Kyriakos Mitsotakis

Kyriakos Mitsotakis
Κυριάκος Μητσοτάκης
MP
Leader of the Opposition
Assumed office
11 January 2016
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras
Preceded by Ioannis Plakiotakis
President of New Democracy
Assumed office
11 January 2016
Vice President Adonis Georgiadis
Kostis Hatzidakis
Preceded by Ioannis Plakiotakis (Acting)
Minister of Administrative Reform and e-Governance
In office
24 June 2013 – 27 January 2015
Prime Minister Antonis Samaras
Preceded by Antonis Manitakis
Succeeded by Nikos Voutsis (Interior and Administrative Reconstruction)
Member of the Hellenic Parliament
for Athens B
Assumed office
7 March 2004
Personal details
Born Kyriakos Alec Mitsotakis
(1968-03-04) 4 March 1968
Athens, Greece
Political party New Democracy
Spouse(s) Mareva Grabowski
Children 3
Education Harvard University (BA, MBA)
Stanford University (MA)

Kyriakos Mitsotakis (Greek: Κυριάκος Μητσοτάκης; born 4 March 1968) is a Greek politician who has been President of New Democracy and Leader of the Opposition since January 2016. He served as Minister of Administrative Reform and e-Governance from 2011 to 2015. He has been a Member of the Hellenic Parliament for the Athens B parliamentary constituency since 2004.

Early life and education

Born in Athens, he is the son of the former Prime Minister of Greece and honorary president of New Democracy, Konstantinos Mitsotakis and his wife Marika. At the time of his birth his family had been placed under house arrest by the Greek military junta that had declared his father persona non grata and imprisoned him on the night of the coup[1]. The family left Greece for Paris in 1968, when Kyriakos Mitsotakis was six months old and returned to Greece when democracy was restored, in 1974. Later on in his life Mitsotakis described the first six months of his life as political imprisonment.[2]

In 1986 he graduated salutatorian from Athens College.

From 1986 to 1990 he attended Harvard University graduating summa cum laude and earning a B.A. in Social Studies. He was also a recipient of the Hoopes and Tocqueville prizes.

From 1992 to 1993 he attended Stanford University earning an M.A. in International Relations.

From 1993 to 1995 he attended Harvard Business School where he earned his M.B.A.[3]

Professional career

From 1990 to 1991 Kyriakos Mitsotakis worked as a Financial Analyst at the Corporate Finance division of Chase Bank in London.

From 1991 to 1992 Mitsotakis returned to Greece and joined the Hellenic Air Force to fulfill his mandatory National Service obligations.

From 1995 to 1997 and following the successful completion of his post-graduate studies at Stanford University and Harvard Business School, he was employed by the consultancy McKinsey & Company in London, focusing primarily on the Telecommunications and Financial Services industries.

From 1997 to 1999 he worked for Alpha Ventures, a private equity subsidiary of Alpha Bank, as a Senior Investment Officer, executing venture capital and private equity transactions.

In 1999 he founded NBG Venture Capital, the private equity and venture capital subsidiary of the National Bank of Greece and acted as its CEO until April 2003, when he resigned in order to pursue a career in politics, managing its portfolio and executing transactions in Greece and the Balkans.[4]

In January 2003 he was nominated by the World Economic Forum as a Global Leader of Tomorrow.[5]

Political career

During the 2000 legislative election, Mitsotakis worked for New Democracy's national campaign. In the 2004 legislative election, Mitsotakis ran in the Athens B constituency, receiving more votes than any other New Democracy candidate in the country and was elected to the Hellenic Parliament.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis is honorary president of Konstantinos K. Mitsotakis Foundation, aiming at promoting the life and works of Konstantinos Mitsotakis and at reporting the modern political history of Greece.

In 24 June 2013, Mitsotakis was appointed as the Minister of Administrative Reform and e-Governance in Antonis Samaras' cabinet, succeeding Antonis Manitakis. He served in this position until January 2015. During this time, he pursued comprehensive national reforms by implementing a functional reorganization of institutions, structures and processes. He steadfastly supported the drastic downsizing of the Public Sector and the structural reform of the tax administration.

