Giorgos Stathakis ( el, Γιώργος Σταθάκης; born 8 November 1953) 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 ...

politician and economist. From 27 January to 28 August 2015, he served as the Minister of Economy, Infrastructure, Shipping and Tourism in the

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

of Alexis Tsipras. He has also been a

Member of the Hellenic Parliament The Hellenic Parliament ( el, Ελληνικό Κοινοβούλιο, Elliniko Kinovoulio; formally titled el, Βουλή των Ελλήνων, Voulí ton Ellínon, Boule of the Hellenes, label=none), also known as the Parliament of the Hel ...

for

Chania Chania ( el, Χανιά ; vec, La Canea), also spelled Hania, is a city in Greece and the capital of the Chania regional unit. It lies along the north west coast of the island Crete, about west of Rethymno and west of Heraklion. The muni ...

since May 2012. Stathakis is a professor of

political economy Political economy is the study of how Macroeconomics, economic systems (e.g. Marketplace, markets and Economy, national economies) and Politics, political systems (e.g. law, Institution, institutions, government) are linked. Widely studied ph ...

at the

University of Crete The University of Crete (UoC; Greek: Πανεπιστήμιο Κρήτης) is a multi-disciplinary, research-oriented institution in Crete, Greece, located in the cities of Rethymno (official seat) and Heraklion, and one of the country's most aca ...

, but has been on leave since being elected as an MP. He was formerly a Vice-Rector of the university.

Early life and education

Stathakis graduated from the

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 ...

in 1976 with degree in economics. He continued his studies, graduating in 1978 with a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in economics, and in 1983 with a

Doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

in economics, both from

Newcastle University Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a UK public university, public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is ...

. His doctoral

thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...

was titled: "Industrial Development and the Regional Problem: The Case of Greece".

Academic career

Stathakis worked at the Mediterranean Studies Foundation from 1985 to 1986 and at the Computer Technology Institute in

Patras ) , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 = , demographics1_info2 = , timezone1 = EET , utc_offset1 = +2 , ...

from 1986 to 1987. From 1987 to 1988 he worked as a visiting researcher at the Center for Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies, Queens College,

City University of New York The City University of New York ( CUNY; , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven Upper divis ...

, and as a visiting scholar from 1992 to 1993 at the Center for European Studies,

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. In 1988 he joined the staff at the

as a lecturer. He became an associate professor in 1992 and in 1997 became a full professor of

. His teaching focuses on Marxist analysis and economic methodology. Stathakis has also been one of three Vice-Rectors of the University of Crete, but stepped down following the May 2012 legislative election.

Political career

Stathakis was first elected as a

for

in the

May 2012 Greek legislative election Legislative elections were held in Greece on Sunday, 6 May 2012 to elect all 300 members to the Hellenic Parliament. It was regular scheduled to be held in late 2013, four years after the previous election; however, an early election was stipula ...

. He was re-elected in the June 2012 legislative election and in the January 2015 legislative election. Stathakis is reportedly seen as "more market-friendly" than most of his colleagues in Syriza. Alexis Tsipras has reportedly said that Stathakis is "so valuable that if he didn't exist he would have to be invented". Before

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

came to power following the 2015 legislative election, Stathakis served as the shadow development minister in the

Shadow Cabinet of Alexis Tsipras The First Shadow Cabinet of Alexis Tsipras was formed on 3 July 2012, following the June 2012 Greek legislative election. It consisted of only Syriza MPs, as they were the largest party to refuse to participate in the ND-PASOK-DIMAR coalition. T ...

. In an interview with the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

'' before the 2015 legislative election, Stathakis set out Syriza's plan to crack down on Greek oligarchs if it won the election. Following the 2015 legislative election, Stathakis was appointed as the Minister of Economy, Infrastructure, Shipping and Tourism in the cabinet of Alexis Tsipras. Stathakis was named as a potential replacement for

Yanis Varoufakis Ioannis "Yanis" Varoufakis ( el, Ιωάννης Γεωργίου "Γιάνης" Βαρουφάκης, Ioánnis Georgíou "Giánis" Varoufákis, ; born 24 March 1961) is a Greek economist and politician. A former academic, he served as the Gree ...

after he resigned as

Minister for Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", ...

on 6 July 2015, following the resounding 'No' vote in the Greek bailout referendum. He was later appointed as the economy minister. During his tenure it was revealed that he failed to report thirty-eight properties and €1.8m in his assets declaration of 2011. A parliamentary committee is investigating the revelations.

Personal life

Stathakis is married to Themis Gekou and has two children.

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stathakis, Giorgos 1953 births Living people 21st-century Greek economists Syriza politicians Greek MPs 2012–2014 Politicians from Chania Greek MPs 2015 (February–August) Greek MPs 2015–2019 Economy ministers of Greece Government ministers of Greece University of Crete faculty 20th-century Greek economists