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Stavros Dimas ( el, Σταύρος Δήμας, ; born 30 April 1941) is a Greek politician who was
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...
er for the
Environment Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally * Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...
from 2004 to 2009. From November 2011 to May 2012, he served in the government of Greece as Minister for Foreign Affairs. The New DemocracyPASOK coalition government nominated him for the post of
President of Greece The president of Greece, officially the President of the Hellenic Republic ( el, Πρόεδρος της Ελληνικής Δημοκρατίας, Próedros tis Ellinikís Dimokratías), commonly referred to in Greek as the President of the Rep ...
in December 2014, but he failed to achieve the necessary votes, forcing the dissolution of parliament.


Early life and education

Stavros Dimas was born in 1941 in the village of Klenia, Corinthia. Dimas studied law at the University of Athens and went on to earn a
Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mo ...
from
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...
.


Career

In 1968 he began working as a lawyer for a firm on Wall Street, moving to 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 ...
the following year, where he worked on investments in Africa and the Middle East. In 1975 he returned to Greece to take up the post of deputy governor of the
Hellenic Industrial Development Bank Hellenic is a synonym for Greek. It means either: *of or pertaining to the Hellenic Republic (modern Greece) or Greek people ( Hellenes, el, Έλληνες) and culture *of or pertaining to ancient Greece, ancient Greek people, culture and civil ...
(ETVA), while also being a member of the committee preparing Greek accession to the EEC.


Entry into politics

From 1977 he was active in Greek politics as a member of the conservative New Democracy party, being elected as an MP on the nationwide list. He was elected to the Greek parliament ten consecutive times from that year. He went on to hold a variety of ministerial and other political positions: *Deputy Minister of Economic Coordination (28 November 1977 – 10 May 1980) *Minister of Trade (10 May – 11 October 1980) *Minister without Portfolio (11 October 1980 – 21 October 1981) *Parliamentary spokesperson for the New Democracy party (October 1985 – June 1989) *Minister of Agriculture (2 July – 12 October 1989) *Minister of Agriculture (23 November 1989 – 13 February 1990) *Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology (11 April 1990 – 29 July 1991) *Secretary-General of New Democracy (1995–2000) *Senior Member of the Political Analysis Steering Committee of New Democracy (2000–2003) *Head of the New Democracy delegation to the
Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it has 46 member states, with a p ...
(2000–2004)


European Commission

Dimas served briefly in the
Prodi Commission The Prodi Commission was the European Commission in office between 1999 and 2004. The administration was led by former Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi. History The commission took office on 16 September 1999 following the scandal and subs ...
. He was appointed European Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs in March 2004, taking over the role from the previous Greek Commissioner Anna Diamantopoulou. A major focus of his work during this time involved making it more difficult for states to opt out of the Working Time Directive. The Greek government nominated Dimas for the incoming
Barroso Commission The Barroso Commission was the European Commission in office from 22 November 2004 until 31 October 2014. Its president was José Manuel Barroso, who presided over 27 other commissioners (one from each of the states composing the European Un ...
which took office on 22 November 2004. In a speech to a committee of the
European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the Legislature, legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven Institutions of the European Union, institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and in ...
Dimas announced four main priorities for his term in office:
climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...
,
biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic ('' genetic variability''), species ('' species diversity''), and ecosystem ('' ecosystem diversity'') ...
,
public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...
and
sustainability Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livi ...
. He emphasised the importance of the Kyoto Protocol, the
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project, the REACH directive, and the need to better enforce existing EU environmental legislation.


