Stavros Dimas | |
|---|---|
Σταύρος Δήμας | |
.jpg) Dimas in 2008 | |
| Minister for Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 11 November 2011 – 17 May 2012 | |
| Prime Minister | Lucas Papademos |
| Preceded by | Stavros Lambrinidis |
| Succeeded by | Petros Molyviatis |
| Deputy Leader ofNew Democracy | |
| In office 2 July 2010 – 24 November 2015 | |
| Leader | Antonis SamarasVangelis Meimarakis |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| European Commissioner for the Environment | |
| In office 22 November 2004 – 9 February 2010 | |
| President | José Manuel Barroso |
| Preceded by | Margot Wallström |
| Succeeded by | Janez Potočnik |
| European Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs | |
| In office 18 February 2004 – 22 November 2004 | |
| President | Romano Prodi |
| Preceded by | Anna Diamantopoulou |
| Succeeded by | Vladimír Špidla(Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1941-04-30)30 April 1941 (age 83) Klenia,Greece |
| Political party | New Democracy |
| Children | 3, includingChristos |
| Alma mater | University of Athens New York University |
Stavros Dimas (Greek:Σταύρος Δήμας,Greek pronunciation:[ˈstavrosˈðimas]; born 30 April 1941) is aGreek politician who wasEuropean Commissioner for theEnvironment from 2004 to 2009. From November 2011 to May 2012, he served in the government of Greece asMinister for Foreign Affairs. TheNew Democracy–PASOK coalition government nominated him for the post ofPresident of Greece in December 2014, but he failed to achieve the necessary votes, forcing the dissolution of parliament.
Stavros Dimas was born in 1941 in the village ofKlenia,Corinthia.[1] Dimas studied law at theUniversity of Athens and went on to earn aMaster of Laws fromNew York University.
In 1968 he began working as a lawyer for a firm onWall Street, moving to theWorld Bank the following year, where he worked on investments in Africa and the Middle East.[1] In 1975 he returned to Greece to take up the post of deputy governor of theHellenic Industrial Development Bank (ETVA), while also being a member of the committee preparing Greek accession to the EEC.[1]
From 1977 he was active in Greek politics as a member of the conservativeNew Democracy party, being elected as an MP on the nationwide list.[1] He was elected to theGreek parliament ten consecutive times that year.
He went on to hold a variety of ministerial and other political positions:[1]
Dimas served briefly in theProdi Commission. He was appointed European Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs in March 2004, taking over the role from the previous Greek CommissionerAnna Diamantopoulou. A major focus of his work during this time involved making it more difficult for states to opt out of theWorking Time Directive. The Greek government nominated Dimas for the incomingBarroso Commission which took office on 22 November 2004.
In a speech to a committee of theEuropean Parliament Dimas announced four main priorities for his term in office:climate change,biodiversity,public health, andsustainability. He emphasised the importance of theKyoto Protocol, theNatura 2000 project, theREACH directive, and the need to better enforce existing EU environmental legislation.
_(460).jpg)
Concerns were raised in advance byMEPs and manyNGOs that by appointing a former Wall Street lawyer and industry minister to the environment post the EU had signalled a decreased commitment to environmental issues in favour of promoting economic competitiveness. However, after some months time, the environment unions quickly endorsed his programme and publicly congratulated him for being able to support the positions of the environmental organizations with great success within the commission. Dimas' role was vital especially since the President, Mr Barroso, was ready to disregard the effects on the environment due to the need to improve economic development.
Questioned by the European Parliament, Dimas took the view that preserving the environment and promoting competitiveness went hand in hand, and that environmental policy could provide a stimulus for technological innovation. Among other statements, he said thatGM residues in seeds should be the lowest technically feasible.
Following his hearing Dimas received a sceptical response from most MEPs. Many believed him to have insufficient experience to fulfill the role.Karl-Heinz Florenz, chair of the Environment Committee and a member of the conservativeEPP-ED, said that European environment policy needed, "more than just declarations of intention.... If Commission President-designateBarroso puts theLisbon Strategy on top of the agenda, this must not mean that the primacy of economic over environment policy gets cemented." However, he stressed the need to give Dimas time to 'grow into' his role. TheSocialists gave him a qualified approval but criticised his plans as too vague. TheGreens and the left-wingGUE/NGL opposed his appointment outright, with the Greens naming him as one of the three "incompetent" Commissioners-designate who prompted them to vote against the commission as a whole. Representatives of industry and the business community welcomed his appointment to the environment post.
In a dramatic change of stance, the Greens endorsed the programme plan by Commissioner Dimas and have argued that their cooperation in environmental issues is harmonic.
.jpg)
.jpg)
Dimas led the EU in its tough line on climate change during the first weeks of the new Commission. AtUN talks on climate change inBuenos Aires in December 2004 he attempted to negotiate a new system of mandatory emissions reductions to follow the expiration of the initial Kyoto targets in 2012. This approach met with fierce opposition from theU.S., representatives of which refused to even discuss the matter. TheItalian environment ministerAltero Matteoli broke EU ranks on the issue, proposing voluntary targets after 2012, and saying that it was, "unthinkable to go ahead without the US, China and India."
In response to the refusal of countries to sign Kyoto, such as theUnited States andAustralia (the latter of which exchanged viewpoints with the EU on the matter),[2] the EU has been looking to tax products imported from those countries not taking low-carbon policies on board (Border Tax Adjustments).[3]
When defending the commission's new proposals to climate change in 2007, he claimed "It is clear that the fight against climate change is much more than a battle. It is a world war that will last for many years."[4]
Dimas oversaw the introduction of the EU'semissions trading scheme, that took effect on 1 January 2005, despite emissions reduction plans fromPoland,Italy, theCzech Republic andGreece not having been approved on time. He also sought to include companies operating aircraft under the emissions trading regime.
In February 2007 the Commissioner put forward his plans to increase fuel efficiency standards of cars so that emissions are no more than 130g of CO2 per km, down from 162g/km in 2005. This caused anger from the European car industry[5] which was stoked by the Commissioner requesting aJapanese car, aToyota Prius, instead of a European make due to the Toyota's better environmental standards.[6]
In July 2010 the president ofNew DemocracyAntonis Samaras appointed Stavros Dimas as vice-president of the party with responsibility for economic and social affairs. From 11 November 2011 to 17 May 2012 he served asMinister for Foreign Affairs in theLucas Papademosinterim cabinet.[1]
On 9 December 2014, Prime Minister Samaras announced the candidacy of Dimas, jointly supported by New Democracy and PASOK, for thePresidency of Greece,[7] whichtook place in three ballots on 17, 23 and 29 December.[8] He failed to achieve the necessary votes, forcing the dissolution of parliament.
Media related toStavros Dimas at Wikimedia Commons| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Minister of Trade 1980 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of Agriculture 1989 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of Agriculture 1989–1990 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister for Industry, Energy and Technology 1990–1991 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Greek European Commissioner 2004–2010 | Succeeded by |
| European Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs 2004 | Succeeded byas European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities | |
| Preceded by | European Commissioner for the Environment 2004–2010 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of Foreign Affairs 2011–2012 | Succeeded by |
 | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