In 2015, Mitsotakis served as a parliamentary representative for New Democracy, representing the President of the party in Parliament, as well as the body of the party's Representatives. He was charged with expressing the positions of his party during Parliamentary procedures and discourse, as well as ensuring the proper function of Parliament through a process of checks and balances. In March 2015, he claimed that then-Minister of Finance Yanis Varoufakis was undermining the Greek negotiations over the third bailout programme, saying: "Every time he opens his mouth, he creates a problem for the country’s negotiating position."[6]

Mitsotakis was the first of four New Democracy members to announce their candidacy in the leadership election, declared following the resignation of Antonis Samaras as party leader and the failure of New Democracy in the September 2015 snap election.[7] Amongst the other contestants was then-interim leader and former Speaker of the Hellenic Parliament Vangelis Meimarakis. According to the Financial Times, Mitsotakis was "billed as an outsider in the leadership race" due to the party establishment's support of Meimarakis' candidacy.[8] Following the first round of voting with no clear winner, Mitsotakis came second, 11% behind Meimarakis.[8]

On 10 January 2016, Mitsotakis was elected president of the New Democracy political party succeeding Ioannis Plakiotakis (transitional president) with almost 4% difference from opponent Vangelis Meimarakis. A week following Mitsotakis' election as leader, two opinion polls were published that put New Democracy ahead of Syriza for the first time in a year.[9]

In his words he "is an ardent defender of a small and efficient state, education reform, the fight against red-tape and monopolistic practices that impede development and the fight against partisanship and cronyism in government".[10]

Siemens scandal allegations

In 2007 it was reported that Kyriakos Mitsotakis was involved in the Siemens Greek bribery scandal,[11] however, Mitsotakis has repeatedly denied any involvement and no indication of guilt has so far been proven. The Siemens trial, in which Kyriakos Mitsotakis is not involved, is still pending.[12]

Electronic office equipment, call centers, air conditioners etc. worth approx. €130,000 was received in the period preceding the 2007 elections (June to September 2007) by Mitsotakis from Siemens and two of its subsidiaries. The invoices indicate payment period of up to 60 days, however no part of the amount was paid until February 2008, when part of it was paid, just when the Siemens case was reopened by the courts, and an amount of €43,850 was paid by check from Mr. Mitsotakis on Monday June 2. Earlier (on 29 May) testimonies had been made about "donations and grants by Siemens to politicians" and on 30 May 2008 the prosecutor's investigation took place at the company's offices.[13]

Personal life

Kyriakos Mitsotakis is married to Mareva Grabowski and has three children; Sofia, Konstantinos and Dafni.

In addition to Greek, he speaks English, French and German.

Mitsotakis is the younger brother of former Minister for Foreign Affairs and Mayor of Athens Dora Bakoyannis, therefore making him the brother-in-law of the late Pavlos Bakoyannis, who was assassinated by the terrorist group 17 November in 1989 and the uncle of Kostas Bakoyannis, current Regional Governor of Central Greece.

Venizelos/Mitsotakis family tree

References

  1. ↑ http://www.huffingtonpost.gr/2016/07/22/politiki-mitsotakis-_n_11140290.html
  2. ↑ http://www.dimokratiki.gr/22-07-2016/ti-apanta-o-kiriakos-mitsotakis-apo-facebook-oti-itan-politikos-kratoumenos-6-minon/
  3. ↑ https://www.concordia.net/community/kyriakos-mitsotakis/
  4. ↑ https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyriakosmitsotakis/
  5. ↑ http://www.delphiforum.gr/speakers/kyriakos-mitsotakis
  6. ↑ "Varoufakis undermining Greek negotiations, says Mitsotakis". Kathimerini. 9 March 2015. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  7. ↑ "Mitsotakis first to declare will run for ND leadership". Kathimerini. 22 September 2015. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  8. 1 2 Hope, Kerin (10 January 2016). "Free-market reformer Mitsotakis wins vote to lead Greece opposition party". Financial Times. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  9. ↑ "Greek opposition ahead of Syriza for first time in a year". AFP. 17 January 2016. Retrieved 19 January 2016 – via Yahoo News.
  10. ↑ https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyriakosmitsotakis/
  11. ↑ "Ελευθεροτυπία - Τιμολόγια για τρεις Μητσοτάκηδες στη "Ζίμενς"". Archived from the original on February 25, 2011. Retrieved 2017-05-09.
  12. ↑ "Υπόθεση Siemens: Στις 24 Φεβρουαρίου αρχίζει η δίκη".
  13. ↑ "Ο Στουρνάρας, ο Κυριάκος και το τεράστιο πολιτικό σκάνδαλο της Siemens". Mignatiou.com. 2015-12-23. Retrieved 2016-06-21.
  14. ↑ Constantine Mitsotakis institute. "Biography – Roots". Retrieved 2015-12-23.
  15. ↑ Stavroula Ploumidaki is also a first cousin, once removed, of Eleftherios Venizelos
Party political offices
Preceded by
Ioannis Plakiotakis
Acting		 President of New Democracy
2016–present		 Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by
Ioannis Plakiotakis		 Leader of the Opposition
2016–present		 Incumbent

This page incorporates information from the Hellenic Parliament website

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