Andreas Papandreou
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Andreas Georgiou Papandreou (, ; 5 February 1919 – 23 June 1996) was a Greek academic and economist who founded the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (
PASOK The Panhellenic Socialist Movement (, ), known mostly by its acronym PASOK (; , ), is a social democracy, social-democratic List of political parties in Greece, political party in Greece. Until 2012 it was Two-party system, one of the two major ...
) and served three terms as
prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
of
Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
. Papandreou was born in 1919, the son of
Georgios Papandreou Georgios Papandreou (, ''Geórgios Papandréou''; 13 February 1888 – 1 November 1968) was a Greek politician, the founder of the Papandreou political dynasty. He served three terms as the prime minister of Greece (1944–1945, 1963, 1964 ...
. In 1938, in his early 20s, Papandreou left Greece for
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
to escape the Metaxas' dictatorship (1936–1941) and became a prominent academic. Papandreou returned to Greece in 1959 after years of resisting his father's entreaties. His father,
Georgios Papandreou Georgios Papandreou (, ''Geórgios Papandréou''; 13 February 1888 – 1 November 1968) was a Greek politician, the founder of the Papandreou political dynasty. He served three terms as the prime minister of Greece (1944–1945, 1963, 1964 ...
, who was now Prime Minister of Greece, wanted him to return so that he could prepare him as his successor. However, Papandreou's rapid ascension, together with his uncompromising radical rhetoric only amplified Greece's post-
civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
political instability, which created the conditions for a group of colonels to stage a coup d'etat and rule Greece for seven years. Papandreou was
exile Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...
d during the
Greek Junta The Greek junta or Regime of the Colonels was a Right-wing politics, right-wing military junta that ruled Greece from 1967 to 1974. On 21 April 1967, a group of colonels with CIA backing 1967 Greek coup d'état, overthrew the caretaker gove ...
, with many, even his father, blaming him for the fall of democracy. While in exile, Papandreou developed and spread an
anti-American Anti-Americanism (also called anti-American sentiment and Americanophobia) is a term that can describe several sentiments and po ...
, conspiratorial narrative of past events, in which he was a victim of larger forces. On his return in 1974, Papandreou created PASOK, the first organised Greek
socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
party. Papandreou's
populist Populism is a contested concept used to refer to a variety of political stances that emphasize the idea of the " common people" and often position this group in opposition to a perceived elite. It is frequently associated with anti-establis ...
rhetoric resonated with the Greek people who sought a break from the failed politics of the past, along with the mounting pressure from the
1970s energy crisis The 1970s energy crisis occurred when the Western world, particularly the United States, Canada, Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, faced substantial petroleum shortages as well as elevated prices. The two worst crises of this period wer ...
. PASOK won the elections in 1981 and Papandreou began to implement a transformative social agenda, expanding access to education and healthcare, reinforcing
workers' rights Labor rights or workers' rights are both legal rights and human rights relating to labor relations between workers and employers. These rights are codified in national and international labor and employment law. In general, ...
, and passing a new family law that elevated the position of women in society and the economy. He also secured official recognition of the communist resistance groups in the Greek Resistance making it easier for communist refugees from the
Greek Civil War The Greek Civil War () took place from 1946 to 1949. The conflict, which erupted shortly after the end of World War II, consisted of a Communism, Communist-led uprising against the established government of the Kingdom of Greece. The rebels decl ...
to return. His governance, however, was tarnished by numerous
corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...
scandals, a soft stance on
terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...
, damage to democratic institutions, a public divorce and subsequent marriage to an air stewardesses half his age, controversial foreign policy decisions, and a constitutional crisis which he had instigated. Under Papandreou, the Greek economy diverged from the European average as a result of large-scale
patronage Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...
, misuse of
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
funds, and excessive foreign borrowing, which resulted in Greece earning the reputation of Europe's "
black sheep In the English language, black sheep is an idiom that describes a member of a group who is different from the rest, especially a family member who does not fit in. The term stems from sheep whose fleece is colored black rather than the more comm ...
". Papandreou died in 1996 at the age of 77. He had transformed Greece's post-junta
liberal democracy Liberal democracy, also called Western-style democracy, or substantive democracy, is a form of government that combines the organization of a democracy with ideas of liberalism, liberal political philosophy. Common elements within a liberal dem ...
into a "populist democracy" that continues to resonate with many Greeks. His son, George Papandreou became the leader of PASOK in February 2004 and, in part invoking his father's memory, was elected prime minister in 2009.


Personal life and family

Papandreou was born on 5 February 1919 on the Greek island of
Chios Chios (; , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greece, Greek list of islands of Greece, island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, tenth largest island in the Medi ...
, the son of Zofia (Sofia) Mineyko (1883–1981) and Greek liberal politician and future prime minister George Papandreou. His maternal grandfather was Polish- Lithuanian-born public figure Zygmunt Mineyko, and his maternal grandmother was Greek. Before university, he attended
Athens College Athens College (; formally Hellenic-American Educational Foundation (HAEF), Ελληνο-Αμερικανικό Εκπαιδευτικό Ίδρυμα) is a co-educational private preparatory school in Psychiko, Greece, a suburb of Athens, par ...
, a private school in Greece. He attended the
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; , ''Ethnikó kai Kapodistriakó Panepistímio Athinón''), usually referred to simply as the University of Athens (UoA), is a public university in Athens, Greece, with various campuses alo ...
from 1937 until 1938 when, during the
dictatorship A dictatorship is an autocratic form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, who hold governmental powers with few to no Limited government, limitations. Politics in a dictatorship are controlled by a dictator, ...
led by
Ioannis Metaxas Ioannis Metaxas (; 12 April 187129 January 1941) was a Greek military officer and politician who was dictator of Greece from 1936 until his death in 1941. He governed constitutionally for the first four months of his tenure, and thereafter as th ...
, he was arrested for purported
Trotskyism Trotskyism (, ) is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Russian revolutionary and intellectual Leon Trotsky along with some other members of the Left Opposition and the Fourth International. Trotsky described himself as an ...
. Following representation in court by his father, Papandreou gained an exit visa through family connections, and once he arrived in New York, he asked for
political asylum The right of asylum, sometimes called right of political asylum (''asylum'' ), is a juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereignty, sovereign authority, such as a second country or ...
based on the imprisonment by the Metaxas regime. Papandreou was married to Christina Rasia from 1941 to 1951. In 1948, he entered into a relationship with Margaret Chant a journalism student at
University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...
where he was a professor. After both Chant and Papandreou obtained a divorce from their spouses, they were married in 1951. They had three sons and a daughter. Papandreou also had, with Swedish actress and TV presenter , a daughter out of wedlock, Emilia Nyblom, who was born in 1969 in
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
. Papandreou divorced his second wife Margaret Chant-Papandreou in 1989, and married Dimitra Liani who was 37 years his junior. Papandreou died on 23 June 1996. The government declared four days of national mourning, and at his funeral procession produced crowds of "hundreds of thousands". His
will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...
shocked the public because he left everything to his 41-year-old third wife and left nothing to his family by the second wife, whom he married for 38 years, and their four children, or the illegitimate Swedish daughter.


Theodore Katsanevas

Until their divorce in 2000, Papandreou's daughter, Sofia, was married to the academic and politician Theodore Katsanevas. In Papandreou's will, he accused Katsanevas of being a "disgrace to the family" () and claimed that "his aim was to politically inherit the history of struggle of Georgios Papandreou and Andreas Papandreou".


Academic career

In 1943, Papandreou received a
PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
degree in
economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...
from
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
under the thesis advisor William L. Crum. Immediately after earning his doctorate, Papandreou joined America's war effort and volunteered to serve in the
US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
; after his basic training in the Great Lakes Naval Training in
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
, he spent 15 weeks to qualify as a hospital corpsman at the Bethesda Naval Hospital. Papandreou's skills in maths were recognized by an American admiral who placed him in a statistical control unit planning the Okinawa invasion. He returned to Harvard in 1946 and served as a student advisor until 1947, when he received an assistant professorship at the
University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...
. Papandreou became a visiting professor at
Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...
for 1950–1951, and in 1956, he accepted a tenured teaching position at the
University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...
(where he became chair of the Department of Economics later on). While in exile, Papandreou worked at
Stockholm University Stockholm University (SU) () is a public university, public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, social ...
for a year and then at
York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...
in
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
until 1974, where he worked alongside long-term academic advisor Christos Paraskevopoulos.


Political career


Greek politics before Andreas Papandreou

Greece was recovering from the Axis occupation in
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and immediate 1944–49 civil war (between the
Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
-led uprising against the establishment led by the King). The latter dominated the political dialogue in the following decades; the underlying question was how the power basis would shift from the Right (victors of the civil war) to the Center. Political stability in Greece was balanced with the support of three factions: the king along with the military forces, the Americans, and the political establishment. The political institutions of the restored
Kingdom of Greece The Kingdom of Greece (, Romanization, romanized: ''Vasíleion tis Elládos'', pronounced ) was the Greece, Greek Nation state, nation-state established in 1832 and was the successor state to the First Hellenic Republic. It was internationally ...
were fragile due to military (often pro-royal) interventions preventing democratically elected parliaments from executing their campaign promises; the root of these disputes was the constitutional crisis by the disagreement between
Eleftherios Venizelos Eleftherios Kyriakou Venizelos (, ; – 18 March 1936) was a Cretan State, Cretan Greeks, Greek statesman and prominent leader of the Greek national liberation movement. As the leader of the Liberal Party (Greece), Liberal Party, Venizelos ser ...
and King Constantine I on the entry of Greece in
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
with the Allies, and resulted in the National Schism with the expulsion of the king and the creation of the short-lived
Second Hellenic Republic The Second Hellenic Republic is a modern Historiography, historiographical term used to refer to the Greece, Greek state during a period of republican governance between 1924 and 1935. To its contemporaries it was known officially as the Hellenic ...
(1924–1935). Overall, militarized politics was always a danger since Greece had eight military coups since World War I. The Greek economy was small, but rapidly growing due to American aid from the
Marshall Plan The Marshall Plan (officially the European Recovery Program, ERP) was an American initiative enacted in 1948 to provide foreign aid to Western Europe. The United States transferred $13.3 billion (equivalent to $ in ) in economic recovery pr ...
(in total approximately 3.75 billion US dollars, half of which were military supplies; for comparison Greece's GDP was 4.34 billion US dollars in 1960) as Americans feared that the poor economic conditions would make Greece susceptible to Communist rhetoric. Moreover, Americans recognized the strategic significance of Greece's location in the Eastern Mediterranean by constructing four military bases in Greece and had close ties with the Greek military. Greece entered NATO in 1952, and became associate member of
European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organisation created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...
(EEC) in 1962. The politicians often acted between the king and the Americans.


Pre-Junta era (1959–1967)

