Margaritis Schinas | |
|---|---|
Μαργαρίτης Σχοινάς | |
_-_Protecting_our_European_way_of_life_(48838400957)_(cropped).jpg) Schinas in 2019 | |
| Vice-President of the European Commission | |
| In office 1 December 2019 – 30 November 2024 | |
| Commission | Von der Leyen I |
| European Commissioner for Promoting our European Way of Life | |
| In office 1 December 2019 – 30 November 2024 | |
| Commission | Von der Leyen I |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Member of the European Parliament | |
| In office 25 September 2007 – 13 July 2009 | |
| Constituency | Greece |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1962-07-28)July 28, 1962 (age 63) Thessaloniki, Greece |
| Political party | New Democracy |
| Other political affiliations | European People's Party |
| Spouse | Merthes Alvargonthaleth |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | University of Thessaloniki(LLB) College of Europe(DEA) London School of Economics (MSc) |
Margaritis Schinas (Greek: Μαργαρίτης Σχοινάς[marɣaˈritissçiˈnas]; born 28 July 1962) is a Greek politician and former civil servant. He served as vice-president in theVon der Leyen Commission with the portfolio ofEuropean Commissioner for Promoting our European Way of Life from 2019 to 2024. A member of theNew Democracy party, he previously was aMember of the European Parliament (MEP) from 2007 to 2009 and served as chief spokesperson of theEuropean Commission from 2014 to 2019, and as a deputy director-general of the European Commission'sDirectorate-General for Communication between 2015 and 2019.
Stemming from a family from Fourka,Chalkidiki, Schinas studied at AristotleUniversity of Thessaloniki, where he received aBachelor of Laws in 1985.[1] He went on to receive a Diploma of Advanced European Studies (DAES) in European Public Administration from theCollege of Europe inBruges in 1986, as well as a furtherMaster of Science in Public Administration and Policy at theLondon School of Economics in 1987.[2]
In October 2011, he graduated from the EU-funded "High Potential Leadership" Program of theHarvard University School of Business.
Schinas passed the competition for EU officials in 1989, and started working as a eurocrat in theDirectorate-General for Transport of theEuropean Commission and then at the European Commission Representation Office inAthens. From 1999 to 2004, he served as Deputy Chief of Staff in the office of CommissionerLoyola de Palacio, responsible for Transport, Energy and Relations with the European Parliament. From 2004 to 2007 Schinas was head of cabinet of the European CommissionerMarkos Kyprianou.
Schinas became an MEP for theNew Democracy party (which is part of theEuropean People's Party), following the resignation ofAntonis Samaras from theEuropean Parliament on 25 September 2007. During his time in office, he was a member of theCommittee on Budgets. He served until 2009 and was not a candidate in the2009 European elections.
_-_Protecting_our_European_way_of_life_(48838400957).jpg)
In 2010, Schinas was appointed Deputy Director of theBureau of European Policy Advisers byCommission PresidentBarroso. In April 2013 he was appointed Director at the Commission'sDirectorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs.[3]
In November 2014, he was appointed acting chief spokesperson for the European Commission, following a proposal from President Jean-Claude Juncker. On 16 December 2015, he was appointed Deputy Director-General of theDirectorate-General for Communication of the European Commission.
Following the2019 European election, Schinas was nominated to serve in theVon der Leyen Commission as the European Commission vice president for “Protecting our European Way of Life”,[4] responsible for upholding the rule-of-law, migration and internal security.[5] He became the first Greek to hold such a high-ranking position in the Europe's top decision-making body.[6] His portfolio was later renamed into "Promoting our European Way of Life". Among this portfolio's thrusts is the European Commission coordinator on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life, held byKatharina von Schnurbein since 2015.[7]
He speaks Greek, English, French and Spanish. He is married to Mercedes Alvargonzález,[8] a Spanish national, who was like him a student of theCollege of Europe inBruges and works for the Secretariat of theEuropean People's Party's Parliamentary Group and its PresidentManfred Weber. They have two sons, Stergios and John.
Schinas is anAris Thessaloniki supporter.[9]
In March 2020, Schinas was one of the few persons to participate in the start of theTokyo 2020'sOlympic torch relay - cancelled afterwards due to theCOVID-19 crisis - inOlympia, Greece, as the third torchbearer after two olympic champions, Greek shooterAnna Korakaki and Japanese marathonerMizuki Noguchi.[10]
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| Preceded by | Greek European Commissioner 2019–2024 | Succeeded by |
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