George Chouliarakis, transliterated as Giorgos Houliarakis, is a Greek academic and politician who served as an Alternate Minister of Finance in the Second Cabinet of Alexis Tsipras, serving under Euclid Tsakalotos.
20 Facts About George Chouliarakis
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George Chouliarakis led the technical negotiations of the third bailout package from May to August 2015.
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George Chouliarakis currently serves as economic advisor to the Governor of the Bank of Greece, Yannis Stournaras.
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George Chouliarakis was born in Iasmos and studied economics at the University of Athens, before completing a Master's degree at the University of London.
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George Chouliarakis later completed his PhD in economics at the University of Warwick.
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George Chouliarakis has taught economics at the University of Essex, and has been a research fellow at the Institute for Employment Research of the University of Warwick.
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George Chouliarakis is currently the Jean Monnet Lecturer in European Economic Integration at the University of Manchester.
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George Chouliarakis is a visiting scholar at the Bank of Greece and a fellow of the Euro Area Business Cycle Network.
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George Chouliarakis has served as Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, and in this capacity has accompanied ministers, such as Euclid Tsakalotos, to meetings in Brussels.
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George Chouliarakis has been described as an "ally" of the Deputy Prime Minister of Greece, Yannis Dragasakis.
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In late April 2015, George Chouliarakis was rebrought in as the chief Greek negotiator in the team negotiating the terms of the third bailout package.
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George Chouliarakis replaced Nicholas Theocarakis, who was considered an ally of Yanis Varoufakis.
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George Chouliarakis was praised by Thomas Wieser, the president of the EU's Economic and Financial Committee, as being a "gifted negotiator".
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George Chouliarakis has been called "the invisible negotiator" by some of the Athens media due to being notoriously media-shy.
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Varoufakis claimed that George Chouliarakis did not inform him that a document listing proposals was first created at the European Commission.
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Varoufakis claims that George Chouliarakis neglected to inform him of a deadline for an extension of loan repayments, putting him in a difficult negotiating position.
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On 28 August 2015, George Chouliarakis was sworn in as the interim Minister of Finance in the Caretaker Cabinet of Vassiliki Thanou-Christophilou, replacing Euclid Tsakalotos.
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George Chouliarakis's responsibilities included overseeing the national accounts office, "a post seen as critical to achieving the ambitious fiscal targets set by the bailout programme" according to the Financial Times.
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George Chouliarakis, in his capacity as an Alternate Minister of Finance, is a member of the Board of Directors of the European Financial Stability Facility.
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George Chouliarakis has resumed the role of Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors, and in that capacity is a member of the Board of Directors of the Greek Public Debt Management Agency.