Andreas Papandreou started his career as an academic
economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...
and achieved considerable fame in his field. While he was chair of the department at Berkeley, he was pressured by his father to return to Greece to groom him as his successor. He initially resisted his father's requests. However, he eventually returned to Greece in 1959, where he headed an economic development research program by invitation of Prime Minister Konstantinos Karamanlis. In 1960, he began leading the Athens Economic Research Center, and advising the
Bank of Greece The Bank of Greece ( , ) is the national central bank for Greece within the Eurosystem. It was the Greek central bank from 1927 to 2000, issuing the drachma. Since 2014, it has also been Greece's national competent authority within European ...
. He received funding from the
Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...
and
Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The foundation was created by Standard Oil magnate John D. Rockefeller (" ...
to promote projects aligned to
liberal internationalism Liberal internationalism is a foreign policy doctrine that supports international institutions, open markets, cooperative security, and liberal democracy. At its core, it holds that states should participate in international institutions that up ...
; initially, American officials hoped that Andreas Papandreou would be a stabilizing force in Greek politics. However, he developed an ideology heavily influenced by the progressive liberalism from his years in the US. He considered securing support from the non-communist left-leaning voters the only way to assist his father in becoming Prime Minister. Andreas Papandreou called for social and economic modernization through a mass-based political party. However, he steadily moved away from progressive liberalism and adopted a fierce
populist Populism is a contested concept used to refer to a variety of political stances that emphasize the idea of the " common people" and often position this group in opposition to a perceived elite. It is frequently associated with anti-establis ...
rhetoric, where the king, the armed forces, and the Americans are described as having "vested interests" not in the best interests of the Greek people. The 1963 Greek legislative election brought George Papandreou, head of the Center Union, to prime minister. Andreas Papandreou became chief economic advisor, renounced his American citizenship, and was elected to the
Greek Parliament The Parliament of the Hellenes (), commonly known as the Hellenic Parliament (), is the unicameral legislature of Greece, located in the Old Royal Palace, overlooking Syntagma Square in Athens. The parliament is the supreme democratic instit ...
in the 1964 Greek legislative election. He immediately became assistant Prime Minister and leader of the party's left wing. Andreas Papandreou's rapid ascension, orchestrated by his father, created displeasure among members of the Center Union party. In 1965, Constantine Mitsotakis, a Center Union member, raised
nepotism Nepotism is the act of granting an In-group favoritism, advantage, privilege, or position to Kinship, relatives in an occupation or field. These fields can include business, politics, academia, entertainment, sports, religion or health care. In ...
concerns in a newspaper interview, "leadership... is neither bestowed nor is it inherited". The discontent of the members of the Center Union increased as Andreas Papandreou's influence grew to the point that his father started to ignore his own Cabinet on critical political decisions. Both Papandreous advocated for the liberalization of Greek society, which was rapidly urbanizing, resulting in large salary increases for police, judges, and teachers. However, seeds of resentment towards the Papandreous from the military grew as they were excluded from salary increases. Moreover, the Papandreous made a faint attempt to gain military control, which alarmed many officers without weakening them. The latter created friction with the king, who wanted to remain in command of the army and not the elected government. Papandreou's government also released all the
political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although ...
s as a first step towards healing wounds from the civil war. In foreign policy, Andreas Papandreou criticized the presence of American military and intelligence in Greece by describing Greece as a colony of the United States and publicly taking a neutral stand in
Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
. Andreas Papandreou's rhetoric intensified after his father's visit as Prime Minister to Washington with President Johnson in July 1964 to discuss the
Cyprus dispute The Cyprus problem, also known as the Cyprus conflict, Cyprus issue, Cyprus dispute, or Cyprus question, is an ongoing dispute between the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot community in the north of the island of Cyprus, where troops of t ...
. Andreas Papandreou's interview, on October 4th, was politically turbulent, resulting in his sudden but temporary resignation. Andreas Papandreou's public attacks against the king and the Americans greatly disturbed the political balance. The conservatives feared that Andreas Papandreou was a secret Communist, leading them to another civil war. The US embassy officials, sensitive to these public attacks during the
Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
, and his father repeatedly requested Andreas Papandreou tone down his emotive rhetoric. Despite promises that he would do so, Andreas continued actively campaigning, further deepening divisions and prolonging the political instability in the pre-1967 coup period. A few weeks before the coup, his father apologized to the US ambassador Phillips Talbot for his son's behavior, explaining that his son "would like nothing better than to be arrested" as he would "relish the role of martyr", adding that if he were not his son, then he would have been expelled from Center Union. Andreas Papandreou increasingly became the target of ultra-rightists who feared that following any new elections, which the nearly 80-year-old Georgios Papandreou would likely win, his son would be the actual focus of power in the party. In 1965, while the Aspida scandal within the
Hellenic Army The Hellenic Army (, sometimes abbreviated as ΕΣ), formed in 1828, is the army, land force of Greece. The term Names of the Greeks, '' Hellenic'' is the endogenous synonym for ''Greek''. The Hellenic Army is the largest of the three branches ...
(alleged by the political opposition to involving Andreas Papandreou personally) was being investigated, Georgios Papandreou decided to remove the defense minister and assume the post himself to protect his son from investigations. The King,
Constantine II of Greece Constantine II (, ; 2 June 1940 – 10 January 2023) was the last King of Greece, reigning from 6 March 1964 until the abolition of the Greek monarchy on 1 June 1973. Constantine was born in Athens as the only son of Crown Prince Paul and ...
, refused to endorse this move since this would create a conflict of interest, which forced George Papandreou's resignation; the events following this became known as the Iouliana in 1965. For the next twenty-two months, there was no elected government, and hundreds of demonstrations took place, with many being injured and killed in clashes with the police. The King tried to lure members of the Center Union party to his side and form a government. He temporarily succeeded in bringing 45 members to his side, who later were called 'apostates' by the side supporting Papandreous, and the most prominent was Mitsotakis. To end the political deadlock, his father attempted a more moderate approach with the King, but Andreas Papandreou publicly rejected his father's effort and attacked the whole establishment. This attracted the support of 41 members of the Center Union in an effort designed to gain the party's leadership and prevent any compromise. As the politicians were unable to sort out their differences, rumors of a military coup intensified and before the next election took place, anti-Communist Colonels led the Greek military junta of 1967–1974.


Junta and exile (1967–1974)

When the Regime of the Colonels led by
Georgios Papadopoulos Georgios Papadopoulos (; ; 5 May 1919 – 27 June 1999) was a Greek military officer and dictator who led a coup d'etat in Greece in 1967 and became the country's Prime Minister from 1967 to 1973. He also was the President of Greece under th ...
seized power in April 1967, Andreas Papandreou was captured and charged with treason. His political colleagues, including his father, blamed him as the person primarily responsible for the fall of Greek democracy. Gust Avrakotos, a
Greek-American Greek Americans ( ''Ellinoamerikanoí'' ''Ellinoamerikánoi'' ) are Americans of full or partial Greek ancestry. There is an estimate of 1.2 million Americans of full or partial Greek ancestry. According to the US census, 264,066 people o ...
Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
(CIA) case officer assigned to Athens, told the Colonels that the U.S. Government wished for Andreas Papandreou to be allowed to leave the country with his family. Unofficially, however, Avrakotos warned them that he'll be back if you don't execute him. Under heavy pressure from American officials and academics, such as
John Kenneth Galbraith John Kenneth Galbraith (October 15, 1908 – April 29, 2006), also known as Ken Galbraith, was a Canadian-American economist, diplomat, public official, and intellectual. His books on economic topics were bestsellers from the 1950s through the ...
, a friend of Andreas Papandreou since their Harvard days, the military regime released Andreas Papandreou on Christmas Day 1967 on condition that he leave the country. He then moved to
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
with his wife, four children, and mother, where he accepted a post for one year at
Stockholm University Stockholm University (SU) () is a public university, public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, social ...
. Afterward, he moved to
University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...
, where he stayed until 1974. In exile, Andreas Papandreou was a political pariah and excluded from political forces to restore democracy in Greece. In the beginning, he actively campaigned, relying on his American network for a US intervention to bring down the junta, but then changed his mind and favored military resistance. Papandreou publicly accused the CIA of being responsible for the 1967 coup and became increasingly critical of the US administration, often stating that Greece was a US "colony" and a Cold War "garrison state". In 1968, Andreas Papandreou formed an anti-dictatorship organization, the Panhellenic Liberation Movement (PAK), which sought to 'violently overthrow' the military regime. Reacting to the creation of PAK, his father added: "Political leaders do not head up conspiratorial organizations" and urged his son to work within the Central Union party. George Papandreou, who was under house arrest since the coup and already at an advanced age, died in 1968; Andreas Papandreou was not allowed by the junta regime to attend his father's funeral. In the early 1970s, during the latter phase of the dictatorship in Greece, Andreas Papandreou opposed the process of political normalization attempted by Georgios Papadopoulos and his appointed Prime Minister, Spyros Markezinis. Overall, Papandreou's rhetoric found little response in Greece and whose activities contributed little to the downfall of the junta, which in effect collapsed because of the poor handling of the events leading to the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in July 1974.


Return to Greece, Restoration of democracy (1974–1981)

Papandreou returned to Greece after the fall of the junta in 1974, during
metapolitefsi The Metapolitefsi (, , " regime change") was a period in modern Greek history from the fall of the Ioannides military junta of 1973–74 to the transition period shortly after the 1974 legislative elections. The metapolitefsi was ignited by ...
. The dominant and leading political figure in Greece was Karamanlis with his new political party New Democracy, while Papandreou continued to have the stigma of past events. On 6 August 1974, Papandreou dissolved PAK in
Winterthur Winterthur (; ) is a city in the canton of Zurich in northern Switzerland. With over 120,000 residents, it is the country's List of cities in Switzerland, sixth-largest city by population, as well as its ninth-largest agglomeration with about 14 ...
, Switzerland, without announcing it publicly. He was offered the leadership of his father's old party, which had evolved into Centre Union – New Forces. However, he turned it down by rejecting his father's ideological heritage as a Venizelist liberal, declaring himself a democratic socialist. Instead, he formed a new 'radical' party, the
Panhellenic Socialist Movement The Panhellenic Socialist Movement (, ), known mostly by its acronym PASOK (; , ), is a social-democratic political party in Greece. Until 2012 it was one of the two major parties in the country, along with New Democracy, its main political r ...
(
PASOK The Panhellenic Socialist Movement (, ), known mostly by its acronym PASOK (; , ), is a social democracy, social-democratic List of political parties in Greece, political party in Greece. Until 2012 it was Two-party system, one of the two major ...
) on 3 September 1974. Most of his former PAK companions, as well as members of other leftist groups such as the Democratic Defense joined the new party. The founding charter of PASOK advocated social liberation, a radical re-orientation of the country's foreign policy, Greek withdrawal from NATO, the closure of the US military bases, and rejection of the option of membership of the EEC, which was dismissed as a capitalist club. In 1974 elections, PASOK received 13.5% of the vote. A new Constitution, adopted by Parliament and promulgated on 11 June 1975, established a
parliamentary republic A parliamentary republic is a republic that operates under a parliamentary system of government where the Executive (government), executive branch (the government) derives its legitimacy from and is accountable to the legislature (the parliament). ...
with a president as head of state. In the new constitution, the majority of powers resided upon the prime minister, with the president having sufficient powers to guard the constitution. Papandreou boycotted the promulgation of the constitution and publicly described it as "totalitarian", advocating instead for a "socialist" constitution without explaining what he meant. Papandreou's attacks sharpened upon the initiation of talks for the entry of Greece into the EEC, accusing the politicians and the democratic institutions of Greece of "national betrayal". Papandreou was able to salvage his political career by doubling down on his polarizing pre-junta-developed ideology by combining it with
nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...
elements, which was assisted by three major events. First, the US interactions with the junta after the coup and the Turkish invasion of Cyprus reinforced in the imagination of the Greek populace the conspiratorial involvement of the US in the Colonels' junta, and thus, Papandreou depicted himself and his father as victims of larger forces. Second, the oil crisis in 1973 and
1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
deeply affected the Greek economy, and the inability of Karamanlis' governments after the democratic restoration to address the rising economic problems further increased the frustration of the Greek population. Third, Karamanlis, the dominant political figure in bringing democracy back to Greece, became
President of Greece The president of Greece, officially the president of the Hellenic Republic (), commonly referred to in Greek as the president of the Republic (, ΠτΔ), is the head of state of Greece. The president is elected by the Hellenic Parliament; the ...
in 1980, leaving a power vacuum in the upcoming elections of 1981. Papandreou promised a wide range (some unrealistic) changes, encapsulated in the PASOK's slogan "''Change''" (), which resonated with the Greek people who sought a break from the failed politics of the past. In 1977 elections, PASOK received 25.3% of the vote, doubling in size from 1974, and Papandreou became the leader of the opposition. The radical and uncompromising positions (mostly anti-American, anti-NATO, and anti-EEC) of Papandreou, along with his rising popularity, renewed fears of another military coup in the Right and Greece's allies. After the 1977 elections, Karamanlis toured the European capitals, urging for Greece's quicker entry into EEC as this may reduce the temptation for military intervention if Papandreou implements his promises once in power. Foreign leaders agreed with Karamanlis on a plan for Greece's entry to EEC. Papandreou started to soften his tone without abandoning his initial positions. Specifically, he called for a
referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...
regarding the entry to EEC after 1977 as he was trying to win over the crucial share of the vote from the centrist Union of the Democratic Centre (EDIK) after its disintegration from its performance in the elections of 1977, and the entry to EEC was becoming positively popular among the Greeks. Papandreou frequently stated in his campaigns prior 1981 elections regarding the entry to EEC: However, placing the entry to EEC in a referendum was impossible since only the President can do this according to the
Greek constitution The Constitution of Greece () was created by the Fifth Revisionary Hellenic Parliament in 1974, after the fall of the Greek junta and the start of the Third Hellenic Republic. It came into force on 11 June 1975 (adopted two days prior) and has ...
of 1975 and Karamanlis, as President, would not have permitted this. Legislation to ratify the entry to EEC was passed in the Greek Parliament on 28 June 1979, with PASOK and the Communist Party leaving the chamber. Greece entered the EEC as its tenth member in January 1981, and in the eyes of allies, Karamanlis, as President, would act as a restraining factor on radical departures in foreign and domestic affairs. In the elections of October 1981, Papandreou won by a landslide with 48.1% of the vote.


Leading the "Change" (1981–1985)

PASOK's 1981 landslide victory over the conservative New Democracy party made Papandreou Greece's first socialist prime minister. It was a milestone because PASOK was the first non-communist political party with a mass-based organization, introducing unprecedented political and social participation in Greek society. PASOK's supporters were thrilled by the election victory and the proclamation of a brand new kind of government, while many conservatives feared the uncertain future if Papandreou's radical positions materialize. However, these feelings dissipated by the end of the first administration because Papandreou made considerable U-turns and followed a more conventional approach, either by choice or by dysfunctional government incapable of undertaking the transformation it had promised (see Government style). In his first administration, Papandreou enacted essential pieces of social legislation that were overdue since many laws had roots in the pre-junta era and were not in line with the new Greek constitution of 1975 and with the Greek society that was becoming more liberal. The implementation of Papandreou's social policies, however, exacerbated the rising structural problems of the Greek economy from the oil crisis of the 1970s and the integration of Greece into the EEC.


