This past year marked a half century since the restoration of democracy in Greece, an utterly transformative period described in the country with the single word “Metapolitefsi”, which in Greek means “regime change” or “regime transition”.

The Metapolitefsi era in Greece has witnessed significant changes and challenges in the country’s domestic and foreign policy.

And the questions arise: what has Greece gained and possibly lost in these past 50 years? What strategic decisions have transformed the country’s position on the global stage, and which challenges remain in the future?

These are some just some of the questions that a Conference this week, entitled “Metapolitefsi 1974-2024: 50 Years of Greek Foreign Policy”, will attempt to broach and offer answers.

The Conference will take place Thursday and Friday (Dec. 11 and 12, 2024) at the King George Hotel in central Athens’ Syntagma Square.

Crucial issues and the Conference agenda

The Conference will focus on major issues that have defined Greece’s foreign policy over the past 50 years, such as:

  • The country’s accession and course in the European Union, along with decisions that strengthened its position in European developments.
  • Greek-Turkish relations and the Cyprus issue, both of which remain as primary drivers in the country’s strategic security calculus.
  • Developments in key sectors such as energy, the economy and military diplomacy.
  • Greece-US relations, which continue to play a critical role in the country’s foreign policy.
  • Greece’s role in the Balkans, and particularly current relations with the Republic of North Macedonia, as well as an overview of how Athens dealt with the “Macedonia name” issue over the past decades.

Greek leadership to participate

The Conference will host addresses by the country’s top political leadership, in a bid to reveal behind-the-scenes developments, to scrutinize critical moments and to explain strategic choices that shaped the country’s future.

Speakers include President of the Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and PASOK-KINAL party President Nikos Androulakis. Additionally, three former Greek prime ministers will participate and share their experience over the significant decisions that shaped Greek foreign policy, namely, George Papandreou (2009-2011), Antonis Samaras (2012-2015) and Alexis Tsipras (2015-2019).

Other scheduled speakers are George Gerapetritis, the Minister of Foreign Affairs; Alexandra Papadopoulou, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs; Nikos Dendias, Minister of National Defense, and Maira Myrogianni, the Secretary General for Greeks Abroad and Public Diplomacy.

A window to the future

In addition to a review of the five decades of the Metapolitefsi period, the Conference aims to commence a meaningful dialogue for the future: How can Greece strengthen its role on the world stage? What strategy is needed to deal with 21st century challenges?

The conference “Metapolitefsi 1974-2024: 50 Years of Greek Foreign Policy” isn’t merely aimed at taking an account of the period, it’s an invitation for reflection, understanding and strategic planning for the decades to come.

The Conference is organized by the newspaper “To Vima”, The Council for International Relations and the Delphi Economic Forum.

More information about the event and a detailed program can be found here:

You can watch the conference live from the official YouTube channel of “To Vima”, the English-language “To Vima” YouTube channel and from the Delphi Economic Forum’s official YouTube channel.