Nikos Dendias | |
|---|---|
| Νίκος Δένδιας | |
 Dendias in 2019 | |
| Minister for National Defence | |
| Assumed office 27 June 2023 | |
| Prime Minister | Kyriakos Mitsotakis |
| Preceded by | Alkiviadis Stefanis |
| In office 3 November 2014 – 27 January 2015 | |
| Prime Minister | Antonis Samaras |
| Preceded by | Dimitris Avramopoulos |
| Succeeded by | Panos Kammenos |
| Minister for Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 9 July 2019 – 26 May 2023 | |
| Prime Minister | Kyriakos Mitsotakis |
| Preceded by | Georgios Katrougalos |
| Succeeded by | Vasilis Kaskarelis |
| President of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe | |
| In office 15 May 2020 – 18 November 2020 | |
| Preceded by | David Zalkaliani |
| Succeeded by | Heiko Maas |
| Minister for Development and Competitiveness | |
| In office 10 June 2014 – 3 November 2014 | |
| Prime Minister | Antonis Samaras |
| Preceded by | Kostis Chatzidakis |
| Succeeded by | Konstantinos Skrekas |
| Minister for Public Order and Citizen Protection | |
| In office 21 June 2012 – 10 June 2014 | |
| Prime Minister | Antonis Samaras |
| Preceded by | Eleftherios Oikonomou |
| Succeeded by | Vassilis Kikilias |
| Minister for Justice | |
| In office 8 January 2009 – 7 October 2009 | |
| Prime Minister | Kostas Karamanlis |
| Preceded by | Sotirios Hatzigakis |
| Succeeded by | Haris Kastanidis |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1959-10-07)7 October 1959 (age 65) Corfu, Greece |
| Political party | New Democracy |
| Alma mater | National and Kapodistrian University of Athens University College London London School of Economics |
| Website | dendias |
Nikolaos "Nikos"Dendias (Greek:Νικόλαος Δένδιας; born 7 October 1959) is a Greeklawyer andpolitician of the conservativeNew Democracy party who has been serving asMinister for National Defence in thegovernment ofPrime MinisterKyriakos Mitsotakis since 2023. He is aMember of the Hellenic Parliament forAthens, and previously served asMinister for National Defence from November 2014 to January 2015 and asMinister for Foreign Affairs from July 2019 to May 2023.
Dendias was born inCorfu in 1959, but he originates from the island ofPaxos.[1] He went to school in theAthens College, received a degree inlaw from theNational and Kapodistrian University of Athens, a Master of Laws in Maritime and Insurance Law from theUniversity College London and inCriminology from theLondon School of Economics.[1]
A practising lawyer, Dendias has been active inNew Democracy since 1978, first as a member of ND's student wing, DAP-NDFK and later as a party functionary in theYouth Organisation of New Democracy.[1] He was elected as anMP forCorfu in theGreek parliament in the2004,2007,2009 andJune 2012 elections.[1]
On 8 January 2009, Dendias was named asMinister for Justice in thesecond cabinet ofKostas 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 ofAntonis Samaras, formed after the June 2012 elections, he has first held the post ofMinister 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 toSyrian refugees and detaining other migrants that flock to its borders under "unacceptable" conditions.[4] Also, Dendias assigned the police antiterrorism unit to probe the activities of Greece'sneo-NaziGolden Dawn party[5] and proposed a law that could block state funding for party.[6]
In two 2014 reshuffles, Dendias becameMinister for Development and Competitiveness (10 June – 3 November 2014), from 3 November 2014 to 27 January 2015, and laterMinister for National Defence.[1][7]
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From 9 July 2019 to 26 May 2023 Dendias served as theForeign Minister of Greece in Prime MinisterKyriakos Mitsotakis's New Democracy-led government[8] which won the2019 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'sLesbos island.[9]
In October 2019, Dendias condemnedTurkey's invasion of Syria, stating that "Turkey is making a big mistake". Furthermore, aboutTurkey's plans for the creation of a safe zone in Northern Syria for the Syrian refugees to be resettled, at the expense of the localKurdish 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-standingdispute between Turkey and Greece in theAegean Sea. Dendias said that "Turkey is the only (party) responsible for the escalation of tension in theeastern Mediterranean, and it must immediately leave the Greek continental shelf."[11]
In May 2021, he called for atwo-state solution to resolve theIsraeli–Palestinian conflict.[12]
Immediately after the2022 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 ofMariupol.[13]
During an official visit toArmenia on 27 September 2022, Dendias stated: "We believe in the inviolability of borders, and I am referring to" theSeptember 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]
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On 12 February 2023, Dendias traveled to Turkey in a new round ofGreek–Turkish earthquake diplomacy following the2023 Turkey–Syria earthquake. He was received by his Turkish counterpartMevlüt Çavuşoğlu, and the two foreign ministers toured an operations centre coordinating rescue efforts inAntakya, observed the devastation to the city from the air, and visited a camp where international rescue teams are based.[15]
Ο Νίκος Δένδιας γεννήθηκε στην Κέρκυρα. Κατάγεται από τους Παξούς.
(in Greek)Acting defense ministers shown initalics |
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