Economy and EEC

Papandreou abandoned his campaign promise of placing Greece's entry to the EEC in a referendum and instead submitted a
memorandum A memorandum (: memorandums or memoranda; from the Latin ''memorandum'', "(that) which is to be remembered"), also known as a briefing note, is a Writing, written message that is typically used in a professional setting. Commonly abbreviation, ...
to the EEC with a list of demands in March 1982. The memorandum effectively pleaded for special treatment and financial support based on Greece's "peculiarities". EEC delayed its response until after the date at which Greece could opt out of her entry into the EEC and then rejected the Greek memorandum in March 1983. However, the EEC promised support via the newly created "Integrated Mediterranean Programs", and Papandreou declared victory. Greece started to become more dependent on the EEC funding, and by 1989, the EEC's support had reached 4.5% of Greece's GDP. In March 1985, Papandreou stated that Greece would remain in EEC for the foreseeable future because "the cost of leaving would be much higher than the cost of staying"; there was little reaction from PASOK members. In domestic affairs, Papandreou's government carried out a series of wealth redistribution policies upon coming into office that immediately increased the availability of entitlement aid to the unemployed and lower wage earners. Public spending on pensions nearly doubled from 5.8% in 1980 to 10.7% in 1985, manufacturing workers acquired a salary increase of 10%, and the minimum wage increased by 32% overnight in 1982. The share of gross national product devoted to social welfare, social insurance, and health was significantly increased. The government made credit more accessible, provided a variety of handouts to various groups, and introduced a wage indexation system protecting (particularly low) wage earners' salaries from the erosion of high inflation, which was around 20% in the early 80s. Changes were made to labor laws, which, until 1984, made it difficult for employers to make workers redundant. A number of other reforms were carried out in areas such as the protection of union and protest rights. A national system against unemployment was set up that granted benefits to young people and elderly unemployed persons. In addition, Law 1545/85 extended unemployment benefit duration for certain groups of people while relaxing entitlement to unemployment benefit. From 1982 to 1985, public consumption and public investment grew on average by 7% and 10%, respectively. The pro-worker policies and Papandreou's failure to address the rising structural issues (limited growth and high inflation) in the Greek economy at a time when the capital was moving out of Europe in the early 80s placed additional pressure on the companies in Greece; Papandreou's anti-capital rhetoric was not helping to secure foreign investments. Companies in Greece already had competitiveness issues and diminished profits due to the oil crisis in the 70s, and they were now exposed to European competition. Several multi-national companies left Greece, such as
Esso Esso () is a trading name for ExxonMobil. Originally, the name was primarily used by its predecessor Standard Oil of New Jersey after the breakup of the original Standard Oil company in 1911. The company adopted the name "Esso" (from the phon ...
, Ethyl,
Pirelli Pirelli & C. S.p.A. is an Italian multinational tyre manufacturer based in the city of Milan, Italy. The company, which has been listed on the Borsa Italiana since 1922, is the 5th-largest tyre manufacturer, and is focused on the consumer pro ...
, and Goodyear.
Shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are shipbuilding, built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Compared to shipyards, which are sometimes m ...
s and associated industries employing thousands of workers shuttered. Companies not already bankrupted encouraged early retirement, further burdening the Greek state, which had to assist the insurance funds. In 1983, PASOK nationalized companies over a wide range of industries ranging from textiles, consumer goods, metallurgy, and mining by establishing a restructuring business agency, "Industrial Reconstruction Organisation". The companies under this organization continued to operate at a loss without increasing productivity, effectively turning nationalization of the economy into
patronage Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...
. The undersecretary for industry, Vasso Papandreou (no relation), commented on the inability of the government to improve the nationalized non-competitive industries (problematics), "it would be more cost-effective to shut the problematics and simply keep on paying workers their wages." Among these companies were the munitions company Pyrkal, Heracles General Cement company, and the textile corporation Peiraiki-Patraiki. Greek agriculture also encountered considerable obstacles in the EEC market. As a result, the former trade surplus in agricultural products turned into a deficit from 1986 onwards. Part of the problem was that Papandreou artificially increased the salaries, resulting in farmers importing agricultural products while theirs remained in fields uncollected due to the absence of cheap labor; this issue was partially resolved with cheap labor from the Balkans after the
dissolution of Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of Nationalities, Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. :s: ...
in 1989. By the end of his first term, Papandreou recognized the lack of productivity and increased trade deficits, admitting that "we consume more than we produce." The size of this nationalization endeavor brought the Bank of Greece, which effectively converted the private debt of these companies into public debt and effectively burdening the average taxpayer, to the brink of collapse. Moreover, it increased public spending substantially during Papandreou's first term in office, from 40.6% in 1980 to 55.5% in 1985. The
deindustrialization Deindustrialization is a process of social and economic change caused by the removal or reduction of industrial capacity or activity in a country or region, especially of heavy industry or manufacturing industry. There are different interpr ...
and the global recession led to the Greek economy shrinking by −1.55% in 1981, −1.13% in 1982, and −1.08% in 1983. Recovery started once EEC support arrived in Greece. Still, growth was anemic due to his government's inability to effectively utilize this financial support to improve the economy, mainly due to corruption and
clientelism Clientelism or client politics is the exchange of goods and services for political support, often involving an implicit or explicit ''quid-pro-quo''. It is closely related to patronage politics and vote buying. Clientelism involves an asymmetri ...
(see more on Papandreou's populism and patronage). The lack of economic growth and investments, as well as high inflation, increased unemployment from 2.8% in 1980 to approximately 8% by the end of Papandreou's first administration; an economic condition known as
stagflation Stagflation is the combination of high inflation, stagnant economic growth, and elevated unemployment. The term ''stagflation'', a portmanteau of "stagnation" and "inflation," was popularized, and probably coined, by British politician Iain Mac ...
. Papandreou did not introduce
progressive tax A progressive tax is a tax in which the tax rate increases as the taxable amount increases. The term ''progressive'' refers to the way the tax rate progresses from low to high, with the result that a taxpayer's average tax rate is less than the ...
reform to increase the state's revenues to address the increasing budget deficits due to his policies, and instead, he used foreign loans. As the foreign debt increased, so did the external debt interest payments from 2.5% of GDP in 1980 to 5.4% of GDP in 1986, more than defense and education combined in his second administration.


Foreign policy, NATO, Turkey

After swearing-in as prime minister, Papandreou took the Ministry of Defense as well (a typical move in times of war; however, Greece was not at war) because there were fears of another coup as it happened in 1967. This move also made various leaders in the NATO alliance, particularly
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...
,
Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...
, and
Helmut Kohl Helmut Josef Michael Kohl (; 3 April 1930 – 16 June 2017) was a German politician who served as chancellor of Germany and governed the ''Federal Republic'' from 1982 to 1998. He was leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 1973 to ...
, uncomfortable in dealing with Papandreou. In December 1981, at the NATO Defence Planning Committee, Papandreou demanded, in an acrimonious discussion, NATO guarantees against Turkey, a NATO ally, stating that the true threat for Greece is from the east instead from the north. The NATO meeting concluded without publishing a press release for the first time. While this displeased Greece's allies, Papandreou reinforced his image as a patriot in the eyes of concerned Greek voters and the Greek military wary about their neighbor. He maintained the military spending at high levels, at 6.7% of GDP in 1982, pleasing the Greek military at the expense of the economy. In 1985, he bought 40 American
F-16 The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it e ...
and 40 French Mirage 2000 aircraft at the cost of US$2 billion, committing Greece's defense to long-term dependence on French and American technology. The purchase size was unusual given the status of the Greek economy, and it was described in the press as the "purchase of the century" (). Despite efforts to pacify the military, Papandreou had discipline difficulties in controlling the military. There were two incidents (31 May 1982 and 28 February 1983) that were called "routine readiness exercises" by the PASOK government, however, in both cases, followed by forced officer resignations. According to Constantine Danopoulos and Neovi Karakatsanis, these incidents were probably failed attempted coups; similar incidents occurred during the Karamanlis governance. Despite Papandreou's promise to remove United States troops and military bases from Greece immediately once in power, Greece remained firmly committed to the NATO alliance. This kind of political U-turn required a careful balance between
public opinion Public opinion, or popular opinion, is the collective opinion on a specific topic or voting intention relevant to society. It is the people's views on matters affecting them. In the 21st century, public opinion is widely thought to be heavily ...
, inflated by Papandreou's rhetoric for more than a decade, and negotiating parties since removing the US bases would only strengthen the importance of Turkey in the NATO alliance. When Papandreou publicly stated, "For us, the idea of having foreign bases on our soil is unacceptable since we do not believe in the competition between the two superpowers and Europe's division," his government was quietly renegotiating the stay of the US bases, behind closed doors with US ambassadors Monteagle Stearns and Robert V. Keeley who were experienced with the Greek issues. In the final agreement signed in 1983, all four bases that existed since 1952 continued on Greek soil for five more years with some additional military assistance but failed to get any guarantees against Turkish aggression. Papandreou called the agreement "a Greek triumph" and a "
treaty A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by international law. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, convention ...
..that could have never been signed by the Americans if they faced a reekgovernment on its knees that would tell them 'we are with you, we want the bases, etc.'" Specifically, Papandreou touted that there was a provision for the removal of the US bases upon the end of the five-year term in 1988, that for the first time Greece could restrict the use of foreign bases according to its interests, and the United States pledged to provide military assistance based on the 7/10 ratio between Greece and Turkey. All these statements were inaccurate, but the treaty agreement documents were kept away from the public for nearly two months to sideline the opposition. Afterward, it was revealed that the agreement was nearly identical to his predecessor beyond minor symbolic concessions.


Education

After the fall of the junta, education needed long-overdue reforms. In 1976, the Minister of Education Georgios Rallis implemented Georgios Papandreou's 1964 education reforms, which the junta had reversed. Specifically, the changes included the extension of compulsory education from 6 to 9 years, abolished the use of
katharevousa Katharevousa (, , literally "purifying anguage) is a conservative form of the Modern Greek language conceived in the late 18th century as both a literary language and a compromise between Ancient Greek and the contemporary vernacular, Demotic ...
(an archaic version of Greek) as the official language of educational institutions, replacing it with the demotic Greek used in everyday speech, the separation of junior ( Gymnasium) and senior high schools (
Lyceum The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies among countries; usually it is a type of secondary school. Basic science and some introduction to ...
), and the introduction of vocational education. In 1981, Papandreou continued the educational reforms. The Greek language was further simplified with the adoption of the single accent system . Exams required for entry to senior high school were abolished to improve access to working-class students.
Ancient Greek literature Ancient Greek literature is literature written in the Ancient Greek language from the earliest texts until the time of the Byzantine Empire. The earliest surviving works of ancient Greek literature, dating back to the early Archaic period, ar ...
was taught in modern translation rather than the original. Social and political studies students were not required to know classical languages to enter
university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...
.
School uniform A school uniform is a uniform worn by students primarily for a school or otherwise an educational institution. They are common in primary school, primary and secondary schools in various countries and are generally widespread in Africa, Asia, O ...
s were abolished in public schools. Students were exposed to democratic political processes through forming student committees, new social science and history subjects, and establishing the annual celebration of the Athens Polytechnic uprising. Vocational guidance and training was also strengthened. Papandreou's primary principle behind the educational reforms was to increase access to education. The number of students entering the universities doubled between 1981 and 1986, but without an analogous increase in the budget; from 1982 to 1987, spending on education rose from 7.6% to 8.4% of total government spending. The university administration, based on the German prototype, was also democratized, with its governance done by (senior and junior) academic staff and student representative committees. However, the quality of education deteriorated due to poor research facilities, a shortage of qualified teaching staff, inefficient administration, and ministerial funds being spent on free textbooks rather than on libraries, which remained very inadequate. Moreover, PASOK's reforms of 1982 gave students a sense of entitlement to a degree by fighting to gain their demands with mass
protest A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration, or remonstrance) is a public act of objection, disapproval or dissent against political advantage. Protests can be thought of as acts of cooperation in which numerous people cooperate ...
s and occupations at the expense of
critical thinking Critical thinking is the process of analyzing available facts, evidence, observations, and arguments to make sound conclusions or informed choices. It involves recognizing underlying assumptions, providing justifications for ideas and actions, ...
. Papandreou abolished the function of school inspectors (forced to retire), and the powers of headmasters and headmistresses were diminished, with teachers' committees taking more responsibilities. However, these reforms also abolished merit-based promotion in public schools, which was seen as a relic of the conservative establishment, and teachers were automatically promoted based on seniority, irrespective of performance. PASOK used the positions of school principals and temporary teachers as part of their patronage, a practice continued by future governments. Papandreou's reforms resulted in public schools lagging in academic excellence performance from
private school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...
s, which selected qualified teachers and assigned them according to their skills. Since the reforms of Papandreou, Greek families increasingly rely on private tutoring, e.g., frontistirio, and travel abroad to attend foreign universities; Greek spending on education is higher almost every other country in Europe in 1999, even though the Greek constitution (Article 16) guarantees a free education.


