Vaso Papandreou, a prominent political figure of the socialist PASOK party and the Greek political scene, has passed away at the age of 80. She had recently been facing serious health issues. The funeral service will be held in her hometown, Valimitika, Aigio.
The Greek Parliament observed a minute of silence in honor of the Papandreou. On Wednesday afternoon, during the Plenary Session, PASOK’s parliamentary representative, Paris Koukoulopoulos, took the floor and announced the former minister’s passing.
Greek MPs from across the political spectrum expressed their condolences for the loss.
Who was Vasso Papandreou?
Vaso Papandreou, often dubbed the “Iron Lady” of Greek politics, served as a member of parliament and minister for PASOK for a number of years.
She was also Greece’s commissioner to the then EEC (European Economic Community), becoming the first female commissioner to take over the European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights portfolio under the second Delors Commission.
In the 1993 elections, she garnered 256,831 votes in the second Athens electoral district, the highest score in that constituency.
As a commissioner in the EEC, Vasso Papandreou clashed with various conservative leaders, most notably Margaret Thatcher.
She studied economics at Athens University of Economics and Business and went on to earn a master’s degree from the University of London and a Ph.D. from the University of Reading. She later taught at Oxford.
Some of the key positions she held were the EEC commissioner for Employment, Industrial Relations, and Social Affairs, Human Resources, Education and Training, and Gender Equality (1989-1993), minister of development (1996-1999), minister of interior, public administration, and decentralization (1999-2001), and minister of environment, spatial planning, and public works (2001-2004) in PASOK governments.
