Rodi Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou 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 who served as a

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

from 1999 to 2014, and served as First Vice-President of the European Parliament from 2007 to 2009. She is the current Regional Governor of the Ionian Islands. She was born and brought up at the island of

Zakynthos Zakynthos (also spelled Zakinthos; el, Ζάκυνθος, Zákynthos ; it, Zacinto ) or Zante (, , ; el, Τζάντε, Tzánte ; from the Venetian form) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the third largest of the Ionian Islands. Z ...

, Greece. She studied Sociology (specialising in

political sociology Political sociology is an interdisciplinary field of study concerned with exploring how governance and society interact and influence one another at the micro to macro levels of analysis. Interested in the social causes and consequences of how ...

) at the

University of Geneva The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin as a theological seminary. It remained focused on theology until the 17th centur ...

( Switzerland). Her postgraduate studies followed at the Institute of European Studies of the same university. She was first elected as an MEP in 1999. She was re-elected in 2004 and in 2009. Her parliamentary work was rich and multifaceted with numerous interventions on issues like European integration, regional cohesion and

economic development In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

, the upgrading of women's participation and the presence of the EU at international level.

European Parliament

Responsibilities as Member of the European Parliament 2009 - 2014 Member of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs Member of the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality Member of the Committee on Regional Development Member of the Delegation to the

Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly The Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean (PAUM), previously known as the ''Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly'' (''EMPA''), established in Naples on 3 December 2003 by decision of the Ministerial Conference of the Eu ...

(PA-UfM) President of the PA-UfM Working Group on the

Euro-Mediterranean University of Slovenia EMUNI University was established on 9 June 2008 in Portorož (Slovenia) with the objective of becoming an international, post-graduate, higher-education and research institution, fully integrated in the Euro-Mediterranean Area. It was co-founded b ...

(EMUNI) Member of the Delegation for relations with the

Mashreq The Mashriq ( ar, ٱلْمَشْرِق), sometimes spelled Mashreq or Mashrek, is a term used by Arabs to refer to the eastern part of the Arab world, located in Western Asia and eastern North Africa. Poetically the "Place of Sunrise", the n ...

countries (Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria) Member of the Delegation to the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly (EuroLat) Member of the Delegation for relations with

Mercosur The Southern Common Market, commonly known by Spanish abbreviation Mercosur, and Portuguese Mercosul, is a South American trade bloc established by the Treaty of Asunción in 1991 and Protocol of Ouro Preto in 1994. Its full members are Arge ...

countries (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) Member of the Working Group for the Middle East, very active in the peace process between Arabs and

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, the promotion of cooperation between the GCC and the EU for security and development in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

as well as in dealing with international crises. In the framework of her parliamentary legislative work, in her capacity as rapporteur, she prepared resolutions, adopted by the plenary, regarding the MEDA programs, the EU funding of Palestine and the situation of the women in Mediterranean. She is founding member of various intergroups: "Francophonie and cultural diversity", "Disability", "Family and childhood", "Tourism", "Islands", "Social Economy", "Conservation and Sustainable Development". Responsibilities in the Bureau of the European Parliament as Vice-President (2007–2012) Conciliation (negotiation with the Council for the final shaping of European legislation, in the framework of the co-decision procedure) Information and Communication Policy Euro-Mediterranean cooperation including the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean (PA-UfM) President of the PA-UfM Working Group on the Euro-Mediterranean University (EMUNI) Euro-Arab relations Rodi Kratsa has represented the European Parliament at International Summits, like the 2008 G8 Parliamentary Speakers' Meeting held in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

and Hiroshima, Japan as well as the 2011 G20 Speakers' Consultation held in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

Action

International level Active in the international and regional meetings of

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

issues concerning education, the promotion of women and the cultural heritage Active in the framework of the International Organisation of Francophonie Regular participant in international meetings of the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster glo ...

and 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 Inte ...

and international fora, like the Crans Montana Forum, the Doha Forum, WISE Forum (Qatar Foundation), the Women as Global Leaders Conference (Zayed University, UAE) European level Founding member of the Women of Europe Award (Brussels 1987) President of the International Association for the Promotion of Women of Europe - Women of Europe Award (Brussels 2000) Member of the Board of the European Centre of Culture (Geneva) Member of the Cultural Council of the Union for the Mediterranean (France - 2009) National level Elected member of the Municipality Council of Athens (1998) Member of the Board and the Executive Committee of the Constantinos Karamanlis Institute for Democracy (Athens, 1997) Founding member and President of the European Centre of Communication and Information (Athens, 1989) Founding member of the Greek part of the European Movement Member of the Board and the Scientific Committee of the Child and Family Foundation (Athens)

Family

Rodi Kratsa is married to former Member of Greek Parliament and former Minister of Transports and Communications of New Democracy party, Apostolos Kratsas. They have two children, George, who studied law in London and Paris, specialises in European competition law (LSE University) and is now a PhD candidate, and Constance, who studied law and economics in London and specialises in trade and company law (UCL University).

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou, Rodi 1953 births Living people People from Zakynthos New Democracy (Greece) MEPs MEPs for Greece 1999–2004 MEPs for Greece 2004–2009 MEPs for Greece 2009–2014 20th-century women MEPs for Greece 21st-century women MEPs for Greece Commanders of the National Order of the Cedar