Stavros Lambrinidis | |
|---|---|
Σταύρος Λαμπρινίδης | |
 Lambrinidis in 2011 | |
| Ambassador of the European Union to the United Nations | |
| Assumed office 15 January 2024 | |
| President | Ursula von der Leyen |
| Preceded by | Olof Skoog |
| Ambassador of the European Union to the United States | |
| In office 4 March 2019 – 31 December 2023 | |
| President | Jean-Claude Juncker Ursula von der Leyen |
| Preceded by | David O'Sullivan |
| Succeeded by | Jovita Neliupšienė |
| European Union Special Representative for Human Rights | |
| In office 25 July 2012 – 20 February 2019 | |
| President | José Manuel Barroso Jean-Claude Juncker |
| Preceded by | New office |
| Succeeded by | Eamon Gilmore |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 17 June 2011 – 11 November 2011 | |
| Prime Minister | George Papandreou |
| Preceded by | Dimitrios Droutsas |
| Succeeded by | Stavros Dimas |
| 3rdVice-president of the European Parliament | |
| In office 14 July 2009 – 16 June 2011 | |
| President | Jerzy Buzek |
| Preceded by | Gérard Onesta |
| Succeeded by | Anni Podimata |
| Member of the European Parliament | |
| In office 20 July 2004 – 16 June 2011 | |
| Constituency | Greece |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1962-02-06)6 February 1962 (age 63) |
| Political party | PASOK |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
| Alma mater | |
| Website | Official website |
Stavros Lambrinidis (Greek:Σταύρος Λαμπρινίδης; born 6 February 1962) is a Greek lawyer and politician, currently serving asAmbassador of the European Union to the United Nations.[1] He was previouslyAmbassador of the European Union to the United States from March 2019 until December 2023,[2]European Union special representative for human rights from 2012 to 2019 andMinister for Foreign Affairs in Greece from June 2011 to November 2011.
Lambrinidis was born inAthens on 6 February 1962. After graduating from theAthens College high school, Lambrinidis was admitted to theUniversity of Chicago in 1980 and transferred toAmherst College in 1981, where he received hisB.A. degree in economics and political science with the distinctions ofmagna cum laude,Phi Beta Kappa and a scholarship for the rest of his studies. He completed his education in 1988 with aJ.D. degree fromYale Law School.
AtYale University, Lambrinidis worked as a teaching assistant in the School of Organization and Management and was themanaging editor ofThe Yale Journal of International Law.[3]
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Lambrinidis trained ininternational trade,transactions andarbitration,[4] as a colleague ofLloyd Cutler[5] (the founder ofWilmer, Cutler & Pickering inWashington, D.C. and law advisor of theWhite House duringJimmy Carter's andBill Clinton's presidencies). He was also president of the Committee forHuman Rights in theBar Association of Washington, D.C..
Lambrinidis's career inGreece started in 1994 as a special advisor to formerPrime Minister of Greece and President of theSocialist InternationalGeorge A. Papandreou, and continued as the chief-of-staff of the Minister of Foreign Affairs duringTheodoros Pangalos's post in the ministry in 1996. Between 1996 and 1999, he was secretary general of the Greek foreign affairs ministry responsible for diaspora Greeks. He subsequently became anAmbassador at Large of theHellenic Republic and, in 2000, the director general of the International Olympic Truce Center (International Olympic Committee organization).
During this period, Lambrinidis was a visiting lecturer at theInternational Olympic Academy in Athens, as well as a lecturer in the Diplomatic and Police Academies of Greece. He was also a guest speaker at theWorld Economic Forum inDavos,Switzerland, in 2003 and 2004.[6]
Lambrinidis started his career in theEuropean Parliament on 20 July 2004,[7] as amember of the European Parliament for the Greek Social Democratic PartyPA.SO.K. A few months later, he was elected as the vice president of theParty of European Socialists and, in April 2005, as head of the parliamentary delegation of Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PA.SO.K.) to theEuropean Parliament.
During this term, Lambrinidis was a vice president of the parliament'sCommittee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE),[8] a Member of the Delegation of Relations with theUnited States,[9] as well as a substitute-member of the Delegation of Relations withIran and the Committee of Constitutional Affairs.
