Athens, 10 April 2022

Spring meeting of NATO PA Standing Committee pays tribute to Marietta Giannakou

 

The late MP Marietta Giannakou, former vice-president and head of the Greek delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, was honoured by the Standing Committee Spring meeting, hosted by the Hellenic Parliament this weekend.

At the beginning of the meeting, the President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, US Federal Representative Gerald Connolly referred to the recent passing of Marietta Giannakou on February 27, emphasising: "Marietta Giannakou was one of the most respected Greek politicians. She served three terms in the Hellenic Parliament and three in the European Parliament. She was a member of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly since September 2019, as Head of the Greek delegation and member of the Political Committee for the Mediterranean and the Middle East, and was elected Vice-President of the Assembly in November 2020. Speaking also on behalf of the Bureau and the Standing Committee, we are grateful to have benefited from Marietta's political insight and experience in European affairs, but also her sense of commitment to transatlantic thought. We will not forget her. Marietta dedicated her life to the struggle for democratic values ​​in democratic societies and institutions. It is an evolving battle, not virtually but literally. Her contribution to strengthening the democratic dimension in this battle is important. We will miss her courage, determination and kindness. I would like to convey our condolences to the President of Parliament, Mr Constantine Tassoulas, to all members and staff of the Greek Parliament, as well as to her family."

Standing Committee participants observed a minute of silence in memory of Marietta Giannakou, while the Bureau left a bouquet of flowers on her bench.

The President of the Hellenic Parliament Constantine Tassoulas, in his inaugural address began with a reference to Marietta Giannakou, noting :" It is indeed moving and only fair that we launched the meeting by paying tribute to a distinguished colleague of ours, distinguished both in the local political system and in the international one. Her career began as an MEP in 1984 and concluded with her holding the position of Vice-President of the NATO PA. These two posts in the beginning and end of her political life – at the European Parliament and NATO – symbolise not only her own commitment, but also the commitment of her country, the commitment of our country to the fundamental European values, on which we built our post-war story and our post-war prosperity and prospects. And Mrs Marietta Giannakou’s successful career, which we paid tribute to earlier with a moment of silence, flowers and thoughts, her career leaves us with a message to continue this effort, to improve Euro-Atlantic institutions, to improve the EU and bring it even closer to its people and to make NATO even more effective in its mission."

Taking the floor, the Minister of National Defence Nikos Panagiotopoulos, stressed: "From this podium, I also want to talk about Marietta Giannakou, a very strong, very resilient woman. A warrior of democracy, just as we want the North Atlantic Alliance to be. She will be missed by all of us in the future of the alliance. "

The honorary event was attended by Marietta Giannakou's sister Fani, respresenting her family.

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