Nikos Kotzias
Nikolaos Kotzias Νικόλαος Κοτζιάς | |
---|---|
Minister for Foreign Affairs | |
In office 23 September 2015 – 20 October 2018 | |
Prime Minister | Alexis Tsipras |
Preceded by | Petros Molyviatis |
Succeeded by | Alexis Tsipras (Acting) |
In office 27 January 2015 – 28 August 2015 | |
Prime Minister | Alexis Tsipras |
Preceded by | Evangelos Venizelos |
Succeeded by | Petros Molyviatis |
Personal details | |
Born | [1] Athens, Greece | 21 December 1950
Political party | Syriza[2] |
Alma mater | University of Giessen |
Website | Official website |
Nikolaos Kotzias, GCM (Greek: Νικόλαος Κοτζιάς; born 21 December 1950[1]) is a Greek politician and diplomat who served as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2015 to 2018.
He was Foreign Minister from 23 September 2015 until his resignation on 17 October 2018;
Early life and career
Kotzias studied economics (Diploma) and Political Science and Philosophy (MA) in Athens and Law and Politics of European Integration (PhD and Post-doc) at the
In addition to numerous other publications, he wrote 24 scientific books, published the German philosopher in the tradition of critical theory Jürgen Habermas in Greece and also released a collection of poems [6]
Political career
Kotzias was active as a student in the
Kotzias broke with the Communist Party after the majority's decision to co-ally with the conservatives in order to bring
He is a founding member of
From 1993 to 2008, he was in the diplomatic service in the
Kotzias played an important role during the "spring" of the Greek-Turkish relations in 1999, implementing the
He was also the Greek representative in the 2002 Helsinki agreement which regulated Turkey's candidacy status for EU membership and paved the way for Cyprus' accession in 2004.[10]
In September 2012, Kotzias founded the progressive and democratic political movement named
In one of his interviews in
He speaks Greek, German as native and fluent English.
Since January 2015 Kotzias is Foreign Minister in a cabinet in coalition with Independent Greeks, a right wing conservative party that also opposes austerity.
Foreign policy views
Nikos Kotzias is an advocate of a multidimensional, energetic and democratic attitude towards foreign policy. He supports the view that even a relatively small state, in terms of economic power, can take advantage of the changes that occur in a global context and increase its capacities to allow it to exercise an autonomous foreign policy according to the national interest. Supporting the view that the world has already begun to move towards multipolarity, Kotzias believes that states that wish to increase their influence and capacities should seek to forge concrete relations with the emerging powers (BRICS).
"Debt colony" theory
In one of his latest books "The Colony of Debt", Nikos Kotzias claims that the European Union is developing empire characteristics, as it perceives markets, the bureaucracy in Brussels and Germany as focal elements of its structure. In this way, he argues, the EU is rendering in a two-tier region of a rich North and poor South.[11]
Minister of Foreign Affairs
On 27 January 2015, Nikos Kotzias was appointed as Minister of Foreign Affairs, despite not being a member of parliament. During the ceremony of the handing of the ministry, Kotzias gave a notion of his political approach stating: "We look forward to bridges with the new emerging world. We do not see our membership in European institutions as conflictual to our relations with emerging powers."[15]
In the same night of Kotzias's appointment, the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement, issuing Greece's unwillingness to agree to key passage of statement, delaying agreement for further EU
The 29 January meeting resulted to an improved and softened version of the statement, extending the ongoing sanctions but avoiding to include further measures, mainly due to the position that the Greek minister held. Federica Mogherini, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, stated that Kotzias's "attitude was extremely constructive" during the meeting and that "this was an extremely positive exercise" which led to "a consensual and substantial decision."[17]
Second term as Minister of Foreign Affairs and resignation
After the announcement for early legislative elections on 20 September 2015, Nikos Kotzias was nominated as a candidate on SYRIZA national ballots after the agreement of Pratto to co-ally with SYRIZA, and he was elected as a member of the
On 23 September 2015, after the formation of a coalition government between SYRIZA and Independent Greeks, Kotzias was appointed as Minister of Foreign Affairs for a second time, succeeding the caretaker minister Petros Molyviatis.