In July 2009, Lambrinidis was elected as aVice President of the European Parliament,[10] while in November 2010, he was a speaker of the European Data Protection and Privacy Conference.[11]
In 2012 as a popular politician, with extensive experience in thediplomatic field, international trade,foreign relations and a political instinct, Lambrinidis was considered the leading candidate for the position ofUnited Nations Under Secretary General for Public Information before the assumption of his European Union duties as EU Special Representative for Human Rights.[12]
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Following acabinet reshuffle on 17 June 2011 in Athens, theprime minister,George A. Papandreou, named Lambrinidis as the newminister for foreign affairs.
A month after assuming his new post, Lambrinidis signed a Cultural Memorandum of Understanding with theU.S. Secretary of State,Hillary Clinton, on import restrictions for archaeological finds in order to combat the illegal trade of Greek antiquities that have frequently turned up in foreign museums.[13]
AsForeign Affairs Minister of theHellenic Republic, Lambrinidis visited numerous European countries,[14] to explain the effectiveness of the reforms taking place in Greece and the investment opportunities in the country.[15] During his public engagements, he also made a number of proposals about the establishment of new international instruments to tackle economic inequalities, and to generate funds for economic development projects such as the financial transactions tax, and new political and economic governance instruments that would make the European Union more united, in order to be able to prevent and tackle more effectively future financial crises.[16]
In September 2011, Lambrinidis represented Greece at the 66th General Assembly of theUnited Nations,[17] while a few days later he was the keynote speaker in the World Leadership Forum,[18] which is annually organized by theForeign Policy Association.
Lambrinidis was succeeded by M.P. Stavros Dimas in November 2011, after an agreement between the parties that participated in theCoalition Government.
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A long-standing request[19] for a representative that would be in charge of enhancing the effectiveness and visibility of theE.U.'sHuman Rights policy, based on the Strategic Framework and Action Plan onHuman Rights andDemocracy (officially adopted on 25 June 2012),[20] led to the creation of the post of the Special Representative of theEuropean Union forHuman Rights. The post which is providing a strong, independent, flexible, and sufficiently broad mandate is aimed at increasing theEuropean Union's effectiveness, coherence, and visibility in protecting and promoting human rights in the EU's foreign policy. It covers fields such as the strengthening of allHuman rights,Democracy, International Justice,Humanitarian Law, anti-discrimination, and the abolition of the death penalty.
On 25 July 2012, theHigh Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, BaronessAshton of Upholland, appointed Lambrinidis as the first European Union'sSpecial Representative forHuman Rights, with a renewable two years mandate.[21]
During his mandate, Lambrinidis has paid official visits for meetings with governments and civil society in numerous countries around the world, including China,[22] Cuba,[23] Myanmar,[24] Bahrain,[25] Pakistan,[26] Indonesia, Brazil, Mexico[27] Morocco, South Africa,[28] Azerbaijan,[29] Russia, Norway, Belarus,[30] the United States, and theUnited Nations in Geneva and New York. His work has been praised by European Union Foreign Affairs Ministers and theHigh Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security PolicyFederica Mogherini.[31]
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On 4 March 2019, Lambrinidis assumed the post of EU ambassador to the United States. On the day of his ascension, theEU Delegation to the United States was raised in the U.S. Diplomatic Corps' Order of Precedence. TheTrump administration had previously lowered the delegation's protocol status to that of international organisations, a tier below the highest level - usually reserved for countries.[32] As a result, Lambrinidisper protocol held the rank equivalent of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the United States of America. His term as ambassador to the United States concluded on 31 December 2023, after having served during both the Trump and the Biden Administrations.
On 15 January 2024, Lambrinidis presented his letter of appointment toUnited Nations Secretary-GeneralAntónio Guterres and assumed the post of EU Ambassador to the organisation.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Minister for Foreign Affairs 2011 | Succeeded by |
| Diplomatic posts | ||
| New office | European Union Special Representative for Human Rights 2012–present | Incumbent |
| International | |
|---|---|
| People | |
