Giannos Papantoniou

Giannos Papantoniou

Giannos Papantoniou ( Greek Γιάννος Παπαντωνίου ; born July 27, 1949 in Paris ) is a Greek politician . From 1996 to 2004 he was a minister in various departments.

Giannos Papantoniou studied economics at the Universities of Athens and Wisconsin ( USA ) and history in Paris . He wrote his doctoral thesis in economics at Cambridge University on the subject of post-war industrialization in Greece .

From 1977 to 1978 Papantoniou taught economics at the University of Athens and carried out a research assignment at the Center of Planning and Economic Research , Athens.

From 1978 to 1981 he worked in the economic department of the OECD in Paris. In addition to this activity, during this period he made contributions to the development of the economic program of the Panhellenistic Socialist Movement ( PASOK ).

In 1981 he became a member of PASOK in the European Parliament . After this mandate ended, he was appointed advisor to the Prime Minister on European Community issues . At the same time he took on the role of representative of Greece in the ad hoc committee for the assessment of the institutional problems of the European committees , installed by the Council of Europe .

In 1985 Papantoniou was appointed Deputy Minister of the Economy and in March 1986 Minister of Commerce. In June 1989 he became a member of the Greek Parliament for the 1st district of Athens. He was re-elected in October 1993. From 1996 he was Minister for the National Economy and Finance, from 2001 to 2004 Minister of Defense of Greece.

Papantoniou was investigated on suspicion of tax evasion . He is said to have concealed his wife's million dollar fortune in the 2008 tax return. He claims to have known nothing about his wife's account. He was released on bail of 50,000 euros. On November 18, 2014, he was sentenced to 4 years probation.

In the summer of 2017, Papantoniou was charged with money laundering . In October 2018, Papantoniou and his wife were taken into custody on suspicion of accepting bribes for arms contracts. The judiciary had discovered amounts of money in the ex-minister's accounts, which they believe to be bribes in connection with the modernization of ships of the German Navy. Papantoniou suspects political motives behind his legal prosecution.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Greece newspaper of April 24, 2013, p. 4: "Former minister released on bail"
2. ^ "Kathimerini" newspaper, November 18, 2014
3. ↑ Gerd Höhler : “Borjans List” - money laundering charge against former Greek minister. In: Handelsblatt . June 3, 2017, accessed October 24, 2018 . 
4. ^ Greece - Former Defense Minister Papantoniou in custody. In: Handelsblatt . October 24, 2018, accessed October 24, 2018 . 

Web links

Commons : Giannos Papantoniou  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Entry on Giannos Papantoniou in the Members' database of the European Parliament