Dora Bakoyannis

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Dora Bakoyanni
Ντόρα Μπακογιάννη
Bakoyanni in 2009
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
15 February 2006 – 6 October 2009
Prime MinisterKostas Karamanlis
Preceded byPetros Molyviatis
Succeeded byGeorge Papandreou
Mayor of Athens
In office
1 January 2003 – 14 February 2006
Preceded byDimitris Avramopoulos
Succeeded byNikitas Kaklamanis
Minister for Culture
In office
3 December 1992 – 13 October 1993
Prime MinisterKonstantinos Mitsotakis
Preceded byAnna Benaki-Psarouda
Succeeded byMelina Mercouri
Personal details
Born
Theodora Mitsotaki

(1954-05-06) May 6, 1954 (age 69)
Athens, Greece
Political partyNew Democracy (Before 2010; 2012–present)
Democratic Alliance (2010–2012)
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1974; died 1989)​
Isidoros Kouvelos
​
(m. 1998)​
ChildrenAlexia
Kostas
Alma materUniversity of Munich
University of Athens
WebsiteOfficial website

Theodora "Dora" Bakoyanni (

Minister for Culture of Greece
from 1992 to 1993.

Bakoyannis has been serving as an independent member of the Hellenic Parliament representing unofficially Democratic Alliance, the political party she founded in 2010, having been expelled from the opposition New Democracy party due to voting against the party line. In May 2012, due to the critical situation in Greece before the elections and given the established electoral law, Democratic Alliance decided to cooperate with New Democracy, based on a specific framework of values and to suspend its activities.[1] Dora Bakoyannis rejoined New Democracy on 21 May 2012, ahead of the parliamentary election in June, where she headed the state deputies' ballot.

Early life and education

Bakoyannis was born in

centre-right political party New Democracy, and Marika Mitsotakis (née Giannoukou). Her family originates from Chania, Crete, and has a long tradition in the politics of Greece. Besides her father and herself, other members of the family include prominent politicians such as her grandfather, Kyriakos, and his brother Aristomenis, while her younger brother Kyriakos, is the current Prime Minister of Greece. She is also a great-granddaughter of Eleftherios Venizelos
' sister. This decade-long involvement has been reprehended as attestation for family-rule in Greek political life.

During her early school years, she attended the

Greek military junta in 1968, thus she completed her secondary schooling at the German School of Paris. She then studied political science and communication at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich without graduating. After the collapse of the junta, she returned to Greece and continued her academic studies in public law at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
. In addition to Greek, Bakoyannis is fluent in English, French and German.

Venizelos/Mitsotakis/Bakoyannis family tree

Main members of the Venizelos/Mitsotakis/Bakoyannis family.[2] Prime Ministers of Greece are highlighted in light blue.
Kyriakos Venizelos [la]
(?–1883)		Styliani Ploumidaki
(1830–1897)
Eleftherios Venizelos
(1864–1936)		Katingo Venizelou
(1858–1934)		Constantine "Costis" Mitsotakis [el]
(1845–1898)
Kyriakos Venizelos [el]
(1892–1942)		Sofoklis Venizelos
(1894–1964)		Kyriakos Mitsotakis [el]
(1892–1942)		Stavroula Ploumidaki[3]
(1896–1983)
Nikitas Venizelos
(1930–2020)		Konstantinos Mitsotakis
(1918–2017)		Marika Giannoukou
(1930–2012)
Pavlos Bakoyannis
(1935–1989)		Dora Bakoyannis
née Mitsotaki
(b. 1954)		Kyriakos Mitsotakis
(b. 1968)
Kostas Bakoyannis
(b. 1978)

Political career

Minister for Culture, 1992–1993

In the

Minister for Culture of Greece until the 1993 election
, when she was re-elected a member of Parliament for New Democracy as the main opposition party.

Years in opposition

On 29 April 1994, Bakoyannis was elected in the Central Committee of New Democracy by the party's Third Congress. In the

Shadow Minister
of Foreign Affairs and Defence in May 2000.