Social reconciliation

After the restoration of democracy in 1974, healing the wounds caused by the civil war was pressing since the junta had only exacerbated them. Towards this direction, Karamanlis legitimized the Communist Party and opened the borders to exiled Greeks who had fled the junta and civil war to return home, including Melina Merkouri,
Mikis Theodorakis Michail "Mikis" Theodorakis ( ; 29 July 1925 – 2 September 2021) was a Greek composer and lyricist credited with over 1,000 works. He scored for the films '' Zorba the Greek'' (1964), '' Z'' (1969), and '' Serpico'' (1973). He was a three-ti ...
, and
Cornelius Castoriadis Cornelius Castoriadis (; 11 March 1922 – 26 December 1997) was a Greeks in France, Greek-FrenchMemos 2014, p. 18: "he was ... granted full French citizenship in 1970." philosopher, sociologist, social critic, economist, psychoanalyst, au ...
. Approximately 25,000 returned after passing security screening from 1974 to 1981. However, Karamanlis' governments maintained the post-civil war state's anticommunist stance, i.e., it was challenging to get a civil service job as a communist. Minister of Interior Konstantinos Stefanopoulos explained the conservative viewpoint as "Greeks would never forgive those who had taken up arms against the Nation." Papandreou made progress in this direction, but unlike Karamanlis, he was pressured to do more since he relied on left-leaning voting blocks (see details in Papandreou's populism). In December 1982, Papandreou dropped the security screening requirement, allowing the return of another potential 22,000 returnees; the most notable was Markos Vafiadis at age 77, but excluded any Slav-Macedonian war veterans (comprising half the group) that participated in the resistance. Papandreou introduced a law in 1985 for civil servants dismissed for political reasons to restore their pension.All formal Civil War commemorations were abolished, including ceremonies commemorating
Dekemvriana The ''Dekemvriana'' (, "December events") refers to a series of clashes fought during World War II in Athens from 3 December 1944 to 11 January 1945. The conflict was the culmination of months of tension between the left-wing National Liberatio ...
. The first law recognizing the Greek Resistance was passed in 1949, which excluded left-leaning partisan groups that fought against the Greek State in the Greek Civil War. On 20 September 1982, Papandreou's government passed a law that abolished this exception, allowing EAM/ ELAS members the war veteran status and pension rights. Papandreou touted this as "the gravestone of the spirit of national division," however, New Democracy deputies, who many of their senior members were participants in the civil war, denounced it as a "shameless attempt to whitewash the communist crimes during and after the war."


Healthcare reforms

The statistics reflecting the health status of Greece in the period 1974–1981 were approximately between the advanced societies of northern Europe and the developing South of Europe. However, there were rising issues that both PASOK and New Democracy recognized, such as the shortage of doctors in rural areas, and wanted to introduce healthcare reform to strengthen the public health sector based on
universal access Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...
and shifting the emphasis from intervention to prevention. In the 1970's, the New Democracy governments commissioned studies and formulated plans influenced by the pediatrician Dr. , who was a proponent of establishing a decentralized network of rural health centers and family doctors to tackle health care inequalities in rural areas. However, these plans did not materialize due to political opposition in and out of New Democracy as well as from the medical profession. Once in power, Papandreou relied on Paraskevas Avgerinos for the establishment of a national healthcare system (ESY), which was modeled on Britain's
National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...
(NHS). The law was passed in September 1983 and was hailed as a landmark legislation, for it was the first time that an organized healthcare system was formally articulated within the framework of Greek Law. From 1982 to 1987, spending on healthcare (as a proportion of total government spending) rose during that same period from 5.7% to 6.2%. New hospitals and medical centers were constructed throughout Greece, increasing available beds by 50%, expanding healthcare coverage, and making modern medical procedures available in rural areas for the first time. However, Papandreou's reforms were not compressive due to budgetary constraints and shortage of specialized doctors, as well as obstruction from professional unions, who refused to give up their private
health insurance Health insurance or medical insurance (also known as medical aid in South Africa) is a type of insurance that covers the whole or a part of the risk of a person incurring medical expenses. As with other types of insurance, risk is shared among ma ...
plans. The medical profession strongly opposed the reforms requiring doctors to relinquish private practice and work under state control. University and military doctors were temporarily exempt, pending a
presidential decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state, judge, royal figure, or other relevant authorities, according to certain procedures. These procedures are usually defined by the constitution, Legislative laws, or customary l ...
never issued. They also resisted efforts to decentralize healthcare by assigning doctors to rural areas. Following prolonged protests and strikes, Health Minister Avgerinos resigned in January 1984. Papandreou then turned to Georgios Gennimatas, a more practical politician familiar with the healthcare reforms. Gennimatas found a compromising position to pacify the medical profession, resulting in partially implementing the 1983 reforms. However, the inclusion of doctors, irrespective of ideology, under a single organization with limited supervision from the government resulted in doctors having considerable political leverage. Soon, it was revealed that doctors were breaking the 1983 healthcare law with
impunity Impunity is the ability to act with exemption from punishments, losses, or other negative consequences. In the international law of human rights, impunity is failure to bring perpetrators of human rights violations to justice and, as such, itsel ...
by continuing to receive informal payments ( fakelaki) from patients, undertaking private practice, and being able to choose their working hours. Gennimatas resigned in 1987, under pressure from the medical profession, who requested improved benefits. Ultimately, Papandreou's vision of a socialist healthcare system was never fully realized because doctors convinced the public of their essential role and stopped the implementation of the reforms. The partial implementation of the reforms created new problems and made it more challenging for future governments to reform Greek healthcare. Wealthy Greeks, including Papandreou himself in 1988, continued to seek treatment abroad.


Elevation of women and their inclusion in the economy

The 1975 constitution of Greece guaranteed equality under the law and between men and women (Article 4), and equal pay (Article 22). However, many laws were enacted in the pre-junta era and were not in line with the new constitution. Moreover, Greek law was expected to converge to European standards according to the
Treaty of Rome The Treaty of Rome, or EEC Treaty (officially the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community), brought about the creation of the European Economic Community (EEC), the best known of the European Communities (EC). The treaty was signe ...
. In 1974, several organizations for women advocating change were established. The wife of Papandreou, Margaret Chant, played a leading role in the women's movement in Greece. In 1981, part of Papandreou's new "
Social Contract In moral and political philosophy, the social contract is an idea, theory, or model that usually, although not always, concerns the legitimacy of the authority of the state over the individual. Conceptualized in the Age of Enlightenment, it ...
" was a set of liberalizing laws that redefined the relations between men and women and emphasized the individual as the central unit in society instead of the family. These reforms also reduced the Church's and state's power over private life. The PASOK government legalized
civil marriage A civil marriage is a marriage performed, recorded, and recognized by a government official. Such a marriage may be performed by a religious body and recognized by the state, or it may be entirely secular. History Countries maintaining a popul ...
, abolished the dowries (although parental assistance at marriage continued to exist in different forms), decriminalized adultery, and divorce by mutual consent was established. The result was that women continued to increase their participation in education and the economy. In 1986, Papandreou's government passed a law to decriminalize abortion, which was prohibited in all circumstances but practiced on a large scale before then. PASOK introduced additional policies to ease the participation of women in the workforce. In 1982, Greece ratified the
International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is one of the firs ...
Convention on Maternal Job Protection, resulting in 14 weeks of job-protected
maternity leave Parental leave, or family leave, is an employee benefit available in almost all countries. The term "parental leave" may include maternity, paternity, and adoption leave; or may be used distinctively from "maternity leave" and "paternity leave ...
with a maternity leave payment of 66% of the salary by 1984. That same year, 3 months of unpaid job-protected parental leave for each parent was introduced, available until the child was aged 2.5 years. Other policy changes included the establishment of parental leave for both parents and childcare centers, maternity allowances, community health centers, and encouraging women to join
agricultural cooperative An agricultural cooperative, also known as a farmers' co-op, is a producer cooperative in which farmers pool their resources in certain areas of activities. A broad typology of agricultural cooperatives distinguishes between agricultural servic ...
s as full members, an option that previously had not been open to women. All women with unmarried children under 21 were given the right to retire at 55. Despite legislative changes, women largely remained outside the political arena, with all political parties, including PASOK, having less than 5% of women deputies among their ranks. Papandreou's reforms also led to a steep decline in the
total fertility rate The total fertility rate (TFR) of a population is the average number of children that are born to a woman over her lifetime, if they were to experience the exact current age-specific fertility rates (ASFRs) through their lifetime, and they were t ...
from 2.2 in 1980, which was just above the 2.1 threshold for stabilizing the size of the population, to 1.4 by 1989, which would lead to shrinking the Greek population. The demographics of Greece has not recovered from this sharp decline in the fertility rate, placing pressure on the Greek society and economy due to
population decline Population decline, also known as depopulation, is a reduction in a human population size. Throughout history, Earth's total world population, human population has estimates of historical world population, continued to grow but projections sugg ...
. In 1988, deaths exceeded births, though immigration offset the effect on the population until 2010; between 2008 and 2018, Greece lost 385,000, or 3.5% of its population. A 2016 demographics analysis estimates that Greece might lose up to a quarter of its population by 2050.


Constitutional crisis of 1985 and elections

On March 6, 1985, Greece faced a major political shift when New Democracy announced its support for Konstantinos Karamanlis' second presidential term. That same day, the Communist Party (KKE) nominated its candidate. Though Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou had previously assured Karamanlis in person of his support and the press anticipated such an announcement, instead, Papandreou endorsed
Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
judge Christos Sartzetakis. Sartzetakis, known for his investigation into the assassination of Grigoris Lambrakis portrayed in the 1969 movie ''Z'', was favored by the left. Many inside and outside PASOK, including Sartzetakis, were caught off guard by the sudden nomination. While initially framed as a last-minute decision, it later emerged that Papandreou had planned this move since Sartzetakis had known for some time, and two other judges had reportedly declined Papandreou's offer. Simultaneously, Papandreou proposed constitutional reforms to diminish the president's powers, including calling elections or referendums, appointing governments, or dissolving parliament. He argued that Karamanlis, who had heavily influenced the 1974 constitution, should not oversee its reform. Critics contended that these presidential powers were unused and that stripping them away would concentrate power dangerously in the hands of the prime minister. The counterargument from PASOK was the hypothetical case of an activist president, mimicking the tendency of kings of Greece to intervene in the political life since the creation of the modern Greek state. Irrespective of the arguments, the proposed changes would make the prime minister the most powerful ("
autocratic Autocracy is a form of government in which absolute power is held by the head of state and Head of government, government, known as an autocrat. It includes some forms of monarchy and all forms of dictatorship, while it is contrasted with demo ...
") position in the Greek state, due to lack of any constitutional restraints. Papandreou informed Karamanlis of his decision via his deputy, . Karamanlis resigned from the Presidency on 10 March 1985, two weeks before the termination of his term, and was replaced by a PASOK's deputy, Ioannis Alevras, as
acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad range of sk ...
president. This course of action divided constitutional scholars on whether the acting President could vote for president; in the end, the parliament took the decision, with New Democracy deputies leaving the chamber. The first two rounds failed to elect Sartzetakis for president, which was done under high political tension, with a deputy of New Democracy momentarily grabbing the ballot box. Mitsotakis accused Papandreou of violating constitutional protocol, which required a
secret ballot The secret ballot, also known as the Australian ballot, is a voting method in which a voter's identity in an election or a referendum is anonymous. This forestalls attempts to influence the voter by intimidation, blackmailing, and potential vote ...
, by forcing his deputies to cast their vote with colored ballots, but Mitsotakis was dismissed. Mitsotakis and Papandreou ended up having an oral confrontation, with Mitsotakis showing how Papandreou had no respect for the parliament, and Papandreou firing back that Mitsotakis was the last person to speak about respect, invoking memories from Iouliana. In the third round, Sartzetakis was voted president with a decisive vote from Alevras since Papandreou had two more defected deputies, who Papandreou accused of taking bribes from Mitsotakis' party. Papandreou also formally submitted the proposals for constitutional amendments by adding to the previous one the removal of a secret ballot for president. Mitsotakis considered the vote illegal and claimed that if they won the elections, Sartzetakis would not be president, further deepening the
constitutional crisis In political science, a constitutional crisis is a problem or conflict in the function of a government that the constitution, political constitution or other fundamental governing law is perceived to be unable to resolve. There are several variat ...
. Both parties continued their polarized confrontations with the elections of June 1985. Just before the elections, Karamanlis broke his silence, urging Greeks to be cautious with their vote (without explicitly advising who to vote for), commenting that PASOK had brought "confusion and uncertainty". However, the state media (TV and radio) did not broadcast his statement. Papandreou was re-elected in the 1985 Greek legislative election with 45.82% of the vote. Papandreou's gamble worked to his benefit because he gained more from far-left voting blocks than the voters lost from the center. After the election results, Mitsotakis accepted Sartzetakis as president and the head of the state. Papandreou's constitutional proposals took effect in 1986.


