Vasso Papandreou (born 31 July 1944 in

Valimitika Valimitika ( el, Βαλιμίτικα) is a village in the municipal unit of Aigio, Achaea, Greece. It is situated at the outflow of the river Selinountas into the Gulf of Corinth, 5 km east of Aigio. The railway from Corinth to Patras passe ...

) is a Greek politician. After being in exile during the rule of the

Greek junta The Greek junta or Regime of the Colonels, . Also known within Greece as just the Junta ( el, η Χούντα, i Choúnta, links=no, ), the Dictatorship ( el, η Δικτατορία, i Diktatoría, links=no, ) or the Seven Years ( el, η Ε ...

, she returned to Greece in 1974 and was a founding member of

PASOK 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 ...

. In 1981 she was awarded a PhD in economics from the

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...

. She was a member of PASOK's Central Committee until 1988, and served as Deputy Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology 1986 to 1987 and as Deputy Minister of Commerce in 1988. In 1989, she was appointed as Greece's

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 o ...

er, taking the post of Commissioner for Employment, industrial relations and social affairs in the second

Delors Commission The Delors Commission was the administration of Jacques Delors, the eighth President of the European Commission. Delors presided over the European Commission for three terms (though the last one lasted for around a year). The first term lasted ...

. After her term on the commission, she returned to Greek domestic politics and was elected to 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 ...

in the 1993, 1996 and

2000 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2000. Africa * 2000 Ethiopian general election * 2000 Ghanaian presidential election * 1999–2000 Guinea-Bissau general election * 2000–01 Ivorian parliamentary election * 2000 Ivorian presiden ...

. She served in the Third Cabinet of Prime Minister

Costas Simitis Konstantinos G. Simitis ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Γ. Σημίτης; born 23 June 1936), usually referred to as Costas Simitis or Kostas Simitis (Κώστας Σημίτης), is a Greek politician who served as Prime Minister of Greece a ...

Minister for the Interior Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of governme ...

from 2000 to 2001, and then as

Minister for the Environment, Physical Planning and Public Works The Ministry of the Environment, Urban Planning and Public Works of Greece ( el, Υπουργείο Περιβάλλοντος, Χωροταξίας και Δημοσίων Έργων, commonly abbreviated as ΥΠΕΧΩΔΕ). Following the electoral ...

from 2001 to 2004.

References

1944 births Living people Alumni of the University of Reading PASOK politicians Government ministers of Greece Women government ministers of Greece Ministers of the Interior of Greece Environment ministers of Greece Greek MPs 1993–1996 Greek MPs 1996–2000 Greek MPs 2000–2004 Women members of the Hellenic Parliament Greek European Commissioners European Commissioners 1989–1992 Women European Commissioners People from Aigio {{EU-stub