| Giorgos Papakonstantinou | |
|---|---|
| Minister for the Environment, Energy and Climate Change | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office June 17, 2011 |
|
| President | Karolos Papoulias |
| Prime Minister | George Papandreou |
| Preceded by | Tina Birbili |
| Minister for Finance | |
| In office October 7, 2009 – June 17, 2011 |
|
| President | Karolos Papoulias |
| Prime Minister | George Papandreou |
| Preceded by | Yannis Papathanasiou |
| Succeeded by | Evangelos Venizelos |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 30, 1961 [1] Athens, Greece |
| Nationality | Greek |
| Political party | Panhellenic Socialist Movement |
| Spouse(s) | Jacoline Vinke |
| Residence | Athens, Greece |
| Alma mater | London School of Economics (B.Sc., PhD) New York University (M.A.) |
| Occupation | Member of Parliament Politician |
| Profession | Economist |
| Website | www.gpapak.gr |
Giorgos Papakonstantinou (Greek: Γιώργος Παπακωνσταντίνου), born October 30, 1961 in Athens, Greece, is a Greek economist and politician and the current Minister for the Environment, Energy and Climate Change of Greece, formerly Minister for Finance. He is a member of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement.
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He graduated from the London School of Economics (LSE). He later obtained a Master of Arts in Economics from New York University and a PhD in Economics from LSE.
After his studies, he worked as a senior economist at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in Paris from 1988 to 1998.
In 1998, Papakonstantinou returned to Greece and was appointed an adviser to then-Prime Minister Costas Simitis on "information society" issues.
Two years later, he was appointed Special Secretary for the "Information Society" at the Ministry of Economy and Finance (2000-2002). Between 2002 and 2004 he served as a member of the Council of Economic Advisors of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, as a board member of OTE (Hellenic Telecommunication Organization), and as the Greek representative to the European Union's Economic Policy Committee (EPC). In 2003 he coordinated the "Lisbon Strategy" for economic and social reforms during the Greek Presidency of the EU.
Between 2004 and 2007, Papaconstantinou served as economic advisor to George Papandreou, the president of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK). He was also a board member of the Institute for Strategic and Development Studies, PASOK's think tank, from 2005 to 2008.
Between 2003 and 2007, Papaconstantinou also taught economics at Department of Management Science and Technology of the Athens University of Economics and Business and advised the European Commission on research and information society issues, participating in various international research projects.
In May 2005, Papakonstantinou was also elected a member of the National Council of PASOK. In September 2007, he was elected member of the Hellenic Parliament to represent the district of Kozani,[2] and was subsequently appointed PASOK's Press Spokesman in March 2008.
Papakonstantinou headed PASOK's list of candidates for the European Parliament in the 2009 European elections and was elected MEP in June 2009. In October 2009 he was appointed Finance Minister in the government formed by Papandreou, now the prime minister, after the national elections.[3]
On a poll published on the 18th of May 2011, 80% of the people asked said they have no faith in Mr. Papakonstantinou, to handle the Greek economic crisis.[4]
Papakonstantinou is married to travel writer Jacoline Vinke. They have two sons, Nicolas and Stefanos.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Yannis Papathanasiou |
Minister for Finance 7 October 2009 – 17 June 2011 |
Succeeded by Evangelos Venizelos |
| Preceded by Tina Birbili |
Minister for the Environment since 17 June 2011 |
Incumbent |
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