The Cabinet announced by newly elected Greek Prime Minister, George Papandreou on Tuesday combined new faces in politics with experience of working in international and European insititutions as well as experienced members of PASOK. who have been Ministers in previous PASOk governments
A notable highlight is the appointment of 9 women to ministerial positions in cabinet
Papandreou fulfilled his promise for “a lean and effective government” by cutting back to 14 the number of ministries.
The sweeping restructuring of government announced on Tuesday included two Ministries to deal with issues of the economy and finance.
His Pasok party’s finance spokeswoman, Louka Katseli, was named to take on the economy ministry.
Katseli is a 57-year-old economics professor who taught at Yale University in the United States and worked at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
He also named Georges Papakonstantinou, a 49-year-old graduate of the London School of Economics, to the finance ministry.
Apart from the expanded economics ministry, Papandreou announced the creation of a new Ministry for Citizens’ Protection with responsibility for the police, fire department and civil protection.
He appointed Michalis Chryssohoidis to the post, who previously served as minister for public order from 1999 to 2003 and is credited with catching and dismantling Greece’s deadliest urban terrorist group, November 17, during his term in office.
The upgraded citizen’s protection ministry comes into effect to improve policing and fire prevention after two massive wildfire disasters in the space of two years.
Likewise, Papandreou created an independent environment, energy and climate change ministry, splitting in two the previous cabinet position that combined environmental policy with public works.
The public works ministry, in turn, has been combined with the previous transport ministry to create a super-Ministry of Infrastructure, Transport and Networks.
Greece’s other big earner, tourism, was placed under the culture ministry, which oversees archaeological sites and museums and put under Pavlos Geroulanos, a member of the prime minister’s inner circle and a close advisor.
The prime minister named Evangelos Venizelos in the defence portfolio and put his old confidant, Yannis Ragoussis in charge of the interior ministry.
Ragousis, a 43-year-old economist and former mayor of the island of Paros, has served as minister in several earlier governments and is a senior party member.
The Ministerial List
The Ministerial list is as follows:
Prime Minister: George Papandreou
Deputy Prime Minister: Theodore Pangalos
Interior, Decentralization and Electronic Governance Minister: Yiannis Ragoussis
Finance: George Papaconstantinou
Foreign Affairs: George Papandreou
Defence: Evangelos Venizelos
Economy, Competitiveness and Shipping: Louka Katseli
Environment, Energy and Climate Change: Tina Birbili
Education and Religious Affairs: Anna Diamantopoulou
Infrastructure, Transport and Networks: Dimitris Reppas
Labor and Social Security: Andreas Loverdos
Health and Social Solidarity: Mariliza Xenogiannakopoulou
Agriculture and Food: Katerina Batzeli
Justice, Transparency and Human Rights: Haris Kastanidis
Citizen’s Protection: Michalis Chryssohoidis
Culture and Tourism: Pavlos Geroulanos
State Minister: Haris Pamboukis