Stabilization effort and disillusionment (1985–1989)

Papandreou began his second administration with a comfortable majority in the parliament and increased powers based on the 1986 Greek Constitution. However, his premiership was soon surrounded by numerous financial and corruption scandals while the Greek economy rapidly deteriorated. Moreover, choices made in the early 1980s on anti-terrorism legislation and controversial foreign policy decisions led to a significant rise in terrorist incidents in Greece. Papandreou's
extramarital affair An affair is a relationship typically between two people, one or both of whom are either married or in a long-term monogamous or emotionally-exclusive relationship with someone else. The affair can be solely sexual, solely physical or solely em ...
and eventual divorce from his wife became a frequent topic of yellow newspapers and tabloids. The retired Karamanlis publicly described the situation at the end of Papandreou's second administration as: "A boundless
lunatic asylum The lunatic asylum, insane asylum or mental asylum was an institution where people with mental illness were confined. It was an early precursor of the modern psychiatric hospital. Modern psychiatric hospitals evolved from and eventually replace ...
", while others refer to the events surrounding 1989 as "dirty 89".


Failed stabilization of the economy

In 1985, Papandreou's government applied to the EEC for a $1.75 billion loan to deal with the widening foreign trade deficit (8.7% of GDP). However, the EEC imposed the implementation of a package of economic stabilization measures as a precondition for the loan. The stabilization package, implemented by
Costas Simitis Konstantinos G. Simitis (; 23 June 1936 – 5 January 2025) was a Greek politician who led the 'Modernization' movement of Greece . He succeeded in leadership Andreas Papandreou, the founder of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK), and s ...
as minister of Finance, included a 15%
devaluation In macroeconomics and modern monetary policy, a devaluation is an official lowering of the value of a country's currency within a fixed exchange-rate system, in which a monetary authority formally sets a lower exchange rate of the national curre ...
of the Greek currency (
drachma Drachma may refer to: * Ancient drachma, an ancient Greek currency * Modern drachma The drachma ( ) was the official currency of modern Greece from 1832 until the launch of the euro in 2001. First modern drachma The drachma was reintroduce ...
), posed limits on government borrowing, and monetary policy became more strict, wages ceased to follow inflation, some tax exemptions were eliminated, effectively the incomes dropped to pre-1980 levels. As a result of the stabilization program introduced in 1985, public consumption fell by an average of 2.2% and public investment decreased by 18.2% on average in 1986 and 1987. Papandreou touted the loan as a life savior for the economy of Greece because if they had not, then the
International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...
(IMF) would have imposed much more strict and severe austerity measures. Moreover, Greece signed the
Single European Act The Single European Act (SEA) was the first major revision of the 1957 Treaty of Rome. The Act set the European Community an objective of establishing a single market by 31 December 1992, and a forerunner of the European Union's Common Fore ...
in February 1986, which required the member states to deregulate and reduce state intervention in economic life for the formation of a single EEC market by 1992. Simitis' policies had the intended outcome, with the inflation reduced from 23% in 1986 to 13.5% in 1988, and the Public Sector Borrowing Requirement fell from approximately 18% of GDP in 1985 to 13% of GDP in 1987. However, Papandreou was shaken by a widespread backlash, with long-running strikes and demonstrations by farmers and major unions in early 1987. With the elections approaching, Papandreou forced Simitis to resign from his ministerial position in November 1987, and the reforms were abandoned towards a relaxation of monetary and fiscal policies, effectively violating the loan agreement. The lifting of the austerity measures by 1988 led to a relaxation of income policy. Overall, Greece started to fall last in terms of convergence with EEC goals, economic competitiveness, dependence on EEC and state subsidies, investment, inflation, and growth.


Terrorism in Greece

After the restoration of democracy in 1974, Greece was going through a stabilization phase, but terrorist attacks started to rise. Many youths, inspired by the Athens Polytechnic uprising, were sympathetic to left-wing organizations advocating violence against authority. The slowing down of the economy and the high inflation caused by the oil crisis in the 1970s fueled the rise of these incidents. In response, Karamanlis passed the 1978 anti-terrorist law (Law 774/1978), which was based on the recently enacted Italian and German anti-terrorist bills. Papandreou decried the law on the basis that it suppresses
civil liberties Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties of ...
and the Greek constitution, and he further claimed that no such law is required simply because Greece does not have the social and political conditions for people to cause such violence. In 1983, Papandreou abolished Karamanlis' law (without proposing an alternative) based on the argument that this law "does not concern the terrorists, but it creates the ideological and political conditions to terrorize the Greek populace." Papandreou's abolishing anti-terrorism law combined with his opening to 'radical' Arab regimes (see details in
foreign policy Foreign policy, also known as external policy, is the set of strategies and actions a State (polity), state employs in its interactions with other states, unions, and international entities. It encompasses a wide range of objectives, includ ...
) effectively let terrorists operate in Greece in the 1980s with impunity. This created friction between Reagan and Papandreou's administrations. In June 1985, international attention was drawn to the
hijacking Hijacking may refer to: Common usage Computing and technology * Bluejacking, the unsolicited transmission of data via Bluetooth * Brandjacking, the unauthorized use of a company's brand * Browser hijacking * Clickjacking (including ''likej ...
of TWA Flight 847 from the Athens airport. After this incident and Papandreou's inaction on terrorism, the US produced a travel advisory against Greece, resulting in an 80% drop in US visitors and loss of considerable tourism income. In November of 1985, another hijack from Athens resulted in 61 dead. The reputation of Greece as a tourist destination deteriorated further by the frequency of incidents; in 1986 alone, there were twenty bombings in Athens. Infighting between Arab groups led to a series of anti-Gaddafi dissidents being found murdered and Syrian agents killing
Palestine Liberation Organization The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ) is a Palestinian nationalism, Palestinian nationalist coalition that is internationally recognized as the official representative of the Palestinians, Palestinian people in both the occupied Pale ...
(PLO) members on Greek soil. On 11 July 1988, nine tourists were killed, and eighty others were wounded in an attack on the Greek
ferry boat A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus. ...
at the City of Poros. PASOK's response to these events was to deny them by claiming that it was an American conspiracy (as in the case of the Poros incident), or that terrorists are
freedom fighter A freedom fighter is a person engaged in a struggle to achieve political freedom, particularly against an established government. The term is typically reserved for those who are actively involved in armed or otherwise violent rebellion. Termi ...
s. A notable example of the latter was Ozama Al Zomar's release from prison and his extradition to Libya instead of Italy, where he was suspected by Italian police of the Great Synagogue of Rome attack. Papandreou's Justice Minister, Vassilis Rotis, explained this course of action by justifying that the attack "falls within his struggle to regain the independence of his homeland and consequently suggests action for freedom." The primary terrorist organization in Greece was Revolutionary Organization 17 November. Operating from December 1975 until its dismantling in 2002, it assassinated 23 people, mainly Western diplomats with military or intelligence roles and prominent businessmen. Soon after taking power, Papandreou closed down the police unit investigating the organization. In the first two years of Papandreou's rule, the 17 November organization was inactive. Presumably, Papandreou's anti-EU, anti-NATO rhetoric aligned with 17 November goals. However, after the new agreement for the US bases to stay on Greek soil, they turned against Papandreou. In 1985, in an attack responding to the death of a 15-year-old boy by police, the organization claimed that Papandreou's PASOK is "now working for the Right, which explains why it has yet to be overthrown." 17 November also turned against industrialists based on the belief that they were getting large bonuses from Papandreou's governments, state money meant for investments and instead used for increasing their wealth. Notable deaths were the President of the Halyvourgiki Hellenic Steel Industry, Dimitrios Angelopoulos, in 1986, and two years later the Director of Larco, Alexandros Athanassiadis. The 17 November organization power reached a turning point in the Koskotas scandal when a parliamentary member was assassinated. For much of the 1980s, Greek police remained underfunded and demoralized by Papandreou's
anti-authoritarian Anti-authoritarianism is opposition to authoritarianism. Anti-authoritarians usually believe in full equality before the law and strong civil liberties. Sometimes the term is used interchangeably with anarchism, an ideology which entails opposing a ...
rhetoric, resulting in few terrorist convictions. At the same time, Papandreou used the junta's surveillance infrastructure exclusively to keep track of his political enemies, labeled as terrorists, including well-respected politicians such as Karamanlis, from political opposition Mitsotakis and Evangelos Averoff, senior ministers in PASOK governments who may be potential successors such as Simitis and Gennimatas, newspaper publishers, police chiefs, and even PASOK's governmental spokesman. The change of course from Papandreou's policy on terrorism came from Mitsotakis' government in the early 1990s by reinstating Karamanlis' anti-terrorism legislation (Law 1916/1990) and any terrorists found, and the PLO representatives were expelled. In 1993, upon the return of PASOK to power, it repealed Law 1916/1990. Later, Simitis passed new anti-terrorist legislation in 2001 (Law 2928/01), and he brought to justice the 17 November organization before the 2004 Olympic Games.


Reapprochment with Turkey

Greece and Turkey nearly entered into war over a series of miscommunications in late March 1987; Turkey learned that Greece was about to initiate exploration for the drilling oil in the
Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...
near
Thasos Thasos or Thassos (, ''Thásos'') is a Greek island in the North Aegean Sea. It is the northernmost major Greek island, and 12th largest by area. The island has an area of 380 km2 and a population of about 13,000. It forms a separate regiona ...
, a Greek island on the north Aegean. In response, the Turkish survey ship Piri Reis (and later the RV MTA Sismik 1) was sent to the area with an escort of Turkish warships. Papandreou threatened to sink any Turkish ship found in Greek waters. Turkey's reaction was exaggerated by hard-liners since Turkish Prime Minister Turgut Özal was undergoing open heart surgery in
Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
, Texas. As the situation escalated, the US (particularly Robert V. Keeley, US ambassador in Athens) and NATO intervened to defuse the crisis. Papandreou wanted to hold NATO, and especially the United States, responsible for the Turkish aggressiveness. He ordered the suspension of the operation of the NATO communication base in Nea Makri, and he sent the Greek Foreign Minister,
Karolos Papoulias Karolos Papoulias ( ; 4 June 1929 – 26 December 2021) was a Greek politician who served as the president of Greece from 2005 to 2015. A member of the PASOK, Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK), he previously served as Minister for Foreign ...
, to
Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP), formally the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance (TFCMA), was a Collective security#Collective defense, collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Polish People's Republic, Poland, between the Sovi ...
member,
Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
, for consultations with President Zhivkov. The crisis ended with Greece not pursuing oil drills in the north Aegean Sea and Turkey withdrawing its naval vessels. In January 1988, Papandreou and his Turkish counterpart, Turgut Özal, met at the annual
World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental organization, international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German ...
at
Davos Davos (, ; or ; ; Old ) is an Alpine resort town and municipality in the Prättigau/Davos Region in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. It has a permanent population of (). Davos is located on the river Landwasser, in the Rhaetian ...
, Switzerland, to improve the relations between their two countries. Papandreou described the meeting as "a great event for the two nations" and "a breakthrough" by Özal. Part of the meeting was a 'no war agreement' and establishing a '
hotline A hotline is a Point-to-point (telecommunications), point-to-point information transfer, communications Data link, link in which a telephone call, call is automatically directed to the preselected destination without any additional action by t ...
' between the two governments, and joint committees were established to work towards closer political and economic relations. Papandreou sought this agreement to improve his image as a man of peace, while Özal wanted to improve Turkey's image abroad as his country was under evaluation for full membership of the European Community. However, only a week after the Davos meeting, Papandreou was under pressure from Mitsotakis' criticism that Papandreou focused only on bilateral disputes in Davos and effectively "shelved" the Cyprus dispute. Papandreou was forced to denounce the Davos process and famously apologized in
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
(" mea culpa") from the podium of the Greek parliament. Despite some progress achieved on culture exchange and accident prevention over international waters, however, by the end of 1988, Greece reported 338 Turkish violations of the Greek airspace with 42 mock
dogfight A dogfight, or dog fight, is an air combat manoeuvring, aerial battle between fighter aircraft that is conducted at close range. Modern terminology for air-to-air combat is air combat manoeuvring (ACM), which refers to tactical situations requir ...
s, making it clear that much of the 'spirit of Davos' was quickly vanishing.


Heart Surgery, Liani, and crowd size

In August 1988, Papandreou (at age 70) underwent major heart surgery in London, but he refused to yield the reins of power. The operation and recovery lasted three months, leaving the Greek state and party without a leader. The opposition described the situation as "government by fax". However, in London, it was revealed that next to him was not his wife but Dimitra Liani, an Olympic Airways steward aged 33, who had met in 1986, and she was a constant companion in the last months before the surgery. Soon after the revelation, Papandreou divorced his wife Margaret Chant one month before the elections of June 1989 and married Liani soon after. Liani became an influential 'gatekeeper' for Papandreou's favor and was involved in appointments in the Prime Minister's Office. The sudden elevation of Liani in the Prime Minister's Office had negative effects on the operation of the government and caused discontent among members of PASOK; his sons had key positions in the party. The return from London after the heart surgery (22 October) sparked another series of controversies. No family member was there to greet Papandreou, including his eldest son ( George Papandreou), who was the
Minister of Education An education minister (sometimes minister of education) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with educational matters. Where known, the government department, ministry, or agency that develops policy and deli ...
and a key member of PASOK. Three days later, there was a sudden strike from the Greek Radio and Television Corporation (ERT) employees, alleging that PASOK gave prepared texts to ERT's employees to read as live reports at the scene of Papandreou's arrival. Moreover, the government spokesman publicly stated that the strike was illegal and accused the ERT's union of not describing Papandreou's arrival (crowd size and enthusiasm) in the same way as Karamanlis's return after the junta's fall.