Mayor of Athens, 2002–2006

On 29 March 2002, Bakoyannis was picked to run for

Panhellenic Socialist Movement and a chance for Bakoyannis to earn prestige by this office in advance of the city hosting the Olympic games. She was elected what was aired as Athens' first female mayor in the city's 3,500-year history,[6] defeating her socialist opponent Christos Papoutsis and receiving a percentage of 60.6% in the runoff. As mayor, she was heavily involved in the preparation of the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, the first woman to serve as mayor of a city hosting the Olympic Games,[6] and passed the Olympic flag to the mayor of Beijing, Wang Qishan. In 2005 she was awarded the World Mayor Prize.[7]

In 2003, upon the invitation of Romano Prodi, then President of the European Commission, Bakoyannis joined a group of 12 high-level independent figures from Europe, as a member of a prestigious round-table conference, contributing proposals on the social character, cultural identity and economic future of new Europe.

Minister of Foreign Affairs, 2006–2009

Dora Bakoyannis with Vuk Jeremić, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia.
Dora Bakoyannis with Condoleezza Rice, United States Secretary of State.
OSCE Family Photo Vienna 15-01-2009

Bakoyannis left the office of Mayor before the end of her term, replaced by acting mayor

member of the Hellenic Parliament first among all the candidates in the Athens A' constituency once more.[9] As Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bakoyannis assumed the rotating Greek presidency of the United Nations Security Council in September 2006, while at a time of international tensions over nuclear programs in Iran and North Korea and amidst a fragile United Nations brokered cease-fire in Lebanon
.

During her incumbency, she promoted the cooperation in the

Cyprus dispute and the Macedonia naming dispute respectively.[10]

OSCE Chairperson-in-Office

Bakoyannis served as the

Marat Tazhin, who both formed along with Bakoyannis the OSCE Troika.[11]

Later political role

Bakoyannis was expelled from New Democracy on May 7, 2010, on the grounds of having defied New Democracy's line and voting "in favor" of a salient piece of legislation introducing the harsh austerity measures that were required for European Union-International Monetary Fund backed lending.[12] She continued to hold her parliamentary seat, originally secured by New Democracy, as an independent. On November 21, 2010, she founded her own political party called the Democratic Alliance.[13]

A member of the Greek delegation to the

Syrian Civil War.[15] In 2019, she announced her candidacy to succeed Thorbjørn Jagland as Secretary General of the Council of Europe.[16] The position was ultimately won by Croatia's Foreign Minister Marija Pejčinović Burić
.

In 2015, Bakoyannis was named a member of the OSCE Panel of Eminent Persons on European Security as a Common Project, chaired by Wolfgang Ischinger.[17]

Other activities

Recognition

In March 1992, the International Centre for Women awarded Bakoyannis the International Leadership Award, and in June 1993, she was recognised by the 14th International Symposium Fontana di Roma for her valuable contribution to culture.

Bakoyannis received the honor of being elected

State of Tyrol and the city of Innsbruck.[24] In 2009, she was named as the first female foreign associate of the French Academy in Humanities and Political Sciences.[25] The same year, she was also awarded the title of Honorary Senator by the European Academy of Sciences and Arts in Salzburg.[26] In 2010, Dora Bakoyannis has been awarded the National Order of the Chevalry of the Legion of Honour of the French Republic (Ordre Nationale de Chevalier de la Legion d' Honneur).[27]

On 21 March 2008 received a copy of the key of the city of Tirana on the occasion of her official visit to Albania.[28]

Remarkable incidents

On December 13, 2002, two months after taking office as mayor of Athens, an assassination attempt was made on her by a perpetrator who was considered mentally disturbed.[29][30]

In March 2021, the driver of her guard team killed a 23 year old man outside the Hellenic Parliament and the driver fled so as not to be found. The police drove the eyewitnesses away from the scene of the accident.[31][32][33]

Personal life

In December 1974, she was married to journalist

Ministry of Economic Coordination and was appointed in the Department of European Economic Community Affairs. When her father was elected leader of New Democracy in 1984, she served as chief of staff until 1989. On 26 September 1989, her husband, who had been elected a member of the Hellenic Parliament in the June 1989 election, was assassinated by members of the terrorist group Revolutionary Organization 17 November
, as he entered his office building. She was married to businessman Isidoros Kouvelos in 1998, but she retains her late husband's surname.

