Haris Kastanidis ( el, Χάρης Καστανίδης, born 11 March 1956 in

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

) is a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

politician who served as Minister for Justice, Transparency and Human Rights and Minister for the Interior under

George Papandreou George Andreas Papandreou ( el, Γεώργιος Ανδρέας Παπανδρέου, , shortened to ''Giorgos'' () to distinguish him from his grandfather; born 16 June 1952) is a Greek politician who served as Prime Minister of Greece from ...

. A former member of the

Panhellenic Socialist Movement The Panhellenic Socialist Movement ( el, Πανελλήνιο Σοσιαλιστικό Κίνημα, Panellínio Sosialistikó Kínima, ), known mostly by its acronym PASOK, (; , ) is a social-democratic political party in Greece. Until 2012, it ...

, he is now a member of the splinter

Movement of Democratic Socialists The Movement of Democratic Socialists ( el, Κίνημα Δημοκρατών Σοσιαλιστών, ''Kinima Dimokraton Sosialiston'') is a political party in Greece established on 3 January 2015 by George Papandreou after splitting from the ...

within the

Movement for Change Movement may refer to: Common uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Motion, commonly referred to as movement Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy F ...

Early life

M.P. Haris Kastanidis was born in

in 1956. He graduated from the Law School of the

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...

and completed his studies with a Post-Graduate degree in Criminal Law. He became a member of

PASOK The Panhellenic Socialist Movement ( el, Πανελλήνιο Σοσιαλιστικό Κίνημα, Panellínio Sosialistikó Kínima, ), known mostly by its acronym PASOK, (; , ) is a social-democratic political party in Greece. Until 2012, it ...

on its foundation in 1974 and was elected for the first time as a member of the Hellenic Parliament in the elections of 1981 being only 25 years old. In 1984 he was elected as a member of the PASOK Central Committee.

Offices

He held his first government post in the Ministry for the Interior and Public Order as a Deputy Minister, from 25 July 1985 until 25 April 1986. From 9 September 1988 until 18 November 1988, he held the post of Deputy Minister of National Education and Religious Affairs. From 18 November 1988 until 29 November 1988, he served as Deputy Minister for the Interior. On 15 September 1995 he was appointed as Minister for the Interior, Public Administration and Decentralisation, a post which he held until 22 January 1996. On 22 January 1996 he was appointed as the Minister for Transport and Communications, a position that he held until he resigned on 2 September 1997. From 7 July 2003 until 10 March 2004, he was the

Minister for Macedonia and Thrace The Deputy Minister for Macedonia and Thrace ( el, Υφυπουργός Μακεδονίας και Θράκης) is the government minister in charge of Greece's Sub- Ministry of Macedonia and Thrace, part of the Ministry of the Interior. The de ...

. From March 2004 until August 2007 he held the position of PASOK spokesman.

2009 elections

From 7 October 2009 to 17 June 2011, he served as the Minister for Justice, Transparency and Human Rights. On 17 June 2011, after a government reshuffle, he was appointed Minister for the Interior, a post that he held until 11 November 2011. Haris Kastanidis was expelled from the PASOK parliamentary group after voting against Greece's loan deal with its foreign creditors. On 14 March 2012 he and Louka Katseli formed the

Social Agreement Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives from ...

party, which failed to win a seat at the May 2012 election. He later joined George Papandreou's

, and was re-elected to parliament at the 2019 election as a member of the

References

M.P. Haris Kastanidis in the Official Website of the Hellenic Parliament
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External links

Official Website of M.P. Haris Kastanidis
- {{DEFAULTSORT:Kastanidis, Haris 1956 births PASOK politicians Social Agreement (Greece) politicians Movement of Democratic Socialists politicians Ministers of the Interior of Greece Living people Politicians from Thessaloniki Aristotle University of Thessaloniki alumni Justice ministers of Greece MPs of Thessaloniki Greek MPs 1981–1985 Greek MPs 1985–1989 Greek MPs 1989 (June–November) Greek MPs 1989–1990 Greek MPs 1990–1993 Greek MPs 1993–1996 Greek MPs 1996–2000 Greek MPs 2000–2004 Greek MPs 2004–2007 Greek MPs 2007–2009 Greek MPs 2009–2012 Greek MPs 2019–2023