Miltiadis Varvitsiotis (

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 ...

: Μιλτιάδης Βαρβιτσιώτης, ''Miltiádis Varvitsiótis''; born June 21, 1969) is a Greek politician and attorney, who served as Alternate

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

for European Affairs in the

Cabinet of Kyriakos Mitsotakis The Cabinet of Kyriakos Mitsotakis was sworn in on 9 July 2019, following the Greek legislative election in July 2019. Kyriakos Mitsotakis, leader of New Democracy, was sworn in as Prime Minister of Greece on 8 July. The government consists of ...

, from 9 July 2019 to 26 May 2023. A member of 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 ...

, he is 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

Athens B2 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 ...

(West Suburbs). He previously served as Minister of Shipping and the Aegean (2013–2015) in the

Cabinet of Antonis Samaras The Cabinet of Antonis Samaras succeeded the Caretaker Cabinet of Panagiotis Pikrammenos after the repeated legislative elections in May and June 2012. It was sworn in on Thursday, 21 June 2012. The former ministries of Shipping, Tourism and M ...

, and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs (2009) in the Cabinet of Kostas Karamanlis II.

Early life and career

Miltiadis Varvitsiotis was born in

Glyfada Glyfada ( el, Γλυφάδα, ) is a suburb in South Athens located in the Athens Riviera along the Athens coast. It is situated in the southern parts of the Athens' Urban Area. The area stretches from the foot of the Hymettus mountain to the Sar ...

Attica Attica ( el, Αττική, Ancient Greek ''Attikḗ'' or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the city of Athens, the capital of Greece and its countryside. It is a peninsula projecting into the Aegean Se ...

on June 21, 1969. He is son of former Minister Ioannis Varvitsiotis. In 1987, he graduated from

Athens College Athens College ( el, Κολλέγιο(ν) Αθηνών; formally Hellenic-American Educational Foundation (HAEF)) is a co-educational private preparatory school in Psychiko, Greece, a suburb of Athens, part of the Hellenic-American Educational ...

. He studied Athens Law School of

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 earned a

law degree A law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Such degrees are generally preparation for legal careers. But while their curricula may be reviewed by legal authority, they do not confer a license themselves. A legal license is gra ...

in 1994. From 1994 to 1996, he attended

Harvard Extension School Harvard Extension School (HES) is the extension school of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school is one among 12 schools that grant degrees and falls under the Division of Continuing Education in the Harvard Faculty of Arts ...

, where he earned a master in

International Relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such as ...

, in 1996. He speaks English, French and Italian. When he returned to Greece, worked as attorney.

Political career

His political activity began at the Youth Organization of New Democracy. He was elected as

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 ...

on the

ticket in the Athens B constituency in the elections of

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

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 ...

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

May May is the fifth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and is the third of seven months to have a length of 31 days. May is a month of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. Therefore, May ...

and June 2012, and

January January is the first month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and is also the first of seven months to have a length of 31 days. The first day of the month is known as New Year's Day. It is, on average, the coldest month of the ...

and September 2015. In the July 2019 election, he was elected MP for the Athens B2 (West) constituency.

Cabinet positions

Varvitsiotis, served as Deputy

for Economic Diplomacy and Development Assistance, from January to October 2009, in the

Second Cabinet of Kostas Karamanlis Kostas Karamanlis served as a Prime Minister of Greece for two consecutive terms. During his incumbency, the period 2004-2009, he formed two cabinets. The second Kostas Karamanlis cabinet was formed after the 2007 elections and was succeeded by ...

. He also served as Minister for Shipping, Maritime Affairs and the Aegean, from June 2013 to January 2015, in the

. From July 2019 to May 2023, he served as Alternate

in the

. In 2023, Varvitsiotis resigned following a controversy over his comments about the death of a 36-year-old man who had fallen into the sea after being pushed back by crew members of a ship he was trying to board; Varvitsiotis had faced a backlash for appearing to sympathize with the crew members on Greek television.Karolina Tagaris (11 September 2023)
Greek shipping minister resigns following comments over ferry death
�''

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...

''.

References

External links

Official Website
(In Greek) {{DEFAULTSORT:Varvitsiotis, Miltiadis 1969 births Living people Greek government officials Greek MPs 2000–2004 Greek MPs 2004–2007 Greek MPs 2007–2009 Greek MPs 2009–2012 Greek MPs 2012 (May) Greek MPs 2012–2014 Greek MPs 2015 (February–August) Greek MPs 2015–2019 Greek MPs 2019–2023 New Democracy (Greece) politicians Politicians from Athens Greek lawyers National and Kapodistrian University of Athens alumni Harvard Extension School alumni Greek MPs 2023–