On October 18, 2021 she revealed that she has been diagnosed with multiple myeloma - a type of cancer of white blood cells.[34]

References

  1. ^ "Article". 8 December 2006.
  2. ^ Constantine Mitsotakis institute. "Biography – Roots". Retrieved 2015-12-23.
  3. ^ Stavroula Ploumidaki is also a first cousin, once removed, of Eleftherios Venizelos
  4. ^ Οι πρωταθλητές της "σταυρομαχίας" (in Greek). To Vima online. 2000-04-02. Archived from the original on 2012-09-14. Retrieved 2009-09-15.
  5. ^ "O κ. Κακλαμάνης στον "λάκκο των δελφίνων"" (in Greek). To Vima online. 2006-04-09. Archived from the original on 2012-04-30. Retrieved 2009-09-15.
  6. ^ a b "#66 Dora Bakoyannis". Forbes. 2006-08-31. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
  7. ^ "World Mayor: The results for World Mayor 2005".
  8. ^ a b "#67 Dora Bakoyannis". Forbes. 2007-08-30. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
  9. ^ "National Elections 2007 - A' Athinon - Candidates". Ministry of Interior website. 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2009-09-15.
  10. ^ "#78 Dora Bakoyannis". Forbes. 2008-08-27. Archived from the original on August 31, 2008. Retrieved 2009-09-13.
  11. ^ "Chairmanship - Chairperson-in-Office". OSCE. 2009. Archived from the original on August 29, 2009. Retrieved 2009-09-13.
  12. ^ Bakoyannis expelled from ND Archived May 8, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ "Bakoyannis founds 'Democratic Alliance' party". Athens News Agency. Archived from the original on 2012-03-05. Retrieved 2010-11-21.
  14. ^ Russia's new law on 'undesirable' foreign NGOs endangers the right of free expression, said PACE co-rapporteurs Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, press release of May 29, 2015.
  15. ^ Dora Bakoyannis: ‘There is space for Europe to play a useful role in Syria’ Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, press release of March 13, 2018.
  16. ^ Election of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe: Candidatures received Council of Europe, press release of January 11, 2019.
  17. ^ Panel of Eminent Persons on European Security as a Common Project Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, press release of January 12, 2015.
  18. ^ Board of Directors Archived 2018-10-22 at the Wayback Machine Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS).
  19. ^ Members of the Council European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR).
  20. ^ "Dora Bakoyannis, Mayor of Athens wins the 2005 World Mayor Award". World Mayor. 2005. Retrieved 2009-09-12.
  21. ^ "The 100 Most Powerful Women". Forbes. 2006-08-31. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
  22. ^ "The 100 Most Powerful Women". Forbes. 2007-08-30. Archived from the original on 2008-04-04. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
  23. ^ "The 100 Most Powerful Women". Forbes. 2008-08-27. Retrieved 2009-09-13.
  24. ^ Emperor Maximilian Prize
  25. ^ Associate Member of the French Academy[permanent dead link]
  26. ^ Honorary Senator European Academy
  27. ^ National Order of the Chivalry of the Legion of Honour Archived September 26, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  28. ^ Received a copy of the key of the city of Tirana Archived October 5, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  29. ^ "Armed attack against Dora Bakoyannis". in.gr. 2002-12-13. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  30. ^ "Murderous attack against Dora Bakoyannis". www.hri.org. Athens News Agency. 2002-12-13. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  31. ^ "Σοβαρά ερωτηματικά για τους χειρισμούς αστυνομικού σε θανατηφόρο τροχαίο ατύχημα στη Βουλή" [Serious doubts about the handling of a fatal car accident by a police officer in Parliament]. Αυγή (in Greek). 2021-03-14. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  32. ^ "Γιατί δεν συνελήφθη ο οδηγός για το τροχαίο έξω από τη Βουλή" [Why was the driver not arrested for the car accident outside the Hellenic Parliament?]. ΤΑ ΝΕΑ (in Greek). 2021-03-14. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  33. ^ "Τροχαίο δυστύχημα μπροστά στην Βουλή με όχημα της ασφάλειας της Ντόρας Μπακογιάννη. Προβληματική η στάση της Τροχαίας" [Car accident in front of the Hellenic Parliament with Dora Bakoyannis's security vehicle. The attitude of the Traffic Police is problematic]. MOTOMAG (in Greek). Archived from the original on 2021-04-24. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  34. ^ Newsroom. "Dora Bakoyannis reveals cancer diagnosis". www.ekathimerini.com. Retrieved 2021-10-19.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dora Bakoyannis.
Political offices
Preceded by Minister for Culture
1992–1993 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Mayor of Athens
2003–2006 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister for Foreign Affairs
2006–2009 		Succeeded by
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