Marika Mitsotakis (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Giannoukou; November 29, 1930 – May 6, 2012) was the wife of the former

Prime Minister of Greece The prime minister of the Hellenic Republic ( el, Πρωθυπουργός της Ελληνικής Δημοκρατίας, Prothypourgós tis Ellinikís Dimokratías), colloquially referred to as the prime minister of Greece ( el, Πρωθυ� ...

Konstantinos Mitsotakis Konstantinos Mitsotakis ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Μητσοτάκης, ; – 29 May 2017) was a Greek politician who was 7th Prime Minister of Greece from 1990 to 1993. He graduated in law and economics from the University of Athens. Hi ...

. She was regarded as a prominent political voice with the

New Democracy New Democracy, or the New Democratic Revolution, is a concept based on Mao Zedong's Bloc of Four Social Classes theory in Chinese Communist Revolution, post-revolutionary China which argued originally that democracy in China would take a path ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

, her husband's government, and Greek politics. She was nicknamed "Mrs. Marika" among Greeks.

Biography

Personal life

Mitsotakis was born to a prominent Athenian family on November 29, 1930. She contracted

poliomyelitis Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe sym ...

at a

swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built ...

when she was seventeen years old. She survived the illness, but lived with a walking disability for the rest of her life. In addition to her political activities, Mitsotakis became an

activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

for

people with disabilities Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, se ...

in Greece. She married Konstantinos Mitsotakis, member of a

political family A political family (also referred to as political dynasty) is a family in which multiple members are involved in politics — particularly electoral politics. Members may be related by blood or marriage; often several generations or multiple sibli ...

from

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

, in 1953. The couple had four children: Dora, who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece from 2006 to 2009 and

Mayor of Athens The Mayor of Athens is the head of the Municipality of Athens, the largest district of Athens. Kingdom of Greece (1832–1924) Second Hellenic Republic (1924–1935) Kingdom of Greece (1935–1941) Hellenic State (1941–1944) Kingdom ...

from 2003 until 2006,

Alexandra Alexandra () is the feminine form of the given name Alexander (, ). Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; GEN , ; meaning 'man'). Thus it may be roughly translated as "defender of man" or "prot ...

, a civil-society activist, Katerina (Aikaterini) and Kyriakos, 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 ...

from the

party who on 8 July 2019 became

. Konstantinos served as the head of the New Democracy political party from 1984 to 1993.

Political influence

Mitsotakis served as the Spouse of the Prime Minister from 1990 to 1993 during her husband's tenure as head of government. She assumed the traditional role of the wife of a Prime Minister, being quoted in ''

Time Magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on Mar ...

'' at the time of the 1990 election saying, "Finally, my Kostas, we’ve made it." However, she was known for her political skills and outspokenness. In 1990, soon after taking office, Prime Minister Mitsotakis made his first appearance in the Greek parliament. A member of 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 ...

(PASOK) accused Marika of making "insolent gestures" towards socialist politicians during the session. Marika responded to the lawmaker's accusation, "I'll get my stick and beat you with it." In 1991, Marika publicly criticized Minister of Industry Stavros Dimas. Dimas quickly resigned during an official trip to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

as a result of Marika's criticism. Mitsotakis often defended her husband against political opponents. She also likened his calm political style and

persona A persona (plural personae or personas), depending on the context, is the public image of one's personality, the social role that one adopts, or simply a fictional Character (arts), character. The word derives from Latin, where it originally ref ...

to the calming effect of Valium, telling a reporter, "If you chopped (him) into little pieces, you could sell him as

Valium Diazepam, first marketed as Valium, is a medicine of the benzodiazepine family that acts as an anxiolytic. It is commonly used to treat a range of conditions, including anxiety, seizures, alcohol withdrawal syndrome, muscle spasms, insomnia, a ...

tablets." Mitsotakis was widely regarded as an excellent

cook Cook or The Cook may refer to: Food preparation * Cooking, the preparation of food * Cook (domestic worker), a household staff member who prepares food * Cook (professional), an individual who prepares food for consumption in the food industry * ...

in Greek political circles, leading to an

urban legend An urban legend (sometimes contemporary legend, modern legend, urban myth, or urban tale) is a genre of folklore comprising stories or fallacious claims circulated as true, especially as having happened to a "friend of a friend" or a family m ...

that she used her culinary skills to influence politics. Political opponents of Konstantinos Mitsotakis accused her of using food to persuade two members of the Communist Party of Greece to join a 1989

coalition government A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...

with the conservatives with the purpose of pursuing corruption charges against

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, ...

. Marika used the urban legend to write, publish and market her 2011 best-selling

cookbook A cookbook or cookery book is a kitchen reference containing recipes. Cookbooks may be general, or may specialize in a particular cuisine or category of food. Recipes in cookbooks are organized in various ways: by course (appetizer, first cour ...

, ''Recipes With a Bit of History'' published in English in 2012 with the title ''Recipes of Love''. Mitsotakis was hospitalized on April 17, 2012. She died at the Evgenidion Hospital in Athens on May 6, 2012, at the age of 81. She was survived by her husband and their four children, thirteen grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Venizelos/Mitsotakis family tree

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitsotakis, Marika 1930 births 2012 deaths New Democracy (Greece) politicians Spouses of prime ministers of Greece Women cookbook writers Greek disability rights activists Politicians from Athens People with polio Mitsotakis family