Kostis I. CHatzidakis

Kostis I. Hatzidakis was born in Rethymno, Crete, on April 20, 1965. He grew up in Agios Ioannis Mylopotamou and completed his high school education at Perama High School in Rethymno. In 1983, he entered the Law School of Athens. Alongside his studies, he became a member of the student organization DAP-NDFK, where he served as the head for the Law School and its representative on the Central Council of the National Student Union of Greece (EFEE). From 1987 to 1989, he was the Secretary of DAP-NDFK. Between 1989 and 1990, he was an executive in the Political Planning Secretariat of New Democracy and the Election Secretariat, which conducted the elections of 1989 and April 1990. He then pursued postgraduate studies at the University of Kent in England (Communication and Image Studies), and in October 1992, he was elected President of the Youth Organization of New Democracy (ONNED). In the European elections of June 1994, following a decision by the party's President Miltiadis Evert, he was included in the New Democracy ballot and was elected as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP). As an MEP, he undertook the following roles: - Regular member of the Committee on Regional Policy and Spatial Planning. - Alternate member of the Committee on Social Affairs. - Vice-Chairman of the EU-Cyprus Joint Parliamentary Committee. - Member of the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee. In January 1997, despite being the youngest MEP in the Committee on Regional Policy, he was elected as the parliamentary representative of the European People's Party for this committee, which primarily deals with the funding of European countries through the Community Support Frameworks (Delors Package, Santer Package, etc.). In June 1999, following a decision by the party's President Kostas Karamanlis, Kostis Hatzidakis was re-elected as an MEP. In July 1999, he was elected Chairman of the Committee on Regional Policy, Transport, and Tourism of the European Parliament, which is the third-largest committee in the European Parliament. This committee holds particular significance for Greek interests, focusing on the funding of European countries through Community Support Frameworks (Delors Package, Santer Package, etc.), as well as issues related to Greek interests such as Shipping and Tourism. During his second term, Kostis Hatzidakis held the position of Parliamentary Representative of the European People's Party Group in the Committee on Regional Policy, Transport, and Tourism. The position of Coordinator is directly related to policy formulation and significantly influences the political directions of parties in the European Parliament. Additionally, Kostis Hatzidakis was an alternate member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defense Policy, and an alternate member of the European Parliament Assembly that drafted the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the Human Being. In June 2004, he was re-elected for a third consecutive term as an MEP. Today, he is the parliamentary representative of the European People's Party and European Democrats group in the Committee on Regional Development. He is also a member of the Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection, as well as the EU-Turkey Joint Committee. In 2006, he was honored with the "MEP of the Year" award in the field of Regional Policy, following a competition organized by "The Parliament Magazine." In the national elections of 2007, he was elected as a Member of Parliament for the first time in the B' Athens constituency and assumed the role of Minister of Transport and Communications. During the government reshuffle in January 2009, he took on the responsibilities of Minister of Development until the defeat of New Democracy in the national elections of October that year. In the Antonis Samaras government of June 2012, he once again assumed the position of Minister of Development and Competitiveness.