Milena Apostolaki (, born 21 February 1965) is 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 ...

politician of 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).

Life

Apostolaki was born in 1965 in

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 ...

, Greece. She finished her high school studies in the Arsakeion of

Psychiko Psychiko ( ) is a town and a suburb in the Athens#Athens Urban Area, Athens agglomeration, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Filothei-Psychiko, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. The municipal ...

, and graduated from the Law School of 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 ...

. In 1989 she joined the Law Department of

Olympic Airlines Olympic Airlines (, ''Olympiakés Aerogrammés'' – OA), formerly named Olympic Airways, was the flag carrier airline of Greece. The airline's head office was located in Athens. The airline operated services to 37 domestic destinations and ...

, and in 1992 she joined a law office in Washington DC dealing with Aviation Law and International contracts. From 1993 until 1995 she was a member of the Law Office of Prime Minister

Andreas Papandreou Andreas Georgiou Papandreou (, ; 5 February 1919 – 23 June 1996) was a Greek academic and economist who founded the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) and served three terms as Prime minister of Greece, prime minister of Third Hellenic Repu ...

. From 1995 until 2000 she was a special advisor to the ministries of Justice, Culture and Development. Apostolaki was elected for the first time as a Member of the

Hellenic Parliament The Parliament of the Hellenes (), commonly known as the Hellenic Parliament (), is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Greece, located in the Old Royal Palace, overlooking Syntagma Square in Athens. The parliament is the supreme demo ...

for the Athens B constituency with the

at the general elections of 9 April 2000, and has been re-elected in the 7 March 2004, 16 September 2007 and 4 October 2009 elections. Apostolaki has been member of the Standing Committee of Educational Issues of the Parliament, of the Special Standing Committee of Research and Technology and of the Committee for the Revision of the Constitution. On 13 April 2000 she was appointed as a Deputy Minister of

Development Development or developing may refer to: Arts *Development (music), the process by which thematic material is reshaped * Photographic development *Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting * Development hell, when a proje ...

in charge of Commerce and Consumer Protection. In October 2001, she was elected as a member of the PASOK Executive Bureau. From 16 March 2005 to December 2006 she was elected as a member of the PASOK Political Council, with responsibility for Education and Culture from June 2006. She married businessman Polichronis Sygelidis and they had a son. They divorced in 2004, however a court settlement has not been reached. Mr Sygelidis initiated criminal procedures against his wife on the grounds of violating the terms of access to their child. On the back of this the Greek Vouli (parliament) refused to lift the parliamentary immunity enjoyed by Apostolakis. But the case went to the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The court hears applications alleging that a co ...

which found in favour of Mr Sygelidis and found against the Hellenic Republic; it fined Greece €19,000 in favour of Sygelidis. She briefly ran in the

2024 PASOK – KINAL leadership election The 2024 PASOK – Movement for Change leadership election took place on the 6th of October 2024, with a second round on the 13th of the same month, in order to elect the president of PASOK – Movement for Change. It was triggered on June 30, f ...

for the leadership of the PASOK – KINAL party on 6 October 2024, from 1 July to 24 July 2024. Apostolaki is fluent in English and French.

References

Biography of Milena Apostolaki

Biography of Milena Apostolaki in the Official Website of the Hellenic Parliament
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External links

Official Website of Milena Apostolaki
{{DEFAULTSORT:Apostolaki, Milena Living people 1965 births PASOK politicians Government ministers of Greece Politicians from Athens National and Kapodistrian University of Athens alumni Greek MPs 2000–2004 Greek MPs 2004–2007 Greek MPs 2007–2009 Greek MPs 2009–2012 Greek MPs 2023– 21st-century Greek women politicians 20th-century Greek women politicians Women government ministers of Greece Women members of the Hellenic Parliament