On 17 October 2018 Kotzias submitted his resignation, a day after a cabinet meeting during which he clashed over the
Selected books and articles
- Poland and Ourselves. Synchroni Epochi (1981)
- Globalization, The historical place and the future. Kastaniotis Publications (2003) ISBN 978-960-03-3505-7
- The active democratic State. Nation State and Globalization (co-written with Petros Liacouras) Kastaniotis Publications (2004) ISBN 960-03-3646-6
- EU–US Relations: Repairing the Transatlantic Rift. (ed. with Petros Liacouras) Palgrave Macmillan (2006) ISBN 1-4039-3520-3
- Beyond high politics: Promise and limits of rapprochement. In: Anastasakis et al.: In the Long Shadow of Europe: Greeks and Turks in the Era of Postnationalism, Brill, 2009, ISBN 978-90-04-17112-1
- Greek Foreign Policy on the 21st Century. For a new, active, democratic strategy in the era of Globalisation Kastaniotis publications (2010) ISBN 978-960-03-5077-7
- The Rescue politics against Troika and the democratic Greece Livanis Publications (2012) ISBN 978-960-14-2488-0
- Greece, a Debt Colony. European Empire and German Primacy Patakis publications (2013) ISBN 978-960-16-4966-5
- Patriotism and the Left Patakis Publications (2014) ISBN 978-960-16-6066-0 [18]
Honours
Kotzias has been awarded the following foreign orders:
- Grand Cross of the Order of Merit (Portugal) - 30 January 2017[19][20]
See also
References
- ^ a b "CV of Nikolaos Kotzias". Hellenic Parliament. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
- ^ Michel Martens (29 January 2015). "Vergiftetes Lob für den neuen Außenminister". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 29 January 2015.
- ^ a b "Greek PM accepts Kotzias resignation, takes over as foreign minister | Kathimerini". Retrieved 17 October 2018.
- ^ a b "Kotzias Nikolaos - Biography". University of Piraeus. Archived from the original on 28 January 2015. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
- ^ Welle (www.dw.com), Deutsche. "Greece's new foreign minister: astute, opinionated, radical | DW | 10.02.2015". DW.COM. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
- ^ "Μονοπάτια - Νίκος Κοτζιάς". Skroutz (in Greek). Retrieved 24 February 2022.
- ^ "Ν. Κοτζιάς: Από το ΚΚΕ, το Χάρβαρντ, την Οξφόρδη και το Γ. Παπανδρέου στο υπ. Εξωτερικών | ειδησεισ, πολιτικη | Ημερησία". Imerisia.gr. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
- ^ "Τα "παιδιά" του Χαρίλαου έγιναν κυβέρνηση". Protothema.gr. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
- ^ Neuger, James G (27 January 2015). "Greece's Coming Clash in Europe Starts With Russia Sanctions - Bloomberg Business (subscription required)". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
- ^ a b "Greece′s new foreign minister: astute, opinionated, radical | Europe | DW.DE | 10.02.2015". DW.DE. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
- ^ a b "New Greek FM Kotzias promises to be household name like Tsipras - ARIANA FERENTINOU". Hurriyetdailynews.com. 13 September 2011. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
- ^ "Greece's Bilateral Relations". Mfa.gr. 14 May 2010. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
- ^ Πράττω. Πράττω (in Greek). Retrieved 9 October 2015.
- ^ "Griechischer Außenminister Kotzias: "Wir sind arm, aber gleichberechtigt" - Ein Interview von Alexander Smoltczyk". Der Spiegel. 10 February 2015. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
- ^ "New Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias' approach to Greek foreign policy - News - Announcements". Mfa.gr. 29 January 2015. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
- ^ "Greece delays EU agreement on Russia sanctions | World news". Theguardian.com. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
- ^ Bendavid, Naftali (29 January 2015). "EU Foreign Ministers Extend Targeted Sanctions on Russia". Wsj.org. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
- ^ "Kotzias Nikolaos - Bibliography". Biblionet.gr. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
- ^ "CIDADÃOS ESTRANGEIROS AGRACIADOS COM ORDENS PORTUGUESAS - Página Oficial das Ordens Honoríficas Portuguesas". www.ordens.presidencia.pt (in Portuguese). Retrieved 7 March 2018.
- ^ "Alvará (extrato) n.º 4/2017 - Diário da República n.º 66/2017, Série II de 2017-04-03". Diário da República Eletrónico (in Portuguese). Retrieved 7 March 2018.
External links
- Personal blog of Nikos Kotzias (in Greek)
- Biography at the Greek foreign ministry website
- Biography at the University of Piraeus website
- CV and office terms of Nikos Kotzias at the Hellenic Parliament (in English)