The funeral service was chanted at the Holy Church of Agios Vasilios in Valimitika, Aigio, where Vasso Papandreou came from. Present at the funeral of Vassos Papandreou were Kostas Simitis accompanied by his wife, Daphne, Nikos Androulakis, who delivered the eulogy, Kostas Laliotis, Petros Efthymiou, Christos Protopapas, Pavlos Geroulanos, Anna Diamantopoulou, Stefanos Tzoumakas, Milena Apostolaki, Christos Papoutsis, Vangelis Argyris, Dimitris Karydis, Panagiotis Louskos, Katerina Batzeli, Dimitris Reppas, Tasos Giannitsis and Filippos Sahinidis.
At the funeral, Nikos Androulakis said: “We say goodbye with deep respect to the co-founder of PASOK, a great woman who marked the post-colonial years with her presence, having a decisive influence on important moments of both the Movement and the political life of the country.
Vaso was our “iron lady”: With sensitivity and faith in a more humane and fair society. A robust, dynamic and fair lady of politics, who walked proudly throughout her life, without asking in return for her great contribution and struggle for democracy and social change. Measured by her words, because she spoke with her work”, said the president of PASOK.
The funeral of Nikos Androulakis:
“One day after the historic anniversary of October 18, 1981, 43 years since the first CHANGE government of PASOK and Andreas Papandreou, today we say goodbye to her birthplace, our beloved Vaso Papandreou.
We say goodbye with deep respect to the co-founder of PASOK, a great woman who marked the post-colonial years with her presence, having a decisive influence on important moments of both the Movement and the political life of the country.
Vaso was our “iron lady”: With sensitivity and faith in a more humane and fair society. A robust, dynamic and fair lady of politics, who walked proudly throughout her life, without asking in return for her great contribution and struggle for democracy and social change. Measured in words, because she spoke with her work.
He left quietly and discreetly, just as he proudly left politics. From the first years of her life she showed a fighting spirit, combining intellectual acuity with social sensitivity. Without having the financial means, he managed to do brilliant studies in Greece first and then in Great Britain.
There he meets Andreas and decides to get actively involved in politics. Since 1985, when he was first elected as a Member of Parliament and joined the government, he has run a great path of work and contribution that remains indelible to this day. A pivotal moment in her career was in 1989, when she was appointed by Andreas Papandreou as the representative of our country in the European Commission.
She was the first female Commissioner in the history of the European Union with responsibility for Employment, Labor Relations, Social Affairs, Human Resources, Education, Training, Public Health and Gender Equality.
Delors used to say that “one does not fall in love with a single market”. In this effort, for a progressive Europe of the peoples, Vaso Papandreou played a pivotal role. With the cooperation of the socialist Delors as then President of the Commission, he promoted dozens of actions and policies that improved living and working conditions in all member states.
In Europe he defended, with an unyielding spirit, the principles and values of democratic socialism against the forces of conservation and neoliberalism of the time. Her disputes with Margaret Thatcher made her an “iron lady” of the progressives but also a “Caryatid of democracy” as described by the international press. Returning to Greece in 1993, her popularity broke all records in the Second District of Athens. Implemented pioneering social policies,
such as KEP, the program “Help at home”, artistic education, creative employment.
Many of the major projects in the country bear her stamp, but also some iconic social and political intersections, such as legislation and the quota of women in public office. As Minister of Development, he drew up policies that contributed to the reconstruction of the country’s productive potential.
As Minister of Environment and Public Works, he also achieved the acceleration and completion of the country’s major projects, while he made a decisive contribution to the preparation of the Olympic Games. Vaso Papandreou fought with knowledge and vision for the essential modernization of the country and the entry of Greece into the narrow core of Europe. Even in the most difficult periods, he operated with determination and a sense of responsibility. Her opinions were always a point of reference. Politicians with the stuff of Vassos Papandreou rarely appear. Her imprint is heavy in the history of the place, in the history of PASOK. She will always hold a special place in our hearts My condolences to her family and loved ones.”
The moving funeral of her christening – The unknown sides of the politician
The funeral of Vassos Papandreou’s baptism:
“My dear Vasso, my dear Godmother,
In every corner of Greece they have such a special story to tell about you. With genuine respect, with admiration, with love.
You wanted to gather us all here in Valimitika today. We are all here. Your sisters, your niece, her children, your relatives, your friends, your partners, your fellow villagers, so many ordinary people and fighters.
Your iconic physique surpasses us and surpasses us all. And the glow of your soul illuminates the paths of History. You illuminate the struggles of the Peoples of Europe and the World. Because you gave us the most rare and precious fruit of Politics and Ethics: your personal EXAMPLE.
With your generosity and sensitivity, you made so many women believe in themselves and their strengths. With your work, you proved to us that the world is changing.
Because the “Iron Lady” has a heart so warm that it melts iron.
Vaso is one of the top Europeans of all time. But for me it is much more.
It’s the ice cubes she used to put in my bathing suit in the summers when I chased her with the water gun.
It is her shaky laugh in the garden of her house.
It is her emotion when I dedicated my thesis to her at the Polytechnic.
They are the island dances she used to dance in Naxos and the zeibeki dances at her feasts.
It is her haughty and enigmatic gaze, wearing a stylish hat in Tehran.
He is my example that in life, “ouch en tu pollo o eu”.
It is her endless love for the Sea.
This is how I bid you farewell, my Vaso. With a hug as wide as the sea, with the lyrics of Cavafy..
“Tender song, the sea sings to us,
song made by three great poets,
the Sun, the Air and the Sky.”
My godmother! Have a good trip…..to Light and eternity”.
Who was Vaso Papandreou?
Vaso Papandreou, the former minister and leading member of PASOK, passed away at the age of 80. OR Vaso Papandreou she was a leading member of PASOK and the first female Commissioner of Greece in the then EEC from 1989 to 1993, when she clashed with conservative leaders and especially with Margaret Thatcher. As Minister of the Interior, she instituted the Citizen Service Centers (CSCs), while on her initiative she legislated the participation of women at a rate of 33% in the combinations of the 2002 Prefectural and Municipal elections.
Born in Valimitika, Aigiou, on December 9, 1944, Vaso Papandreou studied Economics at the then ASOEE and continued in England where she received a master’s degree from the University of London and a PhD from the University of Reading, and then taught at Oxford.
He has been president of EOMMEX (1981-1985), deputy minister of Industry, Energy and Technology (1985-1986), deputy minister of Industry, Energy and Technology (1986-1987), deputy minister of trade for the issues of the Greek Presidency in the Community (1988- 1989), EEC Commissioner for Employment, Labor Relations and Social Affairs, Human Resources, Education and Training, and Gender Equality (1989-1993), Minister for Development (1996-1999), Interior, Public Administration and Decentralization (1999-2001) and PECHODE (2001-2004) in PASOK governments.
In the framework of its responsibilities, it provided new educational opportunities, promotes the protection of workers’ rights, protects motherhood, consolidates the equality of the two sexes and shows special care for those who are out of work and people with special needs. It promotes the European Social Charter and enshrines Social Dialogue throughout Europe.
It gets a lot of coverage in the international press, which goes so far as to call her the “Caryatid of Democracy” and the “Iron Lady”. On her initiative, she legislated the participation of women at a rate of 33% in the combinations of the 2002 Prefectural and Municipal elections.
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