Ioannis Mouzalas () is a Greek

obstetrician-gynecologist Obstetrics and gynaecology (also spelled as obstetrics and gynecology; abbreviated as Obst and Gynae, O&G, OB-GYN and OB/GYN) is the medical specialty that encompasses the two subspecialties of obstetrics (covering pregnancy, childbirth, and t ...

, surgeon and one of the founding members of the Greek chapter of

Doctors of the World Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded ...

. In August 2015, he was appointed Alternate Minister for Immigration Policy in the

Caretaker Cabinet of Vassiliki Thanou-Christophilou The Caretaker Cabinet of Vassiliki Thanou-Christophilou was formed following the resignation of the Syriza-ANEL coalition government on 20 August 2015, and the failure of opposition parties to form their own government. The cabinet was headed ...

. Following the September 2015 election, he was confirmed in office as a member of the Second Cabinet of Alexis Tsipras. From November 2016 to July 2019, the immigration portfolio was elevated to a ministry in its own right.

Early life and education

Mouzalas graduated from the Athens Medical School,

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 ...

, before continuing his studies in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

and

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Medical career

Mouzalas has worked in Tzaneio Hospital, Agios Savvas Hospital and Elena Hospital. In London, he worked with

Michel Odent Michel Odent (born 1930) is a French obstetrician and childbirth specialist. Education Born in a French village in 1930, Odent studied medicine in Paris and trained as a surgeon in the 1950s. He has been described in ''The Lancet'' as “one of t ...

. In 1999, he made the first childbirth in Greece in water. Mouzalas is one of the founding members of

and has participated in more than 25 missions in Asia and Africa.

Political career

Mouzalas was appointed as the Alternate Minister of Immigration Policy in the

. On 4 September, he announced four measures to help combat the

European migrant crisis The 2015 European migrant crisis was a period of significantly increased movement of refugees and Human migration, migrants into Europe, mostly from the Middle East. An estimated 1.3 million people came to the continent to request Right of asyl ...

: creation of a coordination centre to manage the refugee flow, improved and increased logistical and staff support to existing facilities, taking immediate advantage of European solidarity program and community funds and providing necessary funds and resources to help local economies on the islands affected. On 15 March 2016, in an interview with

Skai TV Skai TV is a Greek free-to-air television network based in Piraeus, operating under Skai Group. It has been broadcasting since 2006 and is available via digital terrestrial transmission, as well as subscription-based services such as Nova and ...

, Mouzalas referred to Greece's northern neighbour simply as "Macedonia", sparking a demand for his resignation from coalition partner

Panos Kammenos Panagiotis "Panos" Kammenos (, ; born 12 May 1965) is a Greek politician and the founder of the right-wing party " Independent Greeks", which formed the governing coalition of the Hellenic Parliament with the Syriza Party after Kammenos met with ...

due to 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 ...

. Mouzalas apologised for "slip-up", but on 16 March Kammenos reiterated his demand for Mouzalas' resignation. Following a lunchtime meeting with

Alexis Tsipras Alexis Tsipras (, ; born 28 July 1974) is a Greek politician who served as Prime Minister of Greece from 2015 to 2019. A left-wing figure, Tsipras was leader of the List of political parties in Greece, Greek political party Syriza from 200 ...

, Kammenos declared that the "Independent Greeks support the government but not the migration minister." Nevertheless, the government defended Mouzalas, saying in a statement that it was "irresponsible and hypocritical" to undermine him during the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mouzalas, Ioannis Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Syriza politicians Greek MPs 2019–2023 People from Athens