Koskotas scandal

During the Papandreou's second term, press reports on PASOK's corruption multiplied. While initial scandals—such as the Yugoslav corn scandal, telephone tapping, and public utilities scandals—caused concern, they were overshadowed by revelations involving George Koskotas, the owner of the Bank of Crete. In the mid-1980s, Koskotas rapidly acquired several media outlets, including two prominent conservative newspapers (
Kathimerini ( Greek: Η Καθημερινή, ; ) is a daily, political and financial morning newspaper published in Piraeus, Athens. Its first edition was printed on 15 September 1919. is considered a newspaper of record and the leading right-wing newspape ...
and Vradyni), and the popular football team, Olympiacos F.C., raising suspicions due to the unclear sources of his wealth. Investigations revealed that he had embezzled large sums from the bank and used them to build a media empire that supported PASOK, with assistance from the PASOK government. Despite being under surveillance, Koskotas fled Greece in November 1988 and was arrested later on 24 November 1988 in
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
on unrelated
fraud In law, fraud is intent (law), intentional deception to deprive a victim of a legal right or to gain from a victim unlawfully or unfairly. Fraud can violate Civil law (common law), civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrato ...
charges. His escape and the emerging details about state involvement forced Papandreou to reshuffle his cabinet and agree to a parliamentary inquiry. The inquiry uncovered further wrongdoing, including efforts by PASOK officials to block audits and the illegal profiteering from arms sales during the Iran–Iraq War and to apartheid South Africa. Additionally, it was revealed that Greece overpaid for military aircraft, with the excess funneled as commissions to PASOK members. In March 1989,
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
magazine published allegations from Koskotas, claiming that Papandreou and PASOK leaders had directed over $200 million in state deposits to the Bank of Crete, which were then siphoned off. Koskotas also claimed to have delivered $600,000 to Papandreou hidden in a Pampers box. Papandreou denied the allegations, accused the U.S. of attempting to undermine him, and filed a lawsuit against Time, but the scandal drew global attention. Six ministers, including prominent figures like
Costas Simitis Konstantinos G. Simitis (; 23 June 1936 – 5 January 2025) was a Greek politician who led the 'Modernization' movement of Greece . He succeeded in leadership Andreas Papandreou, the founder of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK), and s ...
, resigned in protest. Amid growing political unrest, Papandreou narrowly survived two no-confidence votes in Parliament, although he expelled dissenting PASOK members, including Antonis Tritsis, a founding member of PASOK. To shield himself from prosecution, Papandreou passed legislation via emergency procedures altering judicial procedures, which was widely condemned by the legal community.
Political polarization Political polarization (spelled ''polarisation'' in British English, Australian English, and New Zealand English) is the divergence of political attitudes away from the center, towards ideological extremes. Scholars distinguish between ideologi ...
reached a climax five weeks before the scheduled elections of November 1989, when the Greek parliament was about to start deliberations on whether Papandreou and three of his ministers would be indicted. On this day (26 September 1989) and hours before deliberations began, Pavlos Bakoyannis, a prominent conservative member of parliament and the architect of collaboration between the left and right wings for Papandreou's indictment, was shot by 17 November terrorist group outside his office in Athens. Both major political parties (New Democracy and PASOK) accused each other of the assassination. A few days later, Papandreou stormed out of Parliament, shouting, "I accuse my accusers", just before the parliamentary vote on his indictment. Koskotas was extradited to Greece in 1991 for the trial, and Papandreou's trial began in Athens on 11 March 1991. However, as a former prime minister, he exercised his constitutional right not to attend the trial and proclaimed that the trial was a witch-hunt. In January 1992, the Parliament-appointed tribunal of 13 judges of Supreme Special Court, having heard over 100 witnesses and investigated 50,000 pages of documents over ten months, acquitted Papandreou of the charge of instigating the loss of funds of state companies with a 7–6 vote and a bribery charge of receiving the proceeds of a crime with a vote 10–3. During the trial, the deputy of the Prime Minister, Agamemnon Koutsogeorgas, who was also accused and a close friend of Papandreou, had a
stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...
on witness stant, on live television, and died a few days afterward.
Dimitris Tsovolas Dimitris Tsovolas (; 4 September 1942 – 25 February 2022) was a Greek politician who served as Minister of Finance from 1985 to 1989. Early life and education Tsovolas was born at Melissourgoi, a village outside Arta, Epirus in 1942. He wen ...
, former Minister of Finance, was sentenced to two-and-a-half jail years. Koskotas was tried and sentenced to a 25-year prison term. When Karamanlis was asked about the verdict, he commented, "In democracies, prime ministers do not go to prison. They return home." by both reaffirming the court's decision while at the same time admitting the existence of both positive and negative implications for the country. The trial was characterized as the "trial of trials" and the most critical judicial decision in modern Greek history since the Trial of the Six in 1922.


Junta's surveillance state under Papandreou

In 1989, it was revealed that the National Information Service (EYR), through the state telecommunications organization OTE, had been bugging over 46,000 phones of allies and enemies in politics, press, business, and law and Papandreou used the information obtained for PASOK's purposes. While the
wiretapping Wiretapping, also known as wire tapping or telephone tapping, is the monitoring of telephone and Internet-based conversations by a third party, often by covert means. The wire tap received its name because, historically, the monitoring connecti ...
infrastructure was established in previous decades and used by the junta and lesser degree conservative governments to track suspects that may pose a threat at national level on anti-communist grounds, Papandreou utilized these tools and expanded the potential targets by changing the definition of "
national security National security, or national defence (national defense in American English), is the security and Defence (military), defence of a sovereign state, including its Citizenship, citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of ...
threat" to be any Greek citizen raising criticism against him. A former head of EYR appointed by PASOK claimed that none of these activities would have been possible without the approval of the prime minister, involving Papandreou in another scandal. Junta's extensive anti-communist filing on private citizens, promised by Papandreou to destroy in the pre-1981 campaigns, was revealed in 1989 during the
Catharsis Catharsis is from the Ancient Greek word , , meaning "purification" or "cleansing", commonly used to refer to the purification and purgation of thoughts and emotions by way of expressing them. The desired result is an emotional state of renewal an ...
era that Papandreou not only did not destroy the files as proclaimed in 1985 but also extended and updated on anyone perceived by Papandreou as a potential enemy. This list included political opponents inside and outside PASOK and many prominent conservatives and communists. Leaks to pro-PASOK yellow newspapers against Papandreou's opponents originated from these files. Moreover, many on the left were uncomfortable by Papandreou's threat of using the files to entice their vote by invoking the danger of these files falling into the hands of conservatives. The majority of these files were destroyed in 1989 by the collaborative government of conservatives and communists to prevent future governments from exploiting the files for political gains, as Papandreou did.


Abuse of power

Beyond the financial scandals, the public was getting worried about the government's assertions of arbitrary power. Papandreou used the national broadcasting organization as a public relations agency. The newspapers that were unfriendly to PASOK were openly threatened by his ministers. Six months before the 1989 elections, public appointments were bestowed on about 90,000 people to gain additional votes. The abuse of power continued when Papandreou changed the electoral law shortly before the June 1989 general elections, a move designed to prevent the absolute majority of a rival political party. Papandreou's action prolonged the instability because no stable government existed to address the mounting economic problems for nearly a year and three national elections. Papandreou ordered his ministers not to cooperate in the handover of power, and official documents and state treaties went missing.


Catharsis (1989–1990)

In the June 1989 elections, PASOK's electoral percentage fell to 38%, owing much to the Koskotas scandal. However, Mitsotakis' party got 43%, but it was insufficient to form a government; Papandreou's last-minute change of the electoral vote law required a party to win 50% of the vote to govern alone. Papandreou hoped that while PASOK might come second in electoral votes, it could form a government with the support of the other leftist parties, but he was rejected. Instead, conservative New Democracy collaborated with the (radical left) Synaspismos, led by Charilaos Florakis, to form a government; while on the opposite ideological sides (as well in the Greek Civil War), both sought a "
catharsis Catharsis is from the Ancient Greek word , , meaning "purification" or "cleansing", commonly used to refer to the purification and purgation of thoughts and emotions by way of expressing them. The desired result is an emotional state of renewal an ...
", i.e., investigation and trial of PASOK's corruption was completed. This collaboration was led by first under
Tzannis Tzannetakis Tzannis Tzannetakis (; 13 September 1927 – 1 April 2010) was a Greek politician who was briefly Prime Minister of Greece during the political crisis of 1989. He also served as a submarine commander in the Hellenic Navy. Biography Tzannetakis ...
(2 July-12 October) and then Ioannis Grivas (12 October-23 November). The participation of Synaspismos party in the government marked the end of the militarized politics of the past since there was no reaction from the military. The decision carried additional responsibility because if no charges were brought against Papandreou under the current collaboration between New Democracy and Synaspismos, no future government could do so based on the Greek constitution. The collaboration was soon dissolved after the indictment of Papandreou for the Koskotas scandal (29 September 1989), and the Greek people went to the polls again. In the elections of November 1989, New Democracy got 46% of the vote but could still not produce a government. All the parties in Parliament (New Democracy, PASOK, and Synaspismos) entered a National Union government under Xenophon Zolotas (a retired banker at the age of 85) as a way out of the deadlock and to restore public trust in political institutions. Zolotas resigned in April 1990 due to the inability to reverse the continuous deterioration of the Greek economy from Papandreou's handling of the economy in previous years. In the elections of April 1990, Mitsotakis received sufficient (by one seat above the threshold) support to form a government, and Papandreou became the opposition leader.


Papandreou in opposition (1990–1993)

Recovering from the Koskota scandals and electoral defeat, Papandreou had a relatively quiet opposition strategy (departing from the radical rhetoric in the 1970s and early 1980s), effectively letting Mitsotakis implement difficult, unpopular economic and foreign policy choices. Mitsotakis' government, after taking office, introduced a series of austerity measures (following the footsteps of Simitis in 1985-7), including freezing public-sector salaries and pensions, cutting government spending, and raising taxes on various goods, including
fuel oil Fuel oil is any of various fractions obtained from the distillation of petroleum (crude oil). Such oils include distillates (the lighter fractions) and residues (the heavier fractions). Fuel oils include heavy fuel oil (bunker fuel), marine f ...
. It also repealed the wage price index, which kept people's incomes high while fuelling inflation, and it was PASOK's popular law among wage earners since 1982 when it was first introduced. This repeal caused wages and salaries to fall by 13% from 1990 to 1993, resulting in continuous strikes by the affected workers. Certain areas, such as banking, were deregulated to attract capital. Mitsotakis' government sold or liquidated 44 companies controlled by the "Industrial Reconstruction Organisation", which was created by PASOK and was designed to assist failed firms in recovery. The Greek economy started to recover due to Mitsotakis' economic policies toward meeting the Euro convergence criteria, but this was not enough to balance the rising frustration of the Greek voters with the impact of austerity on their lives. Constantine Mitsotakis initiated efforts designed to improve relations with the US, which Papandreou's anti-American rhetoric had damaged. In July 1990, a defense cooperation agreement was signed regarding the operation of American bases in Greece for the next eight years. Greece's airspace and naval support during the
Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...
further improved the relations between Greece and US. Mitsotakis also visited Washington, making him the first Greek prime minister to do so since 1964 by Papandreou's father. The fall of Mitsotakis's government followed after
Antonis Samaras Antonis Samaras (, ; born 23 May 1951) is a Greek politician who served as Prime Minister of Greece from 2012 to 2015. A member of the New Democracy (Greece), New Democracy party, he was its president from 2009 until 2015. Samaras started his na ...
left the New Democracy party (June 1993) in protest for Mitsotakis removing Samaras from the Minister for Foreign Affairs (April 1992) for his handling of the
Macedonia naming dispute The use of the country name "Macedonia (terminology), Macedonia" was disputed between Greece and the North Macedonia, Republic of Macedonia (now North Macedonia) between 1991 and 2019. The dispute was a source of instability in the Balkans#W ...
with the neighboring country; Mitsotakis had one seat above the threshold according to Papandreou's electoral law. Papandreou campaigned to bring back the euphoria of the early 1980s. Moreover, PASOK's campaign program had dropped the past socialist ideals and instead presented itself as a "responsible" political party. The Greek people voted in October 1993 the return of Papandreou to power. Following the electoral results, Mitsotakis resigned from the leadership of New Democracy and was replaced by Miltiadis Evert.


