Papandreou, George

Related Category: Modern Greek History: Biographies

(Georgios Andreou Papandreou)pä´´pəndrā´, 1952–, Greek political leader, b. Minnesota. The son of Andreas Papandreou and grandson of George Papandreou (1888–1968), he spent much of his first three decades abroad while his father was in exile. A member of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (Pasok), he was elected to the Greek parliament in 1981 and subsequently served as a deputy culture minister (1985–87) in his father's cabinet. In the 1990s he held a number of ministerial posts, becoming foreign minister (1999–2004) at the end of the decade. In the latter position he improved relations with Turkey, supported Serbian democrats, and increased Greece's involvement in European and international affairs. Papandreous succeeded Costas Simitis as Pasok's party leader in 2004, but Pasok lost the subsequent parliamentary election.