Apostolos Tzitzikostas: Greece’s New Commissioner to the European Commission

Regional Governor of Central Macedonia Apostolos Tzitzikostas is proposed as Greece’s Commissioner to the European Commission. The official announcement was made a few minutes ago by government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis, who noted that Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has already informed European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Apostolos Tzitzikostas is a figure with experience in institutional roles both in Greece and in Europe. In 2020, he was elected President of the European Committee of the Regions. At the same time, the Regional Governor of Central Macedonia is a young person who has been elected three times with over 50% of the vote, according to Mr. Marinakis, who added: “Mr. Tzitzikostas’s selection is a politically significant choice, highlighting the importance of Macedonia and Northern Greece for Europe, as a region with strategic positioning, connectivity, and geopolitical significance for both the Balkans and Southeastern Europe, as well as the northeastern edge of the Mediterranean. Today at 18:00, the Prime Minister will meet Mr. Tzitzikostas at the Maximos Mansion.”

Who is Apostolos Tzitzikostas?

Apostolos Tzitzikostas was born on September 2, 1978. He studied Political Science, Foreign Policy, and Diplomacy at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. He worked in the office of the Chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs. He earned a master’s degree in European Public Administration and Economics from University College London. In 2002, he established his own company in Thessaloniki, focusing on the production, processing, and packaging of dairy products based on organic standards. He is married to entrepreneur Eleana Vlachou, and they have two children.

In the national elections of September 2007, he was elected MP for the A’ Thessaloniki Constituency. In the regional elections of November 2010, he was elected Deputy Regional Governor of Thessaloniki. In the regional elections of May 2014, he was elected Regional Governor of Central Macedonia. He was re-elected Regional Governor in May 2019 and October 2023. In November 2019, he was elected President of the Union of Municipalities of Greece and was re-elected President in February 2024.

Since 2015, he has been a member of the European Committee of the Regions. In July 2017, he was elected Head of the Greek Delegation and Vice-President of the European Committee of the Regions. In February 2020, he was elected President of the European Committee of the Regions, becoming the first Greek to head a European institution.

Specifically, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, in the parliamentary elections of September 16, 2007, was elected MP with 29,166 votes on the New Democracy ticket in the A’ Thessaloniki Constituency.

As an MP, he served as Secretary of the Hellenic Parliament, a member of the Permanent Standing Committee on National Defense and Foreign Affairs, and the Permanent Standing Committee on Economic Affairs in the Greek Parliament. Additionally, he was a member of the Special Standing Committee on European Community Affairs and the Special Committee for the Reform Treaty of the European Union.

In October 2007, he became Deputy Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs for New Democracy. He was Vice President of the Hellenic Parliament Friendship Group for Chile and participated in the friendship groups for the United States, Russia, and China.

He represented the Hellenic Parliament in the Economic Committee of the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly for the 2007-2009 term.

In the national elections of October 4, 2009, he received 35,107 votes on the New Democracy ticket in the A’ Thessaloniki Constituency, securing fifth place but not being elected.

In March 2010, he became the Deputy Secretary of Overseas Hellenism for New Democracy.

In the regional elections of November 14, 2010, he was elected Deputy Regional Governor of Thessaloniki. When Panagiotis Psomiadis was declared ineligible, he was elected Regional Governor of Central Macedonia with 33 votes against 17 for his rival Dyonisis Psomiadis, a position he retained in the 2014 regional elections as an independent candidate. In the first round, he received 322,829 votes (32.81%), and in the second round, 562,964 votes (71.01%), with support from right-wing parties Independent Greeks, Union for Homeland and the People, and Popular Orthodox Rally, against his rival Yiannis Ioannidis of New Democracy.

In 2019, he successfully ran for the position of Regional Governor again. He was elected in the first round of the elections with 62.03% of the votes and 44 seats, the highest percentage in regional elections, against 11.47% and 8 seats for Christos Giannoulis of SYRIZA. In November 2019, he was elected President of the Union of Municipalities of Greece.

In 2023, he was re-elected Regional Governor in the first round of elections with 60.28% and 40 seats, against 10.61% and 7 seats for the second-place Christos Papastergiou of PASOK. In February 2024, he was re-elected President of the Union of Municipalities of Greece.

In 2015, he was a candidate for President of New Democracy.

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