Costas Simitis

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Costas Simitis
Κώστας Σημίτης
Simitis in 2003
Prime Minister of Greece
In office 22 January 1996 – 10 March 2004
President	Kostis Stephanopoulos
Preceded by	Andreas Papandreou
Succeeded by	Kostas Karamanlis
President of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement
In office 30 June 1996 – 8 February 2004
Preceded by	Andreas Papandreou
Succeeded by	George Papandreou
Ministerial offices Minister of Industry, Energy, Research and Technology In office 13 October 1993 – 15 September 1995 Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou Preceded by Vasileios Kontogiannopoulos Succeeded by Anastasios Peponis Minister of Trade In office 13 October 1993 – 15 September 1995 Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou Preceded by Vasileios Kontogiannopoulos Succeeded by Nikolaos Akritidis Minister of National Education and Religious Affairs In office 23 November 1989 – 13 February 1990 Prime Minister Xenophon Zolotas Preceded by Konstantinos Despotopoulos Succeeded by Konstantinos Despotopoulos Minister of National Economy In office 26 July 1985 – 27 November 1987 Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou Preceded by Gerasimos Arsenis Succeeded by Panagiotis Roumeliotis Minister of Agriculture In office 21 October 1981 – 26 July 1985 Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou Preceded by Athanasios Kanellopoulos Succeeded by Ioannis Pottakis
Member of the Hellenic Parliament
In office 2 June 1985 – 7 September 2009
Constituency	Piraeus A
Personal details
Born	(1936-06-23)23 June 1936 Piraeus, Greece
Died	5 January 2025(2025-01-05) (aged 88) Corinth, Greece
Resting place	First Cemetery of Athens
Political party	Panhellenic Socialist Movement
Other political affiliations	PASOK – Movement for Change
Spouse	Daphne Arkadiou ​ (m. 1964)​
Relations	Spiros Simitis (brother)
Children	Fiona Marilena
Alma mater	University of Marburg London School of Economics
Website	Official website

Konstantinos G. Simitis (Greek: Κωνσταντίνος Γ. Σημίτης; 23 June 1936 – 5 January 2025) was a Greek politician who led the 'Modernization' movement of Greece ^{[citation needed]}. He succeeded in leadership Andreas Papandreou, the founder of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK), and served as Prime Minister of Greece from 1996 to 2004.

Simitis was a founding member of PASOK, and he gained significant ministerial experience in Papandreou's governments. Simitis' reputation was marked when he became Minister of National Economy in 1985 when PASOK's profligacy needed a new financial 'stability' imposed through an economic adjustment programme. With stability achieved and the party's popularity waning, Papandreou distanced himself from Simitis' policies, and Simitis resigned.

In 1996, Simitis won the leadership of PASOK after Papandreou's failing health. However, the leadership transition from Papandreou to Simitis was confrontational by loyalists of the former Prime Minister, who wanted to prevent such a transition from being realized. Simitis lacked his predecessor's charisma, and the fractured party's support limited many of his actions in government. However, by the end of his tenure in 2004, Simitis had several significant achievements and reforms in the wider society and economy to proclaim. After two decades of the exuberant rhetoric of Simitis’ predecessors and financial stagnation,^[1] the Greek economy was put in order and became one of the fastest-growing economies in Europe,^[2] with an average annual increase of 4.1% of gross domestic product (GDP). The performance of the Greek economy under Simitis sealed the Greek entry into the Euro currency, closing the journey of aligning Greece with the West, which started with Eleftherios Venizelos and continued with Constantine Karamanlis. Simitis also succeeded in the Cypriot accession into the EU, a diplomatic priority for Greece. The successful completion of the Athens 2004 Summer Olympics also boosted Greece's positive image as a modern state capable of undertaking sophisticated tasks. Moreover, a variety of large-scale infrastructure projects were completed, like the new Eleftherios Venizelos airport, the Athens Ring road, Athens Metro, and Rio–Antirrio Bridge. New institutions were also introduced, such as the Greek Ombudsman and several regulatory bodies to supervise market liberalization.^[3]

After the debt crisis erupted in Greece in 2009, the legacy of Simitis was re-interpreted by critics as insufficient or misleading. However, government institutions under Simitis were developed and strengthened in their capacity to reform, appearing both more 'modern' and 'European.'^[3]