CVs

Theodora (Dora) Konstantinou Bakoyannis

Member of Parliament Chania

Personal Info

Place and Date οf Birth:

Dora Bakoyannis was born in Athens in 1954 and she is the daughter of the former Prime Minister Konstantinos Mitsotakis and Marika Mitsotakis.

Marital Status:

In 1974, she married the journalist Pavlos Bakoyannis with whom she had 2 children, Alexia and Kostas, from whom she has 7 grandchildren. On 26 September 1989, her husband Pavlos Bakoyannis, a member of the New Democracy Party, was assassinated by the terrorist organisation '17 November'. Nine years later she married Isidoros Kouvelos.

Profession:

Political Scientist

Studies:

She was educated at the German School of Paris. After studying Political Science and Communication at the Ludwig-Maximilian University of Munich, she continued her studies in Political Science and Public Law at the University of Athens.

Foreign Languages:

German – French – English.

Parliamentary Activities

After the murder of her husband in November 1989, Dora Bakoyannis was elected as a Member of the Hellenic Parliament for the first time, securing victory in the single-member constituency of Evrytania. She went on to be re-elected in both the April 1990 and October 1993 elections.

In the elections of 1996, 2000, 2007 and 2009, she received the most votes in the constituency of Athens A’, to be elected parliamentarian with New Democracy.

In the elections of 17 June 2012, Dora Bakoyannis was elected Head State Deputy of the New Democracy.

In October 2012, she assumed the leadership of the Greek Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, where she was immediately appointed as the co-rapporteur in the Monitoring Committee of the Organization for Human Rights in Russia.

In October 2013, she was unanimously elected as the Vice-President of the European People's Party in the Council of Europe. The following year, she was also unanimously elected as the President of the Committee on Political Affairs of the Council of Europe, following a proposal by the European People's Party.
During the double elections of 2015, she was elected as a Member of Parliament in the constituency of Athens A', and in the July 7, 2019 elections, she received the most votes in the constituency of Chania, to be elected MP of the New Democracy..

In September 2019, she once again assumed the role of heading the Greek Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, a position she retained after the elections in June 2023. Today, among her numerous responsibilities, the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy has entrusted her with providing an opinion regