Lena Samaras, the 34-year-old daughter of former Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and Georgia Samaras, has died suddenly from cardiac arrest, plunging one of Greece’s most prominent political families into mourning.
The tragedy unfolded on Wednesday afternoon when Lena experienced a seizure and was initially rushed to Sismanogleio Hospital.
Doctors recommended neurological tests and referred her to Evangelismos Hospital in central Athens for further evaluation.
During a cardiology check, while the medical team was collecting her history and without her showing any alarming symptoms Lena went into cardiac arrest.
Doctors at Evangelismos fought for 50 minutes to revive her, but their efforts were ultimately unsuccessful. Medical sources have indicated that Lena had a history of seizures.
Eleni-Danai Samaras, known as Lena, was a civil engineer who studied at City University in London.
She had graduated from Athens College in 2008 and was passionate about tennis, having also participated in the 2007 Heart-to-Heart Partnership Program organised by the Greek Embassy in Beijing ahead of the 2008 Olympic Games.
Named after her grandmother, Eleni-Lena Zanna, Lena was also the great-granddaughter of celebrated author Penelope Delta. She grew up immersed in public life, often by her father’s side during key moments in his political career, including his appointment as Minister of Culture in 2009 and his later election as President of New Democracy.
One of her closest lifelong friends was Lillian Vildiridi, now General Secretary of the Ministry of Health and a member of the well-known Greek jeweller family.
The news of Lena’s death has sparked an outpouring of grief across Greece’s political and public spheres.
Tributes continue to flow as the Samaras family faces this profound personal loss.
