Preceded by office established Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras Spouse Fryni Dialeti | Preceded by Giannis Maniatis Party SYRIZA Name Panagiotis Lafazanis | |
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Born 19 November 1951 (age 72) Elefsina, Greece ( 1951-11-19 ) Education National and Kapodistrian University of Athens | ||
Panagiotis lafazanis coalition of the radical left syriza
Panagiotis Lafazanis (Greek: Παναγιώτης Λαφαζάνης, [panaˌʝotis lafaˈzanis]; born 19 November 1951) is a Greek politician. On August 21, 2015, he was named the leader of a new Greek left-wing political party, Popular Unity. Previously he was a member of Syriza, and from 27 January to 17 July 2015 he served in the cabinet of Alexis Tsipras as the Minister of Productive Reconstruction, Environment and Energy.
Contents
- Panagiotis lafazanis coalition of the radical left syriza
- Greece Gazprom CEO Miller meets Greek Energy Minister Lafazanis in Athens
- Early life and education
- Political career
- Personal life
- References
Greece: Gazprom CEO Miller meets Greek Energy Minister Lafazanis in Athens
Early life and education
Born in Elefsina, Lafazanis attended the faculty of mathematics at the University of Athens but did not graduate.
Political career
Lafazanis was involved in the Communist Party of Greece until the 1992 formation of Synaspismos, where he served as a member of the Political Secretariat.
Lafazanis was first elected as a Member of the Hellenic Parliament for Piraeus B at the 2000 Greek legislative election, representing Synaspismos. He was re-elected at the 2004 legislative election, the 2009 election (this time representing Syriza), the May 2012 election, the June 2012 election and the January 2015 election.
In the parliament of 2012–2014, he was Syriza's Parliamentary Spokesman and a member of the Special Permanent Committee on Institutions and Transparency. After the 2015 legislative election, he was appointed Minister of Productive Reconstruction, Environment and Energy in the cabinet of Alexis Tsipras on 27 January.
Lafazanis is the leader of Syriza's Left Platform and has been involved in a number of disputes with the more moderate party leader Alexis Tsipras. He has called "for SYRIZA to [be] swept by a new wave of radicalization in all areas, ideological, political, programmatic", opposing "the Troika, memoranda, neoliberalism and finally capitalism itself", and has spoken against continued Greek membership of the euro, describing the European Union as "totalitarian". On July 11, 2015 he rebelled against the SYRIZA/ANEL coalition by abstaining on a vote for austerity measures for a new bailout within the Eurozone.
In a cabinet reshuffle on 17 July 2015, Lafazanis was removed from his role as the Minister of Productive Reconstruction, Environment and Energy. He was replaced by Panos Skourletis, the Minister of Labour and Social Solidarity.
Personal life
Lafazanis is married to Fryni Dialeti and has three daughters. He also speaks English fluently.