Selection hearing

Concerns were raised in advance by
MEPs 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, it ...
and many NGOs that by appointing a former Wall Street lawyer and industry minister to the environment post the EU had signalled a decreased commitment to environmental issues in favour of promoting economic competitiveness. However, after some months time, the environment unions quickly endorsed his programme and publicly congratulated him for being able to support the positions of the environmental organizations with great success within the commission. Dimas' role was vital especially since the President, Mr Barroso, was ready to disregard the effects to the environment due to the need to improve economic development. Questioned by the European Parliament, Dimas took the view that preserving the environment and promoting competitiveness went hand in hand, and that environmental policy could provide a stimulus for technological innovation. Among other statements, he said that GM residues in seeds should be the lowest technically feasible. Following his hearing Dimas received a sceptical response from most MEPs. Many believed him to have insufficient experience to fulfill the role.
Karl-Heinz Florenz Karl-Heinz Florenz (born 22 October 1947) is a German politician who served as Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 1999 until 2012. He is a member of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU), part of the European People's Party. ...
, chair of the Environment Committee and a member of the conservative EPP-ED, said that European environment policy needed, "more than just declarations of intention.... If Commission President-designate Barroso puts the Lisbon Strategy on top of the agenda, this must not mean that the primacy of economic over environment policy gets cemented." However, he stressed the need to give Dimas time to 'grow into' his role. The
Socialists Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the econ ...
gave him a qualified approval but criticised his plans as too vague. The Greens and the left-wing GUE/NGL opposed his appointment outright, with the Greens naming him as one of the three "incompetent" Commissioners-designate who prompted them to vote against the commission as a whole. Representatives of industry and the business community welcomed his appointment to the environment post. In a dramatic change of stance, the Greens endorsed the programme plan by Commissioner Dimas and have argued that their cooperation in environmental issues is harmonic.


Stance on climate change

Dimas led the EU in its tough line on climate change during the first weeks of the new Commission. At UN talks on climate change in
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in December 2004 he attempted to negotiate a new system of mandatory emissions reductions to follow the expiration of the initial Kyoto targets in 2012. This approach met with fierce opposition from the U.S., representatives of which refused to even discuss the matter. The Italian environment minister
Altero Matteoli Altero Matteoli (8 September 1940 – 18 December 2017) was an Italian politician. Political career Born in Cecina, he has been a member of the Italian Social Movement and National Alliance. He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies from 198 ...
broke EU ranks on the issue, proposing voluntary targets after 2012, and saying that it was, "unthinkable to go ahead without the US, China and India." In response to the refusal of countries to sign Kyoto, such as the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
and
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(the latter of which exchanged viewpoints with the EU on the matter), the EU has been looking to tax products imported from those countries not taking low-carbon policies on board (
Border Tax Adjustments Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political border ...
). When defending the commission's new proposals to climate change in 2007, he claimed "It is clear that the fight against climate change is much more than a battle. It is a world war that will last for many years." Dimas oversaw the introduction of the EU's
emissions trading Emissions trading is a market-based approach to controlling pollution by providing economic incentives for reducing the emissions of pollutants. The concept is also known as cap and trade (CAT) or emissions trading scheme (ETS). Carbon emissi ...
scheme, that took effect on 1 January 2005, despite emissions reduction plans from
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,
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, the
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and
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...
not having been approved on time. He also sought to include companies operating aircraft under the emissions trading regime. In February 2007 the Commissioner put forward his plans to increase fuel efficiency standards of cars so that emissions are no more than 130g of CO2 per km, down from 162g/km in 2005. This caused anger from the European car industry which was stoked by the Commissioner requesting a
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
ese car, a Toyota Prius, instead of a European make due to the Toyota's better environmental standards.


Return to Greece

In July 2010 the president of New Democracy Antonis Samaras appointed Stavros Dimas as vice-president of the party with responsibility for economic and social affairs. From 11 November 2011 to 17 May 2012 he served as Minister for Foreign Affairs in the Lucas Papademos interim cabinet. On 9 December 2014, Prime Minister Samaras announced the candidacy of Dimas, jointly supported by New Democracy and PASOK, for the Presidency of Greece, which took place in three ballots on 17, 23 and 29 December. He failed to achieve the necessary votes, forcing the dissolution of parliament.


References


External links

* , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Dimas, Stavros 1941 births Living people Foreign ministers of Greece Greek European Commissioners Greek MPs 1977–1981 Greek MPs 1981–1985 Greek MPs 1985–1989 Greek MPs 1989 (June–November) Greek MPs 1989–1990 Greek MPs 1990–1993 Greek MPs 1993–1996 Greek MPs 1996–2000 Greek MPs 2000–2004 National and Kapodistrian University of Athens alumni New Democracy (Greece) politicians New York University School of Law alumni People from Tenea