Former minister and veteran New Democracy figure Ioannis Varvitsiotis has died at the age of 93. A long-standing member of the party, he also served as its vice president and was one of its most prominent political figures over several decades.
Varvitsiotis passed away peacefully at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday at his home in Athens. In a poignant coincidence, his death came on the very day of his birthday.
He is survived by his four children: former minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, journalist Eleni Varvitsiotis, as well as Thomas and Konstantinos.
From Law School to Karamanlis’ Political Circle
Born in Athens on August 2, 1933, Ioannis Varvitsiotis was a distinguished lawyer and politician who played a significant role in Greece’s post-war political life. He served for many years as a member of parliament with the National Radical Union (ERE) and later with New Democracy, holding several ministerial posts, serving as a member of the European Parliament, and assuming the position of ND vice president from 1993 to 1997.
He studied law at the University of Athens and continued his postgraduate studies at the University of Freiburg in what was then West Germany, specialising in corporate law.
Varvitsiotis was first elected to Parliament in the 1961 elections and was re-elected in 1963 and 1964, beginning a long political career that would span more than five decades and place him among the key figures of the conservative political tradition in Greece.
