Theodoros Roussopoulos

Theodoros Roussopoulos
Θεόδωρος Ρουσόπουλος


Minister of State
In office 10 March 2004 – 23 October 2008
Prime Minister	Kostas Karamanlis
Preceded by	Dimitris Reppas
Succeeded by	Evangelos Antonaros

Personal details
Born	(1963-09-13) 13 September 1963 (age 60) Messinia, Greece
Political party	New Democracy (Greece)
Spouse	Mara Zaharea
Alma mater	The University of Edinburgh Hellenic Open University Oxford Academy Laboratory of Professional Journalism
Website	Official website

Theodoros Roussopoulos (Greek: Θεόδωρος Ρουσόπουλος; born 13 September 1963) is a Greek politician. He was Minister of State and Government Spokesman from 7 March 2004 until 23 October 2008, when he resigned after his involvement in a controversial land deal that has become a scandal engulfing the government.

Studies

He studied at the private college Laboratory of Professional Journalism in Greece. He is a graduate of the Hellenic Open University and completed his PhD at The University of Edinburgh in 2014. His dissertation in history is about the ethnic identity of the Greeks in Venice. Identity Disputes and Politics at the End of The 17th Century is its title.

Career in Journalism

His journalism career begin in 1981 in the daily newspaper Eleftherotypia, where he remained until 1994. During this time, he also contributed to the monthly Elle magazine. He is a founding member of Mega Channel TV station, for which he worked from 1989 to 1999 as an editor in chief and political analyst. He also produced the "7+7" documentary program. From 1987 to 1989, he contributed to Athena 98.4 FM radio station as a founding member and, in 1999, to Star Channel TV station. He has also contributed from 1994 to 1999 to Messimvrini newspaper and Kathimerini newspaper as an analyst. In 1987 he was a member of the committee of ethics at "Piraeus Channel 1" and he is currently a publisher at Enastron publications.

Political career

His political career began in 2000 with his appointment as New Democracy Spokesman and Press Representative. After the 2004 general election, he was appointed as Minister of State and Government Spokesman by incoming Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis.

As Minister of State, Roussopoulos was responsible for the Secretariat General of Communication and the Secretariat General of Information, which, since its abolition in 2004, incorporated the functions of Ministry of the Press and Mass Media.^[1]

In addition to his committee assignments, Rousopoulos has been a member of the Greek delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) since 2019.^[2] In the Assembly, he serves on the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons (since 2019); the Sub-Committee on Refugee and Migrant Children and Young People (since 2022); the Sub-Committee on Diasporas and Integration (since 2022); the Sub-Committee on Migrant Smuggling and Trafficking in Human Beings (since 2022); and the Sub-Committee on Education, Youth and Sport (since 2019).^[3]

The Vatopedi scandal

On October 23, 2008 the Vatopedi scandal prompted State Minister and government spokesperson Theodoros Roussopoulos to resign before Parliament's investigation.^[4] Roussopoulos, criticized for his alleged role in a property exchange, cited a desire to defend himself against corruption allegations. New Democracy's decision not to participate in a vote on a preliminary judicial inquiry, ensuring its failure, added controversy.^[5] An investigative committee, approved by Parliament, would examine potential government involvement. Roussopoulos, a former journalist, started his political career in 2000 and resigned amid scrutiny. Also, throughout the controversy his marriage to journalist Mara Zacharea faced ethical concerns. The situation sparked widespread condemnation and raised questions about political accountability.^[6]

Years later, all parties involved were ultimately cleared of wrongdoing.^[7] No convictions were handed down, except for Abbot Ephraim.^[8] Nevertheless, there were concerns about the depth of the investigation into the money laundering allegations, as reported by various news sources.^[9]^[10]^[11]

Career in the Academia

From 1997 to 1999 he taught “Television & Politics: the debates between presidential candidates of parties and prime ministers” at the University of Athens as a teaching associate.^{[citation needed]} Since 2009, he is a Lecturer at the Pepperdine University of California and he currently teaches Journalism as an adjunct professor at the European University of Cyprus since 2015.^{[citation needed]}