Giorgos Souflias, a former minister in conservative New Democracy governments led by Konstantinos Karamanlis and Konstantinos Mitsotakis, and once a contender for the party leadership, has died at the age of 85.
His posts included Deputy Minister of the Interior (1977-1980), Minister of National Economy (1989), Finance (1989-1990), Tourism (1990), and National Education & Religious Affairs (1991-1993).
Born in 1941 in Agia Triada, Farsala, in the Larissa region, Souflias studied civil engineering at the National Technical University of Athens. From 1974 to 1996, he was continuously elected as a Member of Parliament for Larissa, and he returned to parliament again in 2004.
He also served on New Democracy’s Central Committee and as secretary for political planning.
In 1997, at the party’s 4th congress, he ran for the leadership of New Democracy but was defeated by Kostas Karamanlis, nephew of statesman and party founder Konstantinos Karamanlis. Kostas Karamanlis went on to serve as prime minister from 2004 to 2009.
