Anna Benaki-Psarouda, a former Athens Law School professor, long-serving MP and the first woman elected Speaker of the Hellenic Parliament, has died aged 91, her family announced on Sunday.
A member of New Democracy from 1981 to 2009, Benaki-Psarouda served as Parliament Speaker from 2004 to 2007 and held several cabinet roles, including Minister of Culture and Minister of Justice.
She was also the first woman to serve as vice-president of the Academy of Athens, following her election in 2010.
She played an active role in constitutional revisions, taught criminal law at Athens Law School from 1962 to 2001, and was widely regarded as a mentor to generations of students, particularly women.
Benaki-Psarouda was also a practising lawyer and long-time editor-in-chief of the legal journal Poinika Chronika.
Born in Athens in 1934, she earned a doctorate in criminal law from the University of Bonn in 1961. She was married to philosopher and historian Linos Benakis, who died in 2022.
Source: Ekathimerini
