Technocrat Yiannis Stournaras is Greece’s new Finance Minister, government spokesman announced on Tuesday noon. The three coalition leaders Samaras, Venizelos and Kouvelis agreed on Stournaras after Vassilis Rapanos sent a letter to Prime Minister on Monday that he cannot accept the position of Finance Minister due to “health problems.”
Who is?
Yiannis Stournaras, 56, is economist, president of Economic and Industrial Research Foundation (IOBE), professor at the Economics Department of Athens University.
He served as Minister of Development, Competitiveness and Maritime under Pikrammenos caretaker government (May-June 2012).
Stournaras has also served as consultant at the Economy Minister (1986-1989) and the Bank of Greece (1989-1994), president and CEO of the Emporiki Bank etc.
He is considered to be affiliated with former PM Costas Simitis although he was never a registered member of PASOK.
Stournaras, one of Greece’s prominent economists is considered to favor the policy of loan agreements.
I have it on good authority that he is very good, and on a par with US equivalents, so it won’t be like some typical Greek minister speaking with a lower level diplomat from the US or Germany. This guy will truly be an equal with the EU/USA and they will take him seriously.
Not true. He is another fake academic with few publications and no reputation, who is a political party dog.
Varoufakis has some positive things to say about him… http://yanisvaroufakis.eu/2012/06/27/open-letter-to-a-good-friend-and-colleague-who-happened-to-become-greeces-finance-minister-yesterday/
That would indeed be an irony.
Maybe there is a God (with a cruel sense of irony).
Well now that Varoufakis said so, he MUST be AWESOME!!!! LOL