Marietta Giannakou died

Former Minister Marietta Giannakou passed away on Sunday, at the age of 71. He died of opposition. He has been hospitalized for a long time at the 251 General Aviation Hospital. The news caused sadness in the political world, but also in public opinion.

Mariori (Marietta) Giannakou (Geraki, Laconia, June 6, 1951) was a neurologist-psychiatrist, politician, New Democracy MP, former Minister of Education, former Minister of Health and former MEP of the ND (European People’s Party).

He was born on June 6, 1951, in Geraki, Laconia, from a family, where her father ran the local OTE office and the post office, while her mother was a teacher. He also has a sister who is four years younger. At the age of 11 she lost her father, who was then 45 years old, a fact that according to her statements “cost her a lot” and played a decisive role in her later course, since “it made her feel more responsible from such a young age” . After graduating from school, she was admitted to the Medical School of the University of Athens, although her father intended her to be a diplomat. After completing her studies in medicine, she specialized in psychiatry while continuing her studies at the University of Ghent, Belgium.

Although devoted to politics, she married Panagiotis Koutsikos in 1983, with whom she had a daughter.

The life of Marietta Giannakou changed on February 6, 2008, when she underwent amputation of her right leg after a fracture. The diabetes she was suffering from prevented the wound from healing and caused an infection, with the result that her state of health deteriorated rapidly. This forced the doctors of the “Herrikos Dunan” hospital to hold an emergency meeting and decided to proceed with amputation surgery in order to save her life.

Political career

After 1974, she started her political activity as a member of ONNED. Then he met the president and founder of New Democracy, Konstantinos Karamanlis. Although she had not decided to get involved in politics more broadly, the state of Greek higher education gave her the impetus and since then her course in the political scene has been constantly on the rise. In the European elections of 1984, he was elected MEP, while in 1989 he will be the head of the ND European ballot.

Member of the European Parliament from 1984 to 1990, chair of the Committee of Inquiry into Drugs in the Member States of the European Union, Vice-Chair of the Committee on Women’s Rights, member of the Committees on Social Affairs and Employment, Transport and Budget, Economic, Monetary and Industrial Policy, Member of the European Parliament Delegation for Latin America and Permanent Rapporteur on cocaine production and marketing, and Member of the European Parliament Delegation for the Restoration of the Republic of Chile , having been honored with the highest award “Bernando O ‘Higgins” of the Republic of Chile. He was also the Head of the New Democracy delegation to the European Parliament and a member of the Politburo of the European People’s Party parliamentary group.

Her term in office began with the 1990 parliamentary elections, when she was appointed Minister of Health, Welfare and Social Security for the period 1990-1991. In the parliamentary elections of 1993, she was elected member of the National Assembly of Athens of the New Democracy, beginning her parliamentary term. In the period 1993-1999 he was a member of the Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committees, European Affairs, a member of the Committee on Drugs, vice-chairman of the Committee for the Examination of the Penitentiary System, vice-chairman of the Greek-US Friendship Parliamentary Group and member of the Friendship Parliamentary Group -Russian.

In 1999 he was re-elected Member of the European Parliament and became a member of the Committees on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defense Policy, Citizens’ Freedoms and Rights, Justice and Home Affairs, Member of the European Parliament – Turkish Presidency World “, while he is the head of the New Democracy Delegation to the European Parliament. From 1990 to 2004 she was the National Coordinator for Drugs in the European Union and a member of the Council of Europe Horizontal Drugs Group. He also chaired the Council of Europe Dublin Group Β Balkan Axis-Near East Sector.

In 2000 he was re-elected Member of Parliament for New Democracy Athens and was appointed Vice-Chairman of the Standing Parliamentary Committee on European Affairs, Member of the Standing Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs and National Defense, Member of the Inter-Party Committee on Drugs, Chairman of the Friendship Group with Parliament of the Friendship Groups with the US and Moroccan Parliaments.

In 2002 he was appointed representative of the Greek Parliament in the “Assembly for the Future of Europe”. The work of the Assembly in Plenary and Working Groups (2002-2003) distinguishes, inter alia, its interventions to secure the defense solidarity clause between Member States, to establish the European Rapid Reaction Force in the field of Defense, for measures public health and counter-narcotics at European level, as well as in support of the “People’s Initiative” regulation, according to which one million citizens can request a specific legislative initiative from the European institutions.

In 2004 he was re-elected Member of Parliament and appointed Minister of National Education and Religions for the period 2004-2007, in the government of Costas Karamanlis. Its name is associated with an extensive attempt to reform the Greek education system. In 2007 he fails to be elected Member of Parliament. In the 2009 European elections, he became the leader of the New Democracy ballot. In the 2019 parliamentary elections, he is in second place on the New Democracy territory ballot.

Educational reform

As Minister of Education, Marietta Giannakou announced in the spring of 2006 changes at all levels of the operation of Higher Education, following the proposals of a “committee of wise men” for higher education, which provided for changes in the way free textbooks were distributed, adjustment of university education. maximum student time limit, universal voting of students in the rector elections, etc. At the same time, the issue of the revision of Article 16 of the Greek Constitution was raised, in order to remove the legal obstacles for the establishment of non-state institutions of higher education.

These reform efforts provoked strong reactions in a large part of the educational community, as many were seen as promoting the privatization of Greek universities and degrading student benefits and the quality of education. The result was a months-long upheaval in Greek higher education, with waves of squatting in universities and technical colleges, teacher strikes, mass student mobilizations and protest marches (occasionally accompanied by clashes with police) in all major cities for about a year. References to Marietta Giannakou were made in satirical songs, google bombing and cartoons. Finally, after the withdrawal of the official opposition, the revision of Article 16 was postponed, while the new framework law for the operation of universities was voted in Parliament on March 8, 2007, amid violent incidents and violent clashes between police and protesters who had planned a march. protest against the law at the time of the vote.

At the end of the summer of 2007, shortly before the parliamentary elections, the first edition of the new history book of the 6th grade was published. The book was considered by some circles as an attempt to hide part of modern Greek history with the aim of promoting friendly relations with neighboring states, and its withdrawal was requested. Marietta Giannakou, on the other hand, ruled out the possibility of withdrawing the book for reasons of legality, saying that the necessary corrections will be made. Eventually the book was withdrawn after the elections by the new minister Euripides Stylianidis.

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