Emblematic PASOK figure Yiannis Charalampopoulos has passed away this morning at age 95. Charalampopoulos was a prominent member of the Andreas Papandreou government.
Yiannis Charalampopoulos served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of National Defence. He also served as Deputy Prime Minister of Greece during the second term of the Andreas Papandreou leadership.
Born in Psari, Messinia in 1919, he pursued a career in the Greek armed forces. During World War II, he fought in the Greek-Italian war and later in the Middle East. In 1963, he left the army with the rank of colonel and entered politics. He joined the Center Union under the leadership of Georgios Papandreou. In 1963, he entered the parliament as a representative of Messinia.
During the seven-year military dictatorship, Charalampopoulos founded the Democratic National Resistance Movement. He was arrested for his opposition to the regime and sent to internal exile on the island of Syros for three years. In 1973, he participated in the Technical University riot. He was arrested, tortured and exiled again, this time on the island of Gyaros.
After the 1974 collapse of the military junta, Charalampopoulos became one of the founding members of PASOK. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs (1981-1985), Minister of National Defence (1986-1989) and Deputy Prime Minister (1985-1989). In 1996, after Andreas Papandreou’s resignation, he was candidate for prime minister but failed to be elected by the PASOK caucus. He continued to maintain a presence in parliament until 2000.
He was married to Aga Charalampopoulou, former president of the Greek Women’s Union. He had two sons: Georgios-Ernestos, a lawyer and an ex-PASOK MP, and Charis Charalampopoulos.
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