Konstantinos "Kostis" Stephanopoulos (, 15 August 1926 – 20 November 2016) was a
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
conservative politician who served two consecutive terms as the
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 ...
from 1995 to 2005.
Life and career
Stephanopoulos was born in
Patras
Patras (; ; Katharevousa and ; ) is Greece's List of cities in Greece, third-largest city and the regional capital and largest city of Western Greece, in the northern Peloponnese, west of Athens. The city is built at the foot of Mount Panachaiko ...
on 15 August 1926 to the lawyer and radiologist
People's Party Member of Parliament, and Vrisiis Philopoulou.
After attending the Saint Andrew school of Patras, he studied law at
Athens University
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 ...
. He practiced law from 1954 until 1974 as a member of the Patras Bar Association.
He first stood for election in
1958, with the
National Radical Union
The National Radical Union ( (ΕΡΕ), (ERE)) was a Greek political party formed in 1956 by Konstantinos Karamanlis, mostly out of the Greek Rally party.
History
ERE was a conservative, right-wing party, which also had some prominent centris ...
and was elected for the first time as MP for
Achaea Prefecture in
1964
Events January
* January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved.
* January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...
. He was re-elected for the same constituency for
New Democracy (ND) in
1974,
1977
Events January
* January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
* January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...
,
1981
Events January
* January 1
** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union.
** Palau becomes a self-governing territory.
* January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...
and
1985
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...
.
He served as ND parliamentary secretary and parliamentary spokesman from 1981 to 1985.
In 1974, Stephanopoulos was appointed Deputy Minister of Commerce in the National Unity government of
Constantine Karamanlis. For the next seven years, he served in a number of ministerial posts in New Democracy governments;
Minister for the Interior from November 1974 to September 1976;
Minister for Social Services from September 1976 to November 1977 and
Minister for the Presidency from 1977 to 1981.
In August 1985 he resigned from ND after a disagreement with
Konstantinos Mitsotakis
Konstantinos Mitsotakis (, ; – 29 May 2017) was a Greek politician who was Prime Minister of Greece from 1990 to 1993. He graduated in law and economics from the University of Athens. His son, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, was elected as the Prime Mi ...
and on 6 September formed
Democratic Renewal (DIANA). He was elected Member of Parliament for Athens in the
1989
1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...
elections while continuing as the leader of DIANA, until it disbanded in June 1994.
On 8 March 1995, after being nominated by the conservative
Political Spring
Political Spring (, ''Politiki Anoiksi'') was a Greek conservative political party founded in June 1993 by Antonis Samaras. The party was formed after Antonis Samaras broke away from the governing New Democracy party after being dismissed as For ...
party and supported by the ruling
Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK), he was elected
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 ...
,
winning the election on a third ballot of MPs with 181 votes. He was the fifth person to hold the post since the
restoration of democratic rule in 1974. He was
re-elected on 8 February 2000 on the first ballot, after receiving the support of 269 of the 298 MPs present. He remained in office until 2 March 2005, when he was succeeded by
Karolos Papoulias.
As a President he was known for his low-key profile, unifying approach to current and international affairs, and gentlemanly behaviour. During his presidency, he was consistently the most popular public figure in Greece.
As head of state of the host country in the
Opening Ceremony
An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly constructed location or the start of an event. , he is the first
President of the Hellenic Republic officially declare open the
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece.
The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...
of
Athens
Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
, the Olympic Homecoming of the modern era on 13 August 2004. Stephanopoulos was accompanied by
Adjutant
Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of “human resources” in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed ...
to the President of the Hellenic Republic,
Air Force
An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...
Colonel
Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...
Georgios Dritsakos.
Stephanopoulos died in
Henry Dunant Hospital, Athens, on 20 November 2016 at the age of 90. He had been hospitalised three days earlier, suffering from fever and severe respiratory difficulty, which later emerged as
pneumonia
Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...
.
Family
Stephanopoulos was married for 29 years to Tzeni Stounopoulou, who died in 1988. The couple had three children.
