– Meet The New Greek Finance Minister (ZeroHedge, June 26, 2012):
Since the last Greek FinMin came and went before anyone could even learn how many syllables are in his last name, here is an advance peek at the man who is tasked with the world’s worst transitory job imaginable: that of being the new Greek finance minister. His complete profile below is courtesy of Athens News. Feel free not to learn it by heart: something tells us when he too sees the inside of the Greek finance ministry he too may developed a mysterious illness and be promptly “replaced.”
As a reminder, behold the interior of the Greek finance ministry:
In the meantime, enter Yannis Stournaras… however briefly.
Economist Yannis Stournaras, 55, will be the country’s next finance minister.Stournaras, who has been named as the country’s new finance minister, was born in Athens on 10 December 1956.
He received his first degree in economics from the University of Athens in 1978, after which he attended Oxford University for postgraduate studies in economic theory and policy (MPhil 1980, DPhil 1982).
After receiving his doctorate, he was a research fellow and lecturer at St Catherine’s College, Oxford University, until 1986.
Following his return to Greece, he worked as a special advisor to the ministry of economy and finance (1986-1989) and to the Bank of Greece (1989-1994).
During that period he represented the Bank of Greece as an alternate member at the meetings of European Union central bank governors.
He was appointed professor of economics at the University of Athens in 1989, a position he still holds.
Among his departmental colleagues were former prime minister Lucas Papademos and the man who turned down the finance position on Monday, Vasilis Rapanos.
From 1994 to July 2000 he was chairman of the council of economic advisors at the ministry of economy and finance. He participated in the design of macroeconomic and structural policies (especially in the design and implementation of the EU convergence programmes) and represented the ministry at the EU’s monetary committee, now the economic and financial committee.
In this capacity, he participated in the negotiations for Greece’s to the economic and monetary union (EMU), as a close advisor to prime minister Costas Simitis.
From 1994 to 1997, he was vice-chairman of the Public Gas Corporation (Depa) and a member of the board of the Public Debt Management Agency (from 1998 to July 2000).
From July 2000 to March 2004, he was chairman and CEO of Emporiki Bank and vice-chairman of Hellenic Banking Association. During this period, Emporiki Bank underwent a thorough restructuring, aimed at enhancing its position in retail banking while it finalised a strategic alliance with Credit Agricole.
From 2005 to 2008 he was managing director of Kappa Securities.
Stournaras then became general director at the Foundation for Industrial and Economic Research (IOBE), the country’s major private-sector think tank, where he serves to this date.
In October, he added his name to a short-lived political movement called Social Bond, which aimed to “promote information, dialogue and mainly action so that civil society will be activated and undertake positive political initiatives”.
This will not be his first time to sit at cabinet – he was minister for development, competitiveness and shipping from May 17 to June 21 in Panagiotis Pikrammenos’ caretaker administration. (Athens News)