1. Anna Diamantopoulou is a Greek civil engineer and politician of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement who currently serves as president of the Athens-based think tank "DIKTIO" Network for Reform in Greece and Europe.
20 Facts About Anna Diamantopoulou
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Anna Diamantopoulou served as European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities in the Prodi Commission, a post she held between 1999 and 2004.
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Anna Diamantopoulou has since held various positions, including in corporate boards.
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Anna Diamantopoulou attended Aristotle University of Thessaloniki where she received training in civil engineering and then earned graduate degree with honours on regional development from the Panteion University.
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Anna Diamantopoulou was a lecturer at various academic institutions including Bocconi, Boston and Harvard universities, Goethe University Frankfurt, London School of Economics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Queens College, City University of New York, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
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Anna Diamantopoulou joined the Panhellenic Socialist Movement youth organisation in 1976 and was elected as president of the university's civil engineering students' union a year later.
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Anna Diamantopoulou was appointed President of the Hellenic Organization of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and Handicraft in 1993 and left the position to become Secretary General for Industry.
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From 1999 until 2004, Anna Diamantopoulou served as the European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities in the European Commission led by President Romano Prodi, which made her the youngest person and second woman to be appointed as Member of the European Commission by the Greek government.
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Anna Diamantopoulou promoted agreement on the White Paper on Corporate Social Responsibility, establishing CSR as an important aspect in European business agenda.
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Anna Diamantopoulou was the legislator behind the establishment and implementation of the regular issuance of EU guidelines for a European Employment Strategy.
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On 4 October 2009 Anna Diamantopoulou was re-elected as a Member of Parliament and served as Minister for Education, Lifelong Learning and Religious Affairs in the cabinet of George Papandreou.
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Anna Diamantopoulou introduced legislation to partially liberalize higher education by permitting private sponsorship of science, technology and business programmes at state universities.
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Later on, Anna Diamantopoulou was appointed as Minister of Competitiveness, Development and Shipping.
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Anna Diamantopoulou managed to unblock EU funds left unspent by her predecessors.
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Anna Diamantopoulou was among a number of prominent PASOK politicians who were voted out in the May 2012 Greek legislative election.
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In 2012 Diamantopoulou became a Fisher Family Fellow at the John F Kennedy School of Government and in 2015 was named Distinguished Scholar by the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.
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Since 2013, Anna Diamantopoulou has been presiding over DIKTIO-Network for Reform in Greece and Europe, a leading Athens-based independent, non-partisan and non-profit think tank that aims to undertake cutting-edge policy research and practical policy advice.
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In 2020 Anna Diamantopoulou was named as possible candidate to the post of OECD secretary general to succeed Angel Gurria in 2021, having been nominated by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
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Anna Diamantopoulou is known for her authorship of various books on Greece and its European integration.
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Anna Diamantopoulou was one of the juries for the Women of Europe Awards.