Honours and awards
Stephanopoulos received many honorary awards and the highest decorations of foreign countries. He was an honorary citizen of many Greek towns.
* :
Order of the White Eagle (1996)
* : Grand Cross of the
Order of Vytautas the Great (21 February 1997)
* :
Order of Sikatuna
The Order of Sikatuna () is the national order of diplomatic merit of the Republic of the Philippines. It is conferred upon individuals who have rendered exceptional and meritorious services to the Republic of the Philippines, upon diplomats, ...
(23 June 1997)
* : Collar of the
Order of Charles III
The Royal and Distinguished Spanish Order of Charles III, originally Royal and Much Distinguished Order of Charles III (, originally ; Abbreviation, Abbr.: OC3) is a knighthood and one of the three preeminent Order of merit, orders of merit bes ...
(22 May 1998)
* :
Grand Order of King Tomislav ("For outstanding contribution to promoting friendly relations and developing mutual cooperation between the Republic of Croatia and the Hellenic Republic." – 3 December 1998)
* :
Golden Order of Freedom (1999).
* : Grand Star of the
Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria (1999)
* : Collar of
Order of the Star of Romania
The Order of the Star of Romania (Romanian: ''Ordinul Steaua României'') is Romania's highest civil Order and second highest State decoration after the Order of Michael the Brave. It is the oldest Order of Romania. It is awarded by the Preside ...
(1999)
* : Knight of the
Royal Order of the Seraphim (24 April 1999)
* : Collar of the
Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana (4 May 1999)
* : Grand Cross of the
Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas (1 July 1999)
* : Grand Cross (or 1st Class) of the
Order of the White Double Cross (2000)
* : Grand Collar of the
Order of Prince Henry
The Order of Prince Henry () is a Portuguese order of knighthood created on 2 June 1960, to commemorate the quincentenary of the death of the Portuguese ''infante'' Prince Henry the Navigator, one of the main initiators of the Age of Discovery. M ...
(21 February 2000)
* : Knight Grand Cross with Grand Cordon of the
Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic () is the most senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of Italy, President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi.
The highest-ranking honour of the Republi ...
(23 January 2001)
* : Knight Grand Cross of the
Order of the Falcon
The Order of the Falcon () is the only order of chivalry in Iceland, founded by Christian X of Denmark, King Christian X of Denmark and Iceland on 3 July 1921. The award is awarded for merit for Iceland and humanity and has five degrees. Nowaday ...
(18 September 2001)
* : Knight with the Collar of the
Order of Pope Pius IX (2002)
* :
National Order of Merit (Malta)
The National Order of Merit is a Order (honour), state order of the Malta, Republic of Malta. The order is divided into four grades that may be awarded to Maltese citizens.
The grade of Companion of Honour of the National Order of Merit is the ...
(5 September 2002)
* : Grand Cross of the
Order of St. Olav (7 June 2004)
* : Knight of the
Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau[www.gouvernement.lu/](_blank)
, State visit of President Stephanopoulos in Luxembourg, July 2001
* : Grand Cross
Order of the Three Stars
Order of the Three Stars () is the highest civilian order awarded for meritorious service to Latvia. It was established in 1924 in remembrance of the founding of Latvia. Its motto is ''Per aspera ad astra'', meaning "Through hardships towards the ...
* : Received a copy of the key of the city of
Tirana
Tirana ( , ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in Albania, largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills, with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest ov ...
on the occasion of his state visit to Albania.
Received a copy of the key of the city of Tirana, 19.10.2004
* : Honorary Doctor Degree, Azerbaijan State University of Economics
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Stephanopoulos, Konstantinos
1926 births
2016 deaths
20th-century presidents of Greece
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)
MPs of Achaea
Ministers of the interior of Greece
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens alumni
National Radical Union politicians
New Democracy (Greece) politicians
People from Patras
Politicians from Patras
Deaths from pneumonia in Greece
Recipients of the Olympic Order
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Falcon
Knights Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
Recipients of the Collar of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana
First Class of the Order of the Star of Romania
Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland)
21st-century presidents of Greece