Nikos Dendias
Νίκος Δένδιας
Dendias in 2019
Minister for National Defence
Assumed office
27 June 2023
Prime MinisterKyriakos Mitsotakis
Preceded byAlkiviadis Stefanis
In office
3 November 2014 – 27 January 2015
Prime MinisterAntonis Samaras
Preceded byDimitris Avramopoulos
Succeeded byPanos Kammenos
Minister for Foreign Affairs
In office
9 July 2019 – 26 May 2023
Preceded byGeorgios Katrougalos
Succeeded byVasilis Kaskarelis
President of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe
In office
15 May 2020 – 18 November 2020
Preceded byDavid Zalkaliani
Succeeded byHeiko Maas
Minister for Development and Competitiveness
In office
10 June 2014 – 3 November 2014
Prime MinisterAntonis Samaras
Preceded byKostis Chatzidakis
Succeeded byKonstantinos Skrekas
Minister for Public Order and Citizen Protection
In office
21 June 2012 – 10 June 2014
Prime MinisterAntonis Samaras
Preceded byEleftherios Oikonomou
Succeeded byVassilis Kikilias
Minister for Justice
In office
8 January 2009 – 7 October 2009
Prime MinisterKostas Karamanlis
Preceded bySotirios Hatzigakis
Succeeded byHaris Kastanidis
Personal details
Born (1959-10-07) 7 October 1959
Corfu, Greece
Political partyNew Democracy
Alma materNational and Kapodistrian University of Athens
University College London
London School of Economics
Websitewww.mfa.gr

Nikolaos "Nikos" Dendias (Greek: Νικόλαος Δένδιας; born 7 October 1959) is a Greek lawyer and politician of the conservative New Democracy party who has been serving as Minister for National Defence in the government of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis since 2023. He is a Member of the Hellenic Parliament for Athens, and previously served as Minister for National Defence from November 2014 to January 2015 and as Minister for Foreign Affairs from July 2019 to May 2023.

Early life and education

Dendias was born in Corfu in 1959, but he originates from the island of Paxos.[1] He went to school in the Athens College, received a degree in law from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, a Master of Laws in Maritime and Insurance Law from the University College London and in Criminology from the London School of Economics.[1]

Political career

Early beginnings

A practising lawyer, Dendias has been active in New Democracy since 1978, first as a member of ND's student wing, DAP-NDFK and later as a party functionary in the Youth Organisation of New Democracy.[1] He was elected as an MP for Corfu in the Greek parliament in the 2004, 2007, 2009 and June 2012 elections.[1]

Career in government

On 8 January 2009, Dendias was named as Minister for Justice in the second cabinet of Kostas Karamanlis, serving briefly until the cabinet's resignation on 7 October 2009, following ND's defeat in the elections of 4 October.[1][2] In the coalition cabinet of Antonis Samaras, formed after the June 2012 elections, he has first held the post of Minister for Public Order and Citizen Protection (21 June 2012 – 10 June 2014). During his time in office, he was confronted with increasing political and anti-immigrant violence.[3] His agency was the subject of criticism over refusing asylum to Syrian refugees and detaining other migrants that flock to its borders under "unacceptable" conditions.[4] Also, Dendidas assigned the police antiterrorism unit to probe the activities of Greece's neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party[5] and proposed a law that could block state funding for party.[6]

In two 2014 reshuffles, Dendias became Minister for Development and Competitiveness (10 June – 3 November 2014), from 3 November 2014 to 27 January 2015, and later Minister for National Defence.[1][7]

Dendias during his meeting with the President of Tunisia, Kais Saied
Dendias with U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland

Minister of Foreign Affairs, 2019–2023

From 9 July 2019 to 26 May 2023 Dendias served as the Foreign Minister of Greece in Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis's New Democracy-led government[8] which won the 2019 Greek legislative election. In August 2019, Dendias summoned the Turkish ambassador to "express Greece's deep discontent" with the arrival of sixteen boats carrying about 650 people from Turkey on Greece's Lesbos island.[9]

