Vasso Papandreou, one of the founding members of the socialist PASOK party, and a former European commissioner, minister, and MP, has passed away at the age of 79.
Reports suggest that she had been struggling with health issues in recent months.
Papandreou was best known for her advocacy of women’s rights and was notably the first woman to represent Greece as a commissioner in the European Union, then the European Economic Community. She also championed social welfare and disability rights.
Exiled during the military dictatorship from 1969 to 1973, she became one of the founding members of PASOK upon her return to Greece. She went on to serve in the party’s central committee and held several cabinet positions in the governments of Andreas Papandreou (no relation).
In 1989, she was appointed as the European Commissioner responsible for employment, industrial relations, and social affairs.
Under Costas Simitis, between 1996 and 2004, she held senior posts at the Ministries of Economic Development, Interior, and Environment and Public Works.
She also served as an MP for Athens’ First Constituency, being elected to Parliament in 1993, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2007, and 2009. However, she was removed from PASOK’s parliamentary group in 2012.
Papandreou will be laid to rest on Saturday in her hometown of Valimitika, in Aigio, located in the northern Peloponnese.
Source: Ekathimerini.
