Gerasimos Arsenis ( el, Γεράσιμος Αρσένης; 30 May 1931 – 19 April 2016) was a Greek politician
who served as a Member of 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 ...
and as a Minister in several Governments with the
Panhellenic Socialist Movement
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 ...
.
Life
Gerasimos Arsenis was born in Lourdháta, on the Greek island of
Kephalonia
Kefalonia or Cephalonia ( el, Κεφαλονιά), formerly also known as Kefallinia or Kephallenia (), is the largest of the Ionian Islands in western Greece and the 6th largest island in Greece after Crete, Euboea, Lesbos, Rhodes and Chios. It ...
. He went on to study Law at the
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; el, Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών, ''Ethnikó ke Kapodistriakó Panepistímio Athinón''), usually referred to simply as the Univers ...
and after obtaining his degree, he continued his post-graduate studies at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). It is claimed that he is trilingual, fluent in Greek, English and French. From 1960 until 1964, Arsenis served as an economist with the United Nations Secretariat (working for the Prebisch Group), preparing for the establishment of the
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). In 1964, he quit his post with the UN and was appointed to the position of Director of the Research Division of the
OECD
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate e ...
Development Centre in Paris, where he remained until 1967.
In 1967, Arsenis was appointed to the position of Senior Economist of the UNCTAD and, in 1974, he was promoted to the seat of Director. During this period as director, Arsenis engaged in research and participated in negotiations concerning reform of the
International Monetary System
An international monetary system is a set of internationally agreed rules, conventions and supporting institutions that facilitate international trade, cross border investment and generally the reallocation of capital between states that have d ...
. From 1974 until 1980, Arsenis also served as an independent expert with UNCTAD, providing consultancy to the Ministerial Committee of Twenty on the Reform of the International Monetary System (later known as the IMF "Interim Committee"). While serving as Director of UNCTAD, Arsenis contributed to the development of numerous proposals – including the creation of
special drawing rights (SDR), developmental assistance and coordination of program assistance for the
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...
and the generation of balance-of-payments financing that the IMF subsequently used for effective stabilization and development support schemes.
In November 1981, he was appointed as Governor of the
Bank of Greece
The Bank of Greece ( el, Τράπεζα της Ελλάδος , ΤτΕ) is the central bank of Greece. Its headquarters is located in Athens on Panepistimiou Street, but it also has several branches across the country. It was founded in 192 ...
, where he remained until February, 1984. During this period, Arsenis oversaw the liberalization of the Greek financial system and modernization of its
financial regulatory system. Arsenis acted as a policy advisor to numerous governments regarding foreign exchange, external financing and
debt rescheduling
Debt rescheduling is the lengthening of the time of debt repayment by restructuring the terms of an existing loan.
Types of resecheduling
In retail banking, the debt rescheduling can be applied for personal loans given to individuals as educa ...
.
Gerasimos Arsenis was married to
Louka Katseli
Louka Katseli (Greek: Λούκα Κατσέλη, ; born 20 April 1952) is a Greek economist and politician. Today, she is Professor Emeritus of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Chair of the National Bank of Greece in Cyprus, C ...
, with whom he has raised four children,
and resided in the Greek capital of
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 ...
. Arsenis died on 19 April 2016.
Political career
Arsenis began his career in politics in 1982, when he was appointed to the position of Minister of National Economy
with the
Panhellenic Socialist Movement
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 ...
, a position that he held until 1985. In 1984, he served as a Minister of Economics and was appointed to the Ministry of Mercantile Marine a year later, a position that he held for only a month due to a disagreement on a few matters of economic policy with the Prime Minister,
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, wh ...
. He was replaced by
Costas Simitis
Konstantinos G. Simitis ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Γ. Σημίτης; born 23 June 1936), usually referred to as Costas Simitis or Kostas Simitis (Κώστας Σημίτης), is a Greek politician who served as Prime Minister of Greece a ...
.
In 1986, Arsenis was expelled from the party, due to severe disagreements with the policies of the government. Afterwards, he founded the
Greek Socialist Party, which did not appeal to enough Greek voters and was therefore dissolved.
He returned to the Panhellenic Socialist Movement in 1989, which won the national elections of 1993, and Gerasimos Arsenis was appointed the Minister of Defence until 1996. He was the
Minister of Defense
A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...
during the
Imia crisis
Imia ( el, Ίμια) is a pair of small uninhabited islets in the Aegean Sea, situated between the Greek island chain of the Dodecanese and the southwestern mainland coast of Turkey. They are known in Turkey as Kardak.
Imia was the object of a ...
. During his post as the Minister, he promoted the new Defense Dogma for Greece and Cyprus, restructured the Defense procurement, and pursued policies of co-operation in the Defense arena with a number of countries in the region.
After the resignation of Andreas Papandreou from the Presidency of the Party, owing to health problems, after a three-month-long hospitalization, which had incapacitated him and created a serious power-vacuum in Greece, the members of the Party asked for elections for a successor. Arsenis announced his candidacy to replace Papandreou, but he lost to Costas Simitis and trailed the second candidate, Akis Tsohatzopoulos.
In 1996, during the government of Costas Simitis, he was appointed as Minister of Education, a position that he held until 2000. Gerasimos Arsenis faced significant opposition for the educational system changes he proposed, some of which, however, stand to this day.
Arsenis was a member of the Hellenic Parliament from 1985 to 1989 (one term), from 1990 to 2004 (four consecutive terms) and from 2006 to 2007 (one term).
References
External links
Official Website of Gerasimos Arsenis -
Terms of Office of Gerasimos Arsenisin 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 ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arsenis, Gerasimos
1931 births
2016 deaths
PASOK politicians
Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens alumni
People from Cephalonia
Ministers of National Education and Religious Affairs of Greece
Ministers of National Defence of Greece
Governors of the Bank of Greece
Economy ministers of Greece
Finance ministers of Greece
20th-century Greek economists
Ministers for Mercantile Marine of Greece
Greek MPs 1985–1989
Greek MPs 1990–1993
Greek MPs 1993–1996
Greek MPs 1996–2000
Greek MPs 2000–2004
Greek MPs 2004–2007