In October 2019, Dendias condemned Turkey's invasion of Syria, stating that "Turkey is making a big mistake". Furthermore, about Turkey's plans for the creation of a safe zone in Northern Syria for the Syrian refugees to be resettled, at the expense of the local Kurdish population he stated that it "is illegal since the resettlement of immigrants must comply with some basic principles: to be voluntary and dignified. [...] Therefore, what Turkey does, goes against human rights".[10]

There is a long-standing dispute between Turkey and Greece in the Aegean Sea. Dendias said that "Turkey is the only (party) responsible for the escalation of tension in the eastern Mediterranean, and it must immediately leave the Greek continental shelf."[11]

In May 2021, he called for a two-state solution to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.[12]

Dendias with Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto on 15 February 2022
Dendias at The Wall of Remembrance of the Fallen for Ukraine near Mykhailivska Square in Kyiv on 19 October 2022

Immediately after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Dendias summoned the Russian ambassador to Greece to protest against the fact that Greek nationals were killed and six others wounded by Russian bombing near the Ukrainian city of Mariupol.[13]

During an official visit to Armenia on 27 September 2022, Dendias stated: "We believe in the inviolability of borders, and I am referring to" the September 2022 Armenia–Azerbaijan clashes "that happened just a few days ago following the shelling of Armenian territory, including inhabited areas, by the Azeri military forces."[14]

Dendias with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on 20 March 2023

On 12 February 2023, Dendias traveled to Turkey in a new round of Greek–Turkish earthquake diplomacy following the 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquake. He was received by his Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, and the two foreign ministers toured an operations centre coordinating rescue efforts in Antakya, observed the devastation to the city from the air, and visited a camp where international rescue teams are based.[15]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Βιογραφικό (in Greek). dendias.gr. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 14 December 2014. Ο Νίκος Δένδιας γεννήθηκε στην Κέρκυρα. Κατάγεται από τους Παξούς.
  2. ↑ Κυβέρνησις ΚΩΝΣΤΑΝΤΙΝΟΥ Α. ΚΑΡΑΜΑΝΛΗ - Από 19.9.2007 έως 7.10.2009 (in Greek). General Secretariat of the Greek Government. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  3. ↑ Kerin Hope (9 June 2014), Greece names Gikas Hardouvelis finance minister Financial Times.
  4. ↑ Renee Maltezou (14 May 2013), EU commissioner criticizes Greece for refusing Syrians asylum Reuters.
  5. ↑ Kerin Hope (11 October 2013), Greek police 'infiltrated' by Golden Dawn Financial Times.
  6. ↑ George Georgiopoulos (22 September 2013), Greece mulls law that could cut off Golden Dawn state funding Reuters.
  7. ↑ Κυβέρνησις ΑΝΤΩΝΙΟΥ Κ. ΣΑΜΑΡΑ - Από 21.06.2012 έως 26.01.2015 (in Greek). General Secretariat of the Greek Government. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
  8. ↑ "Νέο υπουργικό συμβούλιο: Αυτός είναι ο νέος υπουργός Εξωτερικών Νίκος Δένδιας" (in Greek). CNN. 8 July 2019. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  9. ↑ Karolina Tagaris (30 August 2019), Greece sees first mass arrival of migrant boats in three years Politico Europe.
  10. ↑ "Dendias: Turkey in Syria is making a big mistake (original: Δένδιας: Η Τουρκία στη Συρία κάνει μεγάλο λάθος)". Eleutheros Typos. 10 October 2019.
  11. ↑ "EU urges Turkey to 'deescalate' energy dispute with Greece". Associated Press. 14 August 2020.
  12. ↑ "Greek FM Dendias calls for Israel-Palestine two state solution". Greek City Times. 19 May 2021.
  13. ↑ George Georgiopoulos (26 February 2022), Greece says 10 expats killed in Ukraine, summons Russian ambassador Reuters.
  14. ↑ Kokkinidis, Tasos (27 September 2022). "Historical Tragedies Tie Greece and Armenia Together, Says Greek FM". GreekReporter.com. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  15. ↑ Nellas, Demetris (12 February 2023). "Earthquake diplomacy: Greek foreign minister visits Turkey". Associated Press. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
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