Former MP and minister Yiannis Varvitsiotis died Sunday in Athens on his 93rd birthday.
The conservative politician was an MP for over 40 years, 36 in the Greek Parliament (1961-67 and 1974-2004) and 5 in the European Parliament (2004-2009).
He held several government posts starting as Deputy Interior Minister in the Konstantinos Karamanlis national unity government that succeeded the military dictatorshio in 1974. He also served as Minister of Trade (1975-77), Education (1977-80), Defense (1989 and 1990-93) and, briefly in 1992, also as Justice Minister.
When Konstantinos Mitsotakis, father of the current Prime Minister, resigned following electoral defeat in 1993, Varvitsiotis ran to succeed him as leade of New Democracy. He was defeated by Miltiadis Evert and served as deputy party leader from 1994-1997.
Varvitsiotis was born in Athens in a falily with roots in the then Laconia prefecture, whose main city was Sparta. His own father, Miltiadis, briefly served as conservative MP (1946-50), while the first family member to be elected, Petros Varvitsiotis, served as lawmaker starting in 1844. Varvitsiotis’ eldest son, Mikltiadis is also a former MP and minister