Return to power (1993–1996)

Papandreou's return to power was less vigorous, as he could only work a few hours a day due to his fragile health, and for much of 1995, he remained bedridden. Lianni, now officially part of the government as Chief of Staff, was the person, along with her staff, that Papandreou depended upon, alienating many of his senior ministers. At the same time, Papandreou's position in PASOK was crumbling, and two factions were emerging: the "reformers" faction with a pro-Europe vision led by Costas Simitis, Vasso Papandreou (no relation) and Theodoros Pangalos, and the "loyalists" faction advocating a populist path led by Akis Tsochatzopoulos, , and
Gerasimos Arsenis Gerasimos Arsenis (; 30 May 1931 – 19 April 2016) was a Greek politician who served as a Member of the Hellenic Parliament in various terms, as well as several appointments to Government Ministries in successive Governments with the Panhelle ...
. All of them were long-time (some even founding) members of PASOK. However, Papandreou was said to favor one of the loyalists without specifying which, but rank and file tended to favor the pro-Europe reformers, reflecting Papandreou's losing grip on his party. Like Mitsotakis, Papandreou had to bring the Greek economy to converge to Euro convergence criteria, but little time remained to achieve them. He abandoned his campaign promises and continued the austerity policies of Mitsotakis with minor alterations, expanding the
deregulation Deregulation is the process of removing or reducing state regulations, typically in the economic sphere. It is the repeal of governmental regulation of the economy. It became common in advanced industrial economies in the 1970s and 1980s, as a ...
and liberalization of the economy. There was less public reaction to these policies because Papandreou found a compromising position between capital and unions, and the pace of deregulation was slower than his predecessor. In foreign policy, Papandreou followed a hawkish strategy. In February 1994, Papandreou ordered an economic
embargo Economic sanctions or embargoes are commercial and financial penalties applied by states or institutions against states, groups, or individuals. Economic sanctions are a form of coercion that attempts to get an actor to change its behavior throu ...
on landlocked
North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...
due to the ongoing naming dispute regarding the name of the then Republic of Macedonia. In April 1994, Papandreou visited the United States to meet with
President Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the att ...
, who had recently recognized the new republic, but the visit did not result in any immediate breakthroughs. Papandreou hoped the embargo would have been a bargaining chip, but it backfired since North Macedonia gained considerable sympathy worldwide, damaging Greece's reputation. In September 1995, an interim accord was signed between the two countries to address the matter and the name issue temporarily and ending the 18 months embargo. Papandreou also announced the "Common Defence Dogma" with the
Republic of Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the third lar ...
(October 1993) and the intention of expanding the territorial waters to 12 miles (November 1994), which further disturbed Turkey and increased the chances for another crisis, as it happened at Imia in January 1996, right after the transition of power from Papandreou to Simitis. Papandreou was hospitalized with advanced
heart disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is any disease involving the heart or blood vessels. CVDs constitute a class of diseases that includes: coronary artery diseases (e.g. angina pectoris, angina, myocardial infarction, heart attack), heart failure, ...
and
renal failure Kidney failure, also known as renal failure or end-stage renal disease (ESRD), is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney fa ...
on 21 November 1995 at Onassio Cardiac Surgery Centre and refused to retire from office. Papandreou's refusal to resign paralyzed the government; Costas Simitis resigned in protest, and Papandreou's eldest son joined the call for his father to resign "for the good of the country." Eventually, Papandreou resigned on 16 January 1996, and Costas Simitis was chosen as the new party leader on 18 January. Papandreou died on 23 June 1996.


Papandreou's populism and patronage

Both dominant political parties in Metapolitefsi, New Democracy and PASOK, advocated for an inclusive society, but PASOK held an edge due to Papandreou's populist rhetoric. Papandreou presented a grand historical narrative of Greece through the prism of binary characterizations, good vs. evil, Left (socialists) vs. Right (conservatives), privileged vs. underprivileged, etc., that aimed to exacerbate polarization among Greeks. In particular, he and his close associates instrumentalized the painful and divided past by regularly invoking the memories of the civil war ("right the wrongs of the past") and "revenge of the losers f the Civil War () to maintain the support of the left-leaning faithful by demonstrating to them that PASOK remained true to its campaign promises and left-wing roots. Papandreou claimed that the 'underprivileged' would exercise power through him, even if this would damage democratic institutions, e.g.,
judicial independence Judicial independence is the concept that the judiciary should be independent from the other branches of government. That is, courts should not be subject to improper influence from the other branches of government or from private or partisan inte ...
; he characteristically proclaimed on a television party rally: "There are no institutions – only the people rule this country." Papandreou's populism was followed by vilifying his opponents, Mitsotakis was described as a "traitor" and a "nightmare", and blaming the conservatives for civil war and the junta, "Greek people never forget what the Right has done." Unable to close the gap since both parties had similar policies, Mitsotakis adopted Papandreou's populist rhetoric, further enhancing the political polarization in the 1980s and early 1990s. The political polarization reached a point that
The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...
magazine in 1985 described Greece as a "country divided", tearing itself apart and opening the wounds of civil war. Papandreou's populism was also used to describe international relations (see
foreign policy Foreign policy, also known as external policy, is the set of strategies and actions a State (polity), state employs in its interactions with other states, unions, and international entities. It encompasses a wide range of objectives, includ ...
). The class struggle that Papandreou campaigned on had little basis in reality, it was instead part of old-fashioned patronage politics. Papandreou transformed the localized voter-patron relation, where the patrons were local aristocratic families, into a centralized national machine where the state controlled by PASOK became the source of patronage. He rewarded its loyal supporters with civil service jobs to an unprecedented degree. Papandreou's generosity depended on PASOK's performance in the polls. One day before the 1989 elections and as the scandals were closing in, Papandreou's populism reached new heights when, on a balcony, surrounded by a crowd that gathered to watch him, he gave a public command to the Minister of Finance
Dimitris Tsovolas Dimitris Tsovolas (; 4 September 1942 – 25 February 2022) was a Greek politician who served as Minister of Finance from 1985 to 1989. Early life and education Tsovolas was born at Melissourgoi, a village outside Arta, Epirus in 1942. He wen ...
to "give it all o them () and "Tsovolas, empty the coffers f the state" and the crowd chanted these back. Later on, Papandreou claimed that he was merely joking, but this event became an infamous moment of the era. The mass-scale patronage from PASOK was made feasible by abolishing early on the merit-based evaluations in selecting civil servants in the public domain, such as utility companies and the National Bank of Greece (see also
education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...
). After a decade without merit-based evaluations and intensified PASOK's clientelism, these organizations were near paralysis or collapse. In 1994, merit-based evaluations were re-introduced by PASOK, known as Supreme Council for Personnel Selection (ASEP). Despite initial criticism of this behavior, Mitsotakis' and future governments adopted Papandreou's newly established voter-patron relation.


Government style

Papandreou had lifelong experience in
political campaign A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making progress within a specific group. In democracy, democracies, political campaigns often refer to election, electoral campaigns, by which representatives a ...
ing, which few could match in the metapolitefsi era (1974–1990), and had commanding leadership in setting the narrative of Greece in the greater context. However, he had little ministerial experience, and spent little time preparing on how to govern before the 1981 election victory. The lack of experience was exacerbated by two more choices. First, Papandreou chose ministers with no previous ministerial experience but who were also ideologically similar, thus eliminating differences of opinion out of fear of leading to intra-party factionalism, as happened in Iouliana. Second, PASOK passed Law 1232/82 in 1982, which purged senior civil servants from all ministries (eliminating
institution An institution is a humanly devised structure of rules and norms that shape and constrain social behavior. All definitions of institutions generally entail that there is a level of persistence and continuity. Laws, rules, social conventions and ...
al memory) based on the allegation that they were hostile to the new regime, and they were replaced by party loyalists who had little knowledge of how the government worked. Lack of experience in Papandreou's governments led to early failures with costly economic and social consequences. Papandreou had unchallenged authority in PASOK to the point of being "
authoritarian Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in democracy, separation of powers, civil liberties, and ...
". He acted as the 'final arbiter,' and he was "ruthless" if he felt threatened. He did not hesitate to silence his intra-party critics with expulsion from PASOK, followed by a
character assassination Character assassination (CA) is a deliberate and sustained effort to damage the reputation or credibility of an individual. The term ''character assassination'' became popular around 1930. This concept, as a subject of scholarly study, was origi ...
from the pro-PASOK press and even state media. His grip on the government and his party started to weaken after the Koskotas scandal. Papandreou experimented with various government structures (both in size and form) and restarted the government frequently as he holds the record for the most ministerial reshuffles (13 times in 1981–1989, with over 100 people changing various ministerial positions). Papandreou found the day-to-day government management less interesting (especially after 1983) and instead focused on the grant narratives of Greece's democratization process. Limited access to Papandreou (especially in later years), lack of guidance, and fluid organizational structure left his ministers spending valuable time decoding what their 'Leader' wanted. Ministers who have worked with Papandreou have recorded their frustration at Ministerial Councils where Papandreou would not disagree with anyone. These choices reflected his aversion to institutional development, and he instead opted for personality (reactive) politics to be the cohesive force that kept PASOK together. The result was that Papandreou's governments were dysfunctional and lacked coordination, with ministers having little or no time until the next reshuffle to implement campaign promises. The fluid government style of Papandreou, both in structure and in personnel, also made his governments vulnerable to corruption, as the Koskotas scandal proved.


Economic policies

Once in power, Papandreou did not oppose the integration of Greece into the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
despite his fierce rhetoric against it in the 1970s. Papandreou began to implement a
political agenda In politics, a political agenda is a list of subjects or problems (issues) to which government officials as well as individuals outside the government are paying serious attention to at any given time. The political agenda is most often shaped by ...
to restructure the Greek economy and improve living standards by increasing access of lower-income and rural populations to state services such as education and healthcare. Many infrastructure projects were completed in rural areas at the expense of large urban centers. He pursued expansionary fiscal policies, characterized by increases in public spending, and total public expenditure rose from 44.2% to 51.3% of GDP between 1984 and 1988. These increases were carried out to boost social welfare, healthcare, education, and pensions. Workers' rights were reinforced. Women with new rights and protections were integrated into the economy, particularly in the emerging
tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...
industry. At the same time, he started to nationalize a wide range of companies in key sectors such as banking, industry, and transport, believing this would stabilize the economy and protect
national interest The national interest is a sovereign state's goals and ambitions – be they economic, military, cultural, or otherwise – taken to be the aim of its government. Etymology The Italian phrase ''ragione degli stati'' was first used by Giovanni de ...
s. Papandreou implemented a mixture of protectionist measures and extensive state-guaranteed lending. Still, many policies exacerbated the structural problems of the Greek economy that had been rising from the oil crisis of the 1970s, the European competition, and the global recession of the early 1980s. Specifically, his policies further reduced the competitiveness of companies operating in Greece, which either left or minimized investments to survive. The growing public sector, through the nationalization endeavor, mass-scale clientelism, corruption, and social policies, resulted in substantial fiscal deficits. Papandreou did not establish progressive taxation to increase the state's revenues and did not reduce the military expenses, which were above 5.5% of GDP throughout the 1980s. Instead, he burdened the Greek people with foreign loans that substantially increased the
government debt A country's gross government debt (also called public debt or sovereign debt) is the financial liabilities of the government sector. Changes in government debt over time reflect primarily borrowing due to past government deficits. A deficit occu ...
that became a central challenge for subsequent governments. The lack of competitiveness allowed the penetration of European goods into the Greek market, further widening the trade deficit. By the end of Papandreou's term, the Greek economy was on the verge of bankruptcy since the
foreign exchange reserves Foreign exchange reserves (also called forex reserves or FX reserves) are cash and other reserve assets such as gold and silver held by a central bank or other monetary authority that are primarily available to balance payments of the country, ...
were at their lowest point. Papandreou, to avoid the
economic collapse Economic collapse, also called economic meltdown, is any of a broad range of poor economic conditions, ranging from a severe, prolonged depression with high bankruptcy rates and high unemployment (such as the Great Depression of the 1930s), t ...
, accepted another loan from EEC in 1985 and was forced to implement
austerity In economic policy, austerity is a set of Political economy, political-economic policies that aim to reduce government budget deficits through Government spending, spending cuts, tax increases, or a combination of both. There are three prim ...
to improve the state of the Greek economy. While the economy started to improve after two years of austerity, Papandreou retreated to his populistic tactics once PASOK's popularity waned. By abandoning the austerity measures, Papandreou wasted two years of improvements and effectively delayed the convergence of the Greek economy to Euro convergence criteria by more than four years. After eight years of Papandreou's rule, the Greek economy was in dire condition, with a reputation nationally and in European circles as that of a 'black sheep.' Specifically, the economy was burdened by debt that had nearly tripled in size (from 26.7% of GDP in 1981 to 73.3% of GDP in 1990), high inflation rates (ranging between 13% and 23% from 1981 to 1989), rising unemployment (2.7% in 1980 and reached 8% in 1988), chronic primary budget deficits, and large government expenditures some intended to keep failed companies afloat. The
gross national income The gross national income (GNI), previously known as gross national product (GNP), is the total amount of factor incomes earned by the residents of a country. It is equal to gross domestic product (GDP), plus factor incomes received from ...
increased in the decade 1981–1990 at approximately the same rate as the decade 1941–1950, where foreign occupation and a civil war took place. The poor economic performance of Greece and the misuse of EEC funds was the subject of a report produced by the EEC Monetary Committee in March 1992. While political opponents criticized Papandreou's economic policies early on, in the end, criticism came from his allies as well. , who worked in the governments of Andreas Papandreou and his father, commented on Papandreou's economic policy outcome, The austerity measures needed in the Greek economy were implemented in the early 1990s by Mitsotakis, which Papandreou continued with minor variations after his return in 1993. After Papandreou's death, Simitis put the economy in order, and by 2001, Greece joined the
Euro The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...
.


