15 Facts About Vangelis Meimarakis

Vangelis Meimarakis was a Member of the Hellenic Parliament for Athens B from 1989 until 2019.

Vangelis Meimarakis was born in Athens and is of Cretan descent.

Vangelis Meimarakis's father was a Member of the Hellenic Parliament with ERE representing Heraklion.

Vangelis Meimarakis joined New Democracy in 1974 as a student at Panteion University.

Vangelis Meimarakis was appointed chairman of the ONNED Executive Committee in 1984, and led the organisation to its 1st Conference in March 1987.

Vangelis Meimarakis has been a member of the New Democracy Central Committee since the 2nd Party Conference in 1986.

Vangelis Meimarakis was first elected as a New Democracy Member of the Hellenic Parliament representing Athens B in the general elections of 1989.

Vangelis Meimarakis has since been reelected in 1990,1993,1996 and 2000.

Vangelis Meimarakis was one of New Democracy's parliamentary representatives from 1991 to 1992.

Vangelis Meimarakis served as Deputy Minister for Sports from 1992 to 1993.

Vangelis Meimarakis was reelected as Secretary in July 2004, and remained in this role until 15 February 2006, when he was appointed as the Minister for National Defense in the First Cabinet of Kostas Karamanlis.

Vangelis Meimarakis has been a Member of the European Parliament since the 2019 European elections.

Vangelis Meimarakis has since been serving on the Committee on Foreign Affairs and its Subcommittee on Security and Defence.

Vangelis Meimarakis is married to Ioanna Kolokota, the daughter of Greek actress Nitsa Marouda, and they have two daughters.

Vangelis Meimarakis is seen as down-to-earth, with Vassilis Monastiriotis of the London School of Economics commenting that he appeals to: "a broad cross-section: both working-class voters, who see him as a man of the people, and the traditional higher-income New Democracy supporters, who see him as a cunning operator able to hit Tsipras below the belt".