Deputy Foreign Minister admits “no MBA degree” although mentioned on CV

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs in charge of Diaspora Greeks, Antonis Diamataris, has admitted that he does not have a postgraduate degree of Columbia University as mentioned on his CV and on interviews with mainstream media.

Diamataris never received a master’s degree from Columbia University, New York. After an outcry on social media, he admitted in a statement that he was enrolled in the MBA program for Business Administration but never obtained a degree “for financial reasons.”

The Minister’s lies were revealed by a diaspora Greeks’ website kalami.us and triggered an outrage in Greece.

On Monday, Diamataris issued a statement saying among others that he was “disappointed” that the mentioning on his CV triggered negative comments and he was “sorry” if the wording on his CV “caused any misunderstanding that I’m hold of a degree.”

There was, of course, no misunderstanding as the fake claim was published on the website of the Greek Foreign Ministry and on other websites of the Greek state.

Screenshots from Foreign Ministry website

Before the scandal: “occluded his studies receiving an MBA from Columbia University”

After the scandal: “attended classes at Columbia University”

However, the Ministry forgot to correct Diamataris’ CV on its English-language version.

Furthermore, it was Diamataris himself who had claimed in an interview with conservative daily kathimerini (22. May 2017) he said:

“I had just graduated from Columbia University’s School of Business, I was in the newspaper for a while but it fascinated me so much that I turned down a job offer by a multinational company…”

The reaction of main opposition SYRIZA was prompt with Alexis Tsipras demanding the immediate dismiss of the Deputy Foreign Minister and calling on Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to apologize by the Greek people for his choice..

Mitsotakis, who is currently in London attending the NATO Summit, had not dismissed the Minister by Tuesday noon. Neither has the Minister resigned on his own will.

Crucial questions: whether the Minister had also lied to the Prime Minister and other New Democracy officials about his degree and whether there would be any consequences.

UPDATE: Unimpressed form the outcry, government spokesman, Stelios Petsas, said that the Minister’s explanation was enough and that “the issue for the government was over.”

In 2016, a cleaning lady was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for having faked her primary school degree in order to get a job at a state nursery.

PS In other countries like Germany, top ministers had immediately resigned following revelations that they had plagiarized their PhD thesis.