According to state TV ERT, Costas Simitis, the former Prime Minister of Greece and the architect of the country’s adoption of the euro, passed away at 88.
Greek media quoted the hospital’s director as saying that Costas Simitis was taken to a hospital in the city of Corinth early Sunday morning from his holiday residence west of Athens, unconscious and without a pulse. To determine the cause of death, an autopsy will be conducted.
Costas Simitis, a co-founder of the Socialist PASOK party in 1974, succeeded Andreas Papandreou as its founding leader. The two had a contentious relationship that significantly influenced the party’s nature.
Papandreou was a charismatic, ardent populist, while Costas Simitis was a low-key pragmatist. He was also a fervent pro-European, whereas Papandreou initially opposed Greece’s membership in the European Economic Community during the 1970s. However, he subsequently shifted his stance upon becoming Prime Minister.
The economy rapidly deteriorated due to the excessive spending during the first four years of socialist rule, from 1981 to 1985. Papandreou appointed Simitis as finance minister and tasked him with supervising a stringent austerity program.
Costas Simitis’ Leadership and Conflict with PASOK Party Members
Finances improved, and inflation was partially controlled, but Simitis was compelled to resign in 1987 when Papandreou, anticipating an impending election, announced a generous wages policy that undermined the austerity program’s objectives.
The socialists regained power in 1993; however, Papandreou’s health declined, and he ultimately resigned as Prime Minister in January 1996. Simitis was unexpectedly appointed Prime Minister after a tight two-round vote among socialist legislators.
The signature accomplishment of Simitis’ premiership was Greece’s accession to the eurozone in January 2001. However, he also played a significant role in securing the 2004 Olympic Games for Athens and oversaw a comprehensive infrastructure development initiative, which included the construction of a new airport and two metro lines to facilitate the games. Additionally, he assisted Cyprus in its accession to the European Union in 2004.
His critics on the right and left endeavored to diminish his legacy by emphasizing a questionable debt exchange executed after the country entered the eurozone to manipulate the debt figures.
Costas Simitis’ administration was ultimately undermined by the resolute opposition of his party, which included trade union leaders, to pension reform in 2001.
To avoid a certain defeat to the conservatives, he resigned from his party position and did not participate in the 2004 election five months before the Olympics.
Costas Simitis was succeeded as party leader by George Papandreou, the son of the socialist party’s founder. In 2008, the two men were expelled from the PASOK parliamentary group due to disagreements over policies, including Papandreou’s proposal to hold a referendum on the Treaty of Lisbon.
Costas Simitis resigned from parliament in 2009, but not before foreseeing that financial mismanagement would result in the country being subjected to the International Monetary Fund’s austerity measures. Ultimately, the IMF and the EU implemented a severe regime on an impoverished nation in 2010.
Costas Simitis was born on June 23, 1936, the younger son of two politically prominent parents. During the German occupation, his father, Georgios, was a lawyer and member of the left-leaning resistance “government.” His mother, Fani, was an active feminist.
Simitis studied economics and politics at the London School of Economics in the early 1960s and law at the University of Marburg in Germany in the 1950s. Subsequently, he taught law at the University of Athens.
His elder sibling, Spiros, was a distinguished legal scholar in Germany who focused on data protection and passed away in 2023.
Costas Simitis is survived by his wife of 60 years, Daphne, and two daughters.
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