathlon Pireos/Phalirou or Ethnikos OFPF (Greek: Εθνικός Όμιλ ...

Ionikos Nikaias Ionikos Nikaias (full name Athlitikos Omilos Ionikos Nikaias, A.O. Ionikos Nikaias / el, Α.Ο. Ιωνικός Νικαίας) is a Greek multi-sports club that is based in Nikaia, Piraeus. It was founded in 1965, and it has teams in football, b ...

, Ionikos NF, and

Panionios Panionios G.S.S. Football Club (Greek: ΠΑΕ Πανιώνιος Γ.Σ.Σ.), the ''Pan- Ionian Gymnastics Club of Smyrna'' (Πανιώνιος Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Σμύρνης, ''Panionios Gymnastikos Syllogos Smyrnis'') ...

. He also worked as a

basketball referee In basketball, an official (usually called a referee) enforces the rules and maintains order in the game. The title of official also applies to the scorers and timekeepers, as well as other personnel that have an active task in maintaining the g ...

. He became the President of the

, for the first time, in February 1998, and he remained in that position until November 2002. Vassilakopoulos became the first President of FIBA Europe, in 2002. On 13 September 2010, he once again became the Hellenic Federation's President. In 2010, he was awarded the

FIBA Order of Merit FIBA Order of Merit is an international basketball award that is awarded by FIBA, the international basketball federation. The award is given to individuals that have made very significant individual contributions to furthering the sport of basket ...

. He then became the Honorary President of FIBA Europe, in 2011. In May 2012, he received a lifetime achievement award from FIBA Europe.

Political career

Vassilakopoulos was for many years a member of the Central Committee of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK). He also served as Greece's national General Secretary of Sports, under the government of

Andreas Papandreou Andreas Georgiou Papandreou ( el, Ανδρέας Γεωργίου Παπανδρέου, ; 5 February 1919 – 23 June 1996) was a Greek economist, politician and a dominant figure in Greek politics, known for founding the political party PASOK, ...

, from 1993 to 1996.

Personal

His family is from

Lampeia Lampeia ( Greek: Λάμπεια, before 1928: Δίβρη - ''Divri'', between 1928 and 1929: Πρινόφυτον - ''Prinofyton'') is a mountain village, a community and a former municipality in Elis, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 loca ...

.Ο Γιώργος Βασιλακόπουλος σε μια συνέντευξη που θα συζητηθεί "Ζούμε στην εποχή των αφεντικών" patrinews.com
/ref>

References

1939 births Living people Basketball executives Greek basketball coaches Greek men's basketball players Greek Basket League players Panathinaikos B.C. players Basketball players from Piraeus Small forwards Politicians from Piraeus Greek sportsperson-politicians {{Greece-basketball-bio-stub