Foreign policy

Papandreou conducted, as PASOK affiliates touted, an "independent" and "multidimensional" foreign policy; however, even his more vigorous supporters admitted later that these characterizations meant "everything or nothing" due to the frequent inconsistencies and U-turns. Papandreou's foreign policy had two facets: international relations and domestic consumption. On the latter, he often utilized foreign policy by exaggerating the (real or not) national dangers to distract the Greeks from a domestic crisis. Moreover, his rhetoric was that of a
Third World The term Third World arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. The United States, Canada, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, the Southern Cone, NATO, Western European countries and oth ...
populism infused with nationalism aimed against the
imperialist Imperialism is the maintaining and extending of power over foreign nations, particularly through expansionism, employing both hard power (military and economic power) and soft power ( diplomatic power and cultural imperialism). Imperialism fo ...
forces represented by the United States and the European Union. His statement best represents his nationalism: "Greece belongs to the Greeks." According to historian John Iatrides, Papandreou's nationalistic and confrontational diplomacy had a "therapeutic effect upon the national psyche, as the general reekpublic came to believe that reece's
sovereignty Sovereignty can generally be defined as supreme authority. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within a state as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the person, body or institution that has the ultimate au ...
had been restored" since the Greeks largely perceived that their country is pushed around by European
Great Power A great power is a sovereign state that is recognized as having the ability and expertise to exert its influence on a global scale. Great powers characteristically possess military and economic strength, as well as diplomatic and soft power ...
s and now the Americans. On the former, foreign politicians recognized his 'pragmatic' approach despite the frustration rising from his radical rhetoric and confrontational tactics. On the most consequential aspects, Papandreou's actions, often contrary to his rhetoric, followed Karamanlis' policy of "Greece belongs to the West" by keeping Greece firmly committed to the NATO alliance and EEC. The balance between these two facets has made Greece's foreign policy appear "schizophrenic" to an outsider observer. Such an example is provided by John Iatrides: "while publicly attacking Washington for its interventionist policies, the PASOK government would privately complain that American officials were not sensitive to Greek fears of Turkish intentions concerning Cyprus and the Aegean." Papandreou's frequent statements antagonizing the Western allies made foreign leaders question his intentions and made Greece more isolated and vulnerable, and they were not helping solve the Cyprus question. A notable example was in September 1983, when Papandreou vetoed a formal European Community statement condemning the
Soviet government The Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was the executive and administrative organ of the highest body of state authority, the All-Union Supreme Soviet. It was formed on 30 December 1922 and abolished on 26 December 199 ...
for shooting down the Korean airliner KAL Flight 007, asserting that it was a plane spying for the benefit of the United States, and he added that "if such a plane came into Greece, we would have downed it." Papandreou's siding with the Soviet position effectively eliminated any possibility of visiting the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
under at the time the Reagan administration to advance Greek national interests in the foreseeable future. Papandreou continued Karamanlis's opening to Arab countries as part of diversifying diplomatic partners to secure trade deals and investments from petro-dollars countries. He improved relations with 'radical' Arab nations, such as
Muammar Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi (20 October 2011) was a Libyan military officer, revolutionary, politician and political theorist who ruled Libya from 1969 until Killing of Muammar Gaddafi, his assassination by Libyan Anti-Gaddafi ...
's
Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...
,
Hafez al-Assad Hafez al-Assad (6 October 193010 June 2000) was a Syrian politician and military officer who was the president of Syria from 1971 until Death and state funeral of Hafez al-Assad, his death in 2000. He was previously the Prime Minister of Syria ...
's
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
, and letting
Palestine Liberation Organization The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ) is a Palestinian nationalism, Palestinian nationalist coalition that is internationally recognized as the official representative of the Palestinians, Palestinian people in both the occupied Pale ...
(PLO) members stay in Greece, antagonizing the United States. Moreover, Papandreou supported the causes of various national liberation movements worldwide and agreed for Greece to host representative offices of many such organizations. He also supported the Palestinian liberation cause and advocated the
two-state solution The two-state solution is a proposed approach to resolving the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, by creating two states on the territory of the former Mandatory Palestine. It is often contrasted with the one-state solution, which is the esta ...
while at the same time condemned Israeli policies in the occupied territories. However, inviting 'radical' Arab groups in Greece further fueled the rising terrorism incidents in Greece. Regarding Turkey, Papandreou often emphasized the threat to Greece is coming from the east instead of from the north and tried to remind other European members frequently of Turkey's violations of international law and human rights. Moreover, he repeatedly blocked EEC credits for Turkey and its candidacy application for EEC membership in 1987. At the same time, Papandreou made an effort to improve relations with Turkey in Davos. He was co-creator in 1982 of, and subsequently an active participant in, a movement promoted by the
Parliamentarians for Global Action Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) is a non-profit, non-partisan international network of committed legislators, that informs and mobilizes parliamentarians in all regions of the world to advocate for human rights and the rule of law, de ...
, the Initiative of the Six, which included, besides the Greek PM,
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
's president
Miguel de la Madrid Miguel de la Madrid Hurtado (; 12 December 1934 – 1 April 2012) was a Mexican politician affiliated with the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) who served as the 59th president of Mexico from 1982 to 1988. Inheriting a severe economic an ...
, Argentina's president Raúl Alfonsín, Sweden's prime minister
Olof Palme Sven Olof Joachim Palme (; ; 30 January 1927 – 28 February 1986) was a Swedish politician and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Sweden from 1969 to 1976 and 1982 to 1986. Palme led the Swedish Social Democratic Party from 1969 until as ...
, Tanzania's president
Julius Nyerere Julius Kambarage Nyerere (; 13 April 1922 – 14 October 1999) was a Tanzanian politician, anti-colonial activist, and political theorist. He governed Tanganyika (1961–1964), Tanganyika as prime minister from 1961 to 1962 and then as presid ...
and
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
's prime minister
Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and stateswoman who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 un ...
. The movement's stated objective was the "promotion of peace and progress for all mankind." Papandreou pledged that Greece would be a nuclear-free country by removing the existing nuclear weapons and initiating diplomatic efforts to turn the Balkans into a nuclear-free zone, but then proceeded to modernize nuclear storage sites in Greece. After various initiatives, mostly directed at pressuring the United States and the Soviet Union to stop
nuclear testing Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine the performance of nuclear weapons and the effects of Nuclear explosion, their explosion. Nuclear testing is a sensitive political issue. Governments have often performed tests to si ...
and reduce the level of nuclear arms, it eventually disbanded.


Cultural and political image

Papandreou was highly charismatic, an excellent orator, and skillful in manipulating impressions and achieving his political goals. Despite his aristocratic and academic background, Papandreou could converse with Greeks of any social status. At the same time, it was also challenging to interpret his intentions. He used a form of doublespeak, absent in the Greek political language at the time, where the meanings of terms could change depending on the situation. Among both his supporters and his opponents, Papandreou was referred to simply by his first name, "Andreas", which was a novelty in the Greek political world but necessary for Papandreou to keep some distance from his family name, which had been involved in turbulent politics of the past that brought the 1967 dictatorship and eventually the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. In the 1970s, Papandreou wore his business suits with turtleneck sweaters instead of the traditional white shirt and tie. His first appearance in the Greek Parliament with a black turtleneck instead of a shirt and tie caused an uproar in the conservative press, who considered it disrespectful of Parliament; however, the whole issue only added to his popularity. By breaking the dress code, Papandreou communicated that he was a 'rebel' fighting against the 'establishment,' composed chiefly of conservatives who dominated the political scene in the previous decades. This symbolism, however, did not last, once in power, Papandreou started to wear exclusively a suit with a shirt and tie.


Legacy

Papandreou was a realist on core political issues but a leftist ideologue on peripheral matters. In foreign policy, he continued Karamanlis' policy to remain in the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
and
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
, both of which he vehemently opposed for many years. Complementing this political realism, Papandreou's ability to publicly reject American positions gave Greeks a sense of national independence and psychological self-worth. However, in the end, his frequent radical and combative rhetoric frustrated existing allies and did not bring new allies (Arab states or countries from the
eastern bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc (Combloc), the Socialist Bloc, the Workers Bloc, and the Soviet Bloc, was an unofficial coalition of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America that were a ...
), leaving Greece more diplomatically isolated and unable to advance a solution on the Cyprus problem. Papandreou shifted political power in domestic issues from the conservatives, who dominated Greek politics for decades, to a more populist and
centre-left Centre-left politics is the range of left-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. Ideologies commonly associated with it include social democracy, social liberalism, progressivism, and green politics. Ideas commo ...
locus. His inclusionist policies, expanding access to
healthcare Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wikt:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physic ...
,
education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...
and strengthening women's rights, ended the sociopolitical and economic exclusion of social classes. This shift in the Greek political landscape helped Greek society to become more pluralistic and converge to the Western European countries' social norms. His early achievements, however, were tarnished by controversial decisions leading to a
Constitutional crisis In political science, a constitutional crisis is a problem or conflict in the function of a government that the constitution, political constitution or other fundamental governing law is perceived to be unable to resolve. There are several variat ...
and many corruption scandals. Moreover, the revelation that Papandreou did not hesitate to redirect the junta's surveillance infrastructure against any Greek citizen who opposed him, his soft stance on terrorism, damaging the legitimacy of democratic institutions, and his public family drama dominated public discourse. Papandreou's populism under the guise of inclusionist social policies became part of PASOK's patronage, greatly expanded by misuse of EEC funds and an unprecedented rate of foreign borrowing that brought the Greek economy twice (1985 and 1989) to the verge of bankruptcy. His mishandling of the Greek economy's reconstruction became a central problem for future governments. Overall, Papandreou had little impact on improving the Greek state and its institutions, and his governance became a negative reference point. Papandreou's populism remained popular in a significant fraction (approximately 40%) of Greek society, despite the deterioration of the economy and the various corruption scandals. Papandreou's son, George Papandreou, was elected leader of PASOK in February 2004 and prime minister during the October 2009 parliamentary elections and the slogan chanted in political rallies was: "Andreas, you are still alive! You're leading us!" ().


Decorations and awards

* Knight Grand Cross of the
Order of Isabella the Catholic The Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic (; Abbreviation, Abbr.: OYC) is a knighthood and one of the three preeminent Order of merit, orders of merit bestowed by the Kingdom of Spain, alongside the Order of Charles III (established in 1771) and ...
(1983) * Star of People's Friendship (1985) *
Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star (Swedish language, Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden''), sometimes translated as the Royal Order of the North Star, is a Swedish order of chivalry created by Frederick I of Sweden, King Frederick I on 23 F ...
(1999)


Bibliography

Books * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Articles * *


Notes


Footnotes


References

Constitutions of Greece * * * Books * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Journals * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Newspapers and magazines * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Web and other sources * * * * * * * *


Additional reading

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External links

* * * * , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Papandreou, Andreas 1919 births 1996 deaths 20th-century Greek economists 20th-century prime ministers of Greece 20th-century Greek non-fiction writers Politicians from Chios Burials at the First Cemetery of Athens Centre Union politicians Children of prime ministers of Greece European democratic socialists Dependency theorists Eastern Orthodox Christians from Greece Greek anti-capitalists Greek emigrants to France Greek emigrants to Sweden Greek emigrants to the United States Greek exiles Greek expatriates in Canada Greek MPs 1964–1967 Greek MPs 1974–1977 Greek MPs 1977–1981 Greek MPs 1981–1985 Greek MPs 1985–1989 Greek MPs 1989 (June–November) Greek MPs 1989–1990 Greek MPs 1990–1993 MPs of Achaea Greek people of Lithuanian descent Greek people of Polish descent Greek socialists Greek republicans Harvard University alumni Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic Leaders of PASOK Ministers for Northern Greece Ministers of national defence of Greece National and Kapodistrian University of Athens alumni Order of the Polar Star
Andreas Andreas () is a name derived from the Greek noun ἀνήρ ''anēr'', with genitive ἀνδρός ''andros'', which means "man". See the article on Andrew for more information. The Scandinavian name is earliest attested as antreos in a runeston ...
Politicians from Athens Members of the Panhellenic Liberation Movement Former United States citizens Academic staff of Stockholm University United States Navy personnel of World War II University of California, Berkeley faculty University of Minnesota alumni Academic staff of York University Socialist economists Athens College alumni Deaths from kidney failure Greek government-debt crisis