Brussels (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – EU Parliament President Roberta Metsola said that she expresses her condolences on the death of former Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis.
On her post on X, Roberta Metsola said: “Europe mourns with the people of Greece for the loss of former Prime Minister Costas Simitis. He was a deeply pro-European and visionary politician—a leader whose legacy holds a special place in both Greek and European political history. My sincere condolences to his family and loved ones.”
Η Ευρώπη πενθεί μαζί με το λαό της Ελλάδας για την απώλεια του πρώην Πρωθυπουργού Κώστα Σημίτη.
— Roberta Metsola (@EP_President) January 5, 2025
Ενός βαθιά ευρωπαϊστή και οραματιστή πολιτικού. Ενός ηγέτη του οποίου η παρακαταθήκη διατηρεί μια ξεχωριστή θέση τόσο στην Ελληνική όσο και στην Ευρωπαϊκή πολιτική σκηνή.
Τα… pic.twitter.com/RKnvt5WS59
Who was Costas Simitis?
Former Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis has died in his summer house near Corinth. Simitis died early on January 5, 2025, at age 88. He was carried into a local hospital in Agioi Theodoroi unconscious and pulseless, and he had been pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital. An autopsy is required to give a cause for death.
Costas Simitis was Prime Minister from January 1996 to March 2004, when he replaced Andreas Papandreou. He is best known for his years of Greece’s integration into the eurozone, where he could not successfully have Greece adopt the euro as the national currency. His years are also remarkable for significant developments in the foreign policy of Greece as well as for economic reforms.
Born on June 23, 1936, in Piraeus, Simitis had been a full professor at Panteion University. Apart from his political career, Simitis received an honorary doctorate from the University of Cyprus and was widely known for the role he played in Greece’s integration into the European Union; he supported the accession of Cyprus.
