Anastasios Peponis ( el, Αναστάσιος Πεπονής; 1924 – 8 August 2011) was 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 and author.

Life

He was born in 1924 in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh List ...

, Greece. During the Axis Occupation of Greece in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

(1941–44), Peponis was an active member of two resistance organizations: the

Panhellenic Union of Fighting Youths The Panhellenic Union of Fighting Youths ( el, Πανελλήνιος Ένωσις Αγωνιζόμενων Νέων, ''Panellínios Énosis Agonizómenon Néon'', ΠΕΑΝ, PEAN) was a Greek Resistance organization during the Axis Occupation o ...

(PEAN) and the National Coalition of Higher Education Institutions (ESAS), being involved especially in the underground press. After the war he studied law, and began practice in 1952. In 1951–52, during his studies, he was leader of the Youth Section of the

National Progressive Center Union The National Progressive Centre Union ( el, Εθνική Προοδευτική Ένωση Κέντρου (ΕΠΕΚ) , translit=Ethniki Proodeftiki Enosis Kentrou , EPEK) was a Greek Venizelist political party. It was founded in 1950 by Nikolao ...

(EPEK). As the general director of the

Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation The Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation ( el, Ελληνική Ραδιοφωνία Τηλεόραση AE, Ellinikí Radiofonía Tileórasi SA) or ERT () is the state-owned public radio and television broadcaster of Greece. History Overview ERT b ...

in 1964-65 he founded the Experimental Channel which began Greek public television. During the

Greek military junta of 1967–1974 The Greek junta or Regime of the Colonels, . Also known within Greece as just the Junta ( el, η Χούντα, i Choúnta, links=no, ), the Dictatorship ( el, η Δικτατορία, i Diktatoría, links=no, ) or the Seven Years ( el, η Ε ...

he was arrested five times, imprisoned, held in

solitary confinement Solitary confinement is a form of imprisonment in which the inmate lives in a single cell with little or no meaningful contact with other people. A prison may enforce stricter measures to control contraband on a solitary prisoner and use addit ...

, and ordered into exile. After the junta's fall, he became a 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 democracy, social-democratic List of political partie ...

(PASOK). From 1977 to 2000 he was elected with PASOK as a member of the Hellenic Parliament for Athens. After the accession of Greece to the EEC on January 1, 1981, he became a provisional member of the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adop ...

representing Greece until the country could hold its first European Parliament elections. In successive PASOK cabinets he held the portfolios of Industry and Energy (1981–82), Industry, Energy and Research (1986–89, 1989–90 and 1995). He was Minister without portfolio in 1984, Minister to the Presidency of the Government in 1989 and in 1993–94,

Minister for Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...

in 1995, and Minister for Health and Welfare in 1996. In 1985–86, as MP he acted as the chief sponsor for the revision of the

Greek Constitution The Constitution of Greece ( el, Σύνταγμα της Ελλάδας, Syntagma tis Elladas) was created by the Fifth Revisionary Parliament of the Hellenes in 1974, after the fall of the Greek military junta and the start of the Third Hellen ...

. As the minister responsible for energy policy he conceived of, negotiated and signed an agreement on importing

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbon ...

to Greece from the then-

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

and

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , religi ...

and started its realization in 1987–88. In the same capacity, he proposed and oversaw a strategy for disengaging foreign companies searching for oil in the

northern Aegean The North Aegean Region ( el, Περιφέρεια Βορείου Αιγαίου, translit=Periféria Voríou Eyéou, ) is one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece, and the smallest of the thirteen by population. It comprises the isla ...

from issues of national security and international policy. As Minister for Public Administration he introduced and secured passage for Law 2190/94 establishing the Supreme Council for Personnel Selection (ASEP) and the system of public hiring by means of objective criteria. Peponis died on 8 August 2011. He was 87.

Publications

His books include: ''Personal Testimony'' (Athens 1970 and 2001), ''Wider Communication'' (on Mass Media; Athens 1973), ''On Popular Sovereignty'' (Athens 1975), ''The Constitutional Revision of 1985/86'' (Athens 1986), ''Greece and Democracy in a New Reality'' (Athens 1996), ''1961-81: Persons and Events'' (Athens 2001), ''On the Issue of the Aegean Sea: Oil, “Boundary Disputes,” the European Union and the Energy Connection'' (Athens 2008).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peponis, Anastasios 1924 births 2011 deaths Greek Resistance members Greek MPs 1977–1981 Greek MPs 1981–1985 Greek MPs 1985–1989 Greek MPs 1990–1993 Greek MPs 1993–1996 Greek MPs 1996–2000 PASOK politicians Justice ministers of Greece Politicians from Athens