Former President of the Republic Christos Sartzetakis went down in history after two months of hospitalization in the Intensive Care Unit of the People’s Hospital.
The great politician left in the early hours of February 3, at the age of 93, facing serious health problems in recent years.
He was a supreme judge and politician and served as President of the Hellenic Republic from 1985 to 1990.
As a first instance judge, he became known nationally and internationally for his involvement as an investigator in the controversial case of the murder of EDA MP Grigoris Lambrakis, a project which he promoted with determination and impartiality, paving the way for the performance of responsibilities.
He had largely retired from public life after 1990, but continued to write regularly in newspapers and publish articles on his website.
On December 21, 2018, he was awarded by the Academy of Athens. The award was given for the publication of the work “Fulfill my duty”, a text with the minority opinion expressed in 1964 as an investigator in the Lambraki case, which was assessed as a shining example of conscientious, deep, thorough and courageous investigative attitude.
His life and work
Christos was born in Neapoli, Thessaloniki in 1929. His father was a Gendarmerie officer, originally from Chania. His mother, the Grammenopoulos family, was from Sklithro, Florina, the daughter of the Macedonian warrior Kosmas Grammenopoulos.
He was a graduate of the Law School of the University of Thessaloniki and entered the judiciary in 1955. In 1961 he was an investigator in Agrinio, during the interrogation of the professor Michalis Papamavros.
In 1956 he served as Justice of the Peace in Kleisoura, Kastoria.
In 1963 he served in the Court of First Instance of Thessaloniki, and became known as an investigator in the case of the murder of the Left MP Grigoris Lambrakis. He conducted the interrogation without succumbing to political pressure from the then political and judicial authorities.
His brave attitude was captured in the film “Z” by Costas Gavras, where he was played by Jean-Louis Trentinian.
With educational leave he did in Paris during the period 1965-1967 postgraduate studies in Commercial Law and European Community Law.
In 1968, during the junta, he was dismissed from the judiciary and then arrested twice, tortured in the EAT-ESA and imprisoned, without first being tried. He was released from the junta’s prisons after an international outcry in 1971.
With the fall of the dictatorship he was reinstated in his service in September 1974 with the rank of Appellate.
In 1976 he participated in the composition of the Board of Appeals which rejected the request of Germany for the extradition of Rolf Pole, wanted for terrorist activity, on the grounds that his crimes are political and therefore its extradition is prohibited by the Greek Constitution.
The Prosecutor of the Supreme Court instituted disciplinary proceedings against the three majority judges (K. Alexopoulos, S. Vallas, C. Sartzetakis) for this decision, a fact that was considered an inadmissible interference with judicial independence.
In 1981 he was promoted to the rank of President of the Court of Appeals and in 1982 to the rank of Areopagitis.
During the 1985 presidential election, Christos Sartzetakis was nominated by PASOK and elected by it and the left-wing parties on March 29, 1985, President of the Republic, a position he held until May 5, 1990.
He was married to Efi Argyriou and had a daughter.
A minute of silence in Parliament
The entire political world of the country bids farewell with emotion and respect to the former President of the Republic Christos Sartzetakis.
A minute of silence in memory of the late former President of the Republic was observed by the Greek Parliament.
The loss of Christos Sartzetakis was mentioned, at the beginning of today’s plenary session, by the chairman Thanasis Bouras.
“Expressing, I believe, the emotion of all of us, on behalf of all the wings of the Greek Parliament, I would like to record our respect for this Greek patriot who honored the office of President with parsimony and courage. “His memory is eternal, warm condolences to his family”, said the Vice President of the Parliament, Thanassis Bouras.
We say goodbye to Christos Sartzetakis with emotion, the President of the Republic, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, states in an announcement about the loss of the former President of the Republic.
Ms. Sakellaropoulou specifically stated that we are saying goodbye to “a full-fledged official of Justice, who in difficult times for the country and democracy handled as an investigator the case of Lambraki’s murder with exemplary independence and judicial ethos, paying a heavy price for this attitude. in the years of the junta. And later, as President of the Hellenic Republic, he honored the office with conscientiousness, dedication and a high sense of responsibility in the exercise of his duties “.
“For his loss, I express my heartfelt condolences to his family and relatives,” concludes Ms. Sakellaropoulou.
The Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, also expressed his sadness in a statement.
“I was saddened to learn of the loss of the former President of the Republic and full judge Christos Sartzetakis. In the turbulent years of the 1960s, as a young investigator at the time, he identified with the denunciation of extra-institutional mechanisms in the Lambraki case. Those who, unfortunately, came to the fore with the seven-year dictatorship, leading to his own persecution.
Many years later, in 1985, his promotion to the highest office took place in conditions of polarization and our party did not support him. She cooperated with him, however, respecting his constitutional role. As he exercised in his own way, but nevertheless with institutional rigor, his duties. In the period 1989-90, in fact, in an environment of high political intensity again, his manipulations for the formation of a government were unequivocal.
A term that began with disputes ended, thus, in an atmosphere of normalcy. And in this, the personality of Christos Sartzetakis had its own share. “I extend my sincere condolences to his family,” said the Prime Minister.
Three days of mourning
A three-day public mourning will be held for the death of former President of the Republic Christos Sartzetakis, who will be buried with the honors of a head of state.
By Joint Ministerial Decision of the Ministers of Interior Maki Voridis, Finance, Christos Staikouras and National Defense Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos, the funeral of Christos Sartzetakis will be held at public expense.
Also, the flags of public stores across the country will fly at half-mast from today until the day of his funeral.
It was decided at his funeral to pay the honors due to a head of state “as a minimum tribute to the exceptional services he offered to the people, the homeland and the nation”.
Public mourning will be observed from today, the day of his death and for three days, as well as on the day of his funeral.
The funeral in the Diocese of Athens
The outgoing entourage of the former President of the Republic Christos A. Sartzetakis will take place on Monday, February 7, 2022, at 12:00, at the Diocese of Athens.
According to an announcement from the office of the late former President of the Republic, due to the sanitary measures, his burial will be performed in a close family circle on the same day in the First Cemetery of Athens.
See all the news
Follow Skai.gr on Google News
and be the first to know all the news
Skai
