Sokratis Kosmidis (; born 30 November 1945) is a Greek

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

who served as

Cabinet Secretary A cabinet secretary is usually a senior official (typically a civil servant) who provides services and advice to a cabinet of ministers as part of the Cabinet Office. In many countries, the position can have considerably wider functions and powe ...

as well 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 ...

Biography

Sokratis Kosmidis was born in

Piraeus Piraeus ( ; ; , Ancient: , Katharevousa: ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens city centre along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf in the Ath ...

, the youngest of three children born to Ioannis Kosmidis, a shoemaker, and to his wife, Eleni (née Lolosidou). He studied Law at 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 ...

. He is married to Domniki Kosmidou, and has two children, Ioanna and Nikolaos. He currently resides in

Voula Voula () is a southern suburb of Athens along the Athens coast and former municipality in East Attica, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Vari-Voula-Vouliagmeni, of which it is the seat and a municipal u ...

Legal career

Sokratis Kosmidis worked as a

for 25 years, between 1968 and 1993. During this time, Kosmidis served the following positions in his home city of Piraeus: From 1975 to 1978, he was director and columnist of the newspaper 'Piraeus Echoes' (); Between 1984 and 1987, he sat on the board of directors of the Piraeus Lawyer Association; From 1982 to 1989, he was president of the board of directors of the Insurance Fund for Maritime Agents and Employees. Following his two-year period as Secretary of the Ministry of Trade, from 1993-1995, Kosmidis returned to practice law for a few months, before retiring from law altogether.

Government career

Following the elections of 1993, Kosmidis was recruited by Minister of Trade

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 ...

to the Ministry of Trade. He was General Secretary of the Ministry of Trade for two years, before returning to practice Law. After working as a lawyer for a few more months, he was recruited yet again, this time to become General Secretary of the Ministry of Public Order. After seven months, however, he was appointed General Secretary to the Government by new

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 ...

Costas Simitis, a position which he immediately accepted and held for eight years. Sokratis Kosmidis in 2016

Following the elections of 2004, Kosmidis, now a prominent member of the

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 ...

party, became a Member of the

. He retired in 2007.

Books

* ''Απάνθισμα άρθρων και σχολίων (1981) (Collection of Articles and Comments)'' * ''Αυτό το κράτος μπορεί να διοικηθή; (1996) (Can this state manage?)'' * ''Πολιτική για το φάρμακο (2002) (Drug Policy)'' * ''Μια «αχρείαστη» Συνταγματική Αναθεώρηση (2007) (An unnecessary Constitutional Revision)'' * ''Εκσυγχρονισμός και μεταρρυθμίσεις (2010) (Modernization and Reforms)''

References

External links

Repository of works by Socrates Kosmidis
at the Costantinos Simitis Foundation {{DEFAULTSORT:Kosmidis, Sokratis 1943 births Living people 20th-century Greek lawyers People from Piraeus Politicians from Piraeus PASOK politicians Greek columnists Greek MPs 2004–2007