Greek MEP Dimitrios Papadimoulis has announced he is retiring from active politics in a post published on his X (formerly Twitter) account on Monday afternoon.
Papadimoulis, 69, a member of the Left in the European Parliament – GUE/NGL served as Vice President of the European Parliament for ten consecutive years, while he was also involved in Greek politics for over a decade. “I will continue, away from elected positions, as an active citizen,” he wrote in his post.
“After ten consecutive years as an elected Vice President of the European Parliament with large majorities – the only Greek and the only one from the Left – and three terms as an MEP (2004-2009, 2014-2019, 2019-2024), I am retiring from active politics. I will continue to serve the same values as an active citizen, away from elected positions,” his post read.
O #Παπαδημούλης κ πάλι στους 🇪🇺 20 κορυφαίους Ευρωβουλευτές 🇪🇺 σε σύνολο 705, «με τη μεγαλύτερη πολιτική κ κοινωνική επιρροή», σύμφωνα με την χθεσινή έκθεση αξιολόγησης #Influence_Report της EU Matrix 🇬🇷 Μόνος Έλληνας στο Top 100 κ πρώτος από την Αριστερά https://t.co/1pGPYqbFKl
— Dim. Papadimoulis (@papadimoulis) May 9, 2023
Papadimoulis, who has been in Greek politics since 2009, was elected Vice President of the European Parliament in 2014. He was re-elected to the same post in January 2017 with a new percentage of positive votes measuring 73.5%.
In his capacity as EP Vice President, Papadimoulis was responsible for portfolios such as Gender equality and diversity, Information and Communication Policy, Transport, and Green Parliament, among others.
According to the VoteWatch.EU, he is the most influential Greek MEP in the European Parliament, while in 2020 he was included among the Top 10 most influential MEPs in the European Parliament.
