Today (June 23, 2026) marks thirty years <\/b>since the death of the great political leader, Professor Andreas G. Papandreou<\/b>, Founder and President of PASOK and Prime Minister of Greece\u2014whose absence is becoming increasingly painful for PASOK, the democratic camp, and our country. <\/p>\n
Written by former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Yannis G. Zafeiropoulos*<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
Since the emergence of Andreas Papandreou<\/b> in the country\u2019s political and academic life up to the present day, it is an indisputable truth that the vast majority of the Greek people have concluded that Greece\u2019s so-called “Metapolitefsi” era was shaped by the presence and the national and political actions of the leaders of the two major political parties who steered the country\u2019s fate during critical periods: Konstantinos G. Karamanlis and Andreas G. Papandreou.<\/b><\/p>\n
\tIt should be noted, however, that quite a few \u201cpolitical analysts\u201d\u2014and indeed those from the so-called progressive camp\u2014devoted themselves to \u2026 analytical review of certain missteps by PASOK governments and made belated political observations in an attempt to diminish the scholarly and political stature of Andreas Papandreou and his influence on the country\u2019s historical course over the course of thirty-five full years. However, the facts themselves and the course of events triumphantly refute them.<\/p>\n
\tAndreas G. Papandreou was, first and foremost, a pioneering economist of international renown who taught in the 1950s-1960 at the most prestigious universities in the United States, and also served for five years (1956\u20131960) Dean of the School of Economics at the renowned University of Berkeley. After 1968, he taught at the universities of Stockholm and Toronto, during the period of activity in those countries following the 1968 founding of the Panhellenic Liberation Movement (PAK), which was established by PASOK (September 3, 1974).\u00a0<\/p>\n
For the sake of historical accuracy, we must not overlook the fact that Konstantinos G. Karamanlis<\/b>, in his effort to restore the country\u2019s economic life, essentially entrusted Andreas G. Papandreou<\/b> the responsibility for running the Bank of Greece\u2019s Center for Economic Research, which played a decisive role in creating the scientific foundations for Greece\u2019s economic and social development, within the context of new European and international developments. The first successful lecture by Andreas G. Papandreou<\/b> in the ceremonial hall of the University of Athens was a historic event; titled \u201cThe Course of Economic Thought,\u201d was published in 1960 by the Office of Economic Research of the Higher Industrial School of Piraeus. In fact, in the A.B.S.P.\u2019s periodical \u201cSPOUDAI,\u201d the distinguished economist and professor at the School Athanasios P. Kanellopoulos<\/b> (who later became a leading figure in the country\u2019s political life) dedicated a critical study to the presentation of this lecture, emphasizing that, Andreas G. Papandreou: \u201cWith the Doric austerity of his style\u2014a hallmark of his paternal legacy \u2014free from sterile academic introspection\u2014he illuminates the trajectory of economic ideas over time, focusing primarily on the present in terms of problems and methodology, and set goals for both science and economic policy\u2026<\/b>.\u201d\t<\/p>\n
Today, thirty years after his death and fifty-two years after the founding of PASOK, Andreas Papandreou<\/b> would be watching with skepticism and concern the developments in the country\u2019s public life, particularly within the progressive center-left and liberal social democracy, which is being undermined by the personal maneuvers of party officials\u2014and of PASOK \u2014who, ignoring the substantive problems of the country and society , are concerned solely with their own political advancement, which they unfortunately equate with the nationalist and populist aspirations of civil society <\/b>. Particularly within PASOK, the current conditions of collective operation and personal conduct would have found Andreas Papandreou not only vigorously opposed to these tactics, but also ready to make major decisions that would protect the greatest political achievement of the so-called \u201cmetapolitefsi\u201d\u2014namely, the founding of PASOK and the governance of the country by the Movement for Change.<\/b><\/p>\n
* Yannis G. Zafeiropoulos, a lawyer and author, served as Secretary of the PASOK Association of Great Britain and, as a founding member of PASOK, participated in drafting the Founding Declaration of September 3, 1974. He was subsequently re-elected repeatedly as a PASOK Member of Parliament (2nd District of Athens and Elis) and also served as a member of the governments of K.G. Simitis (1999\u20132002), serving as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, National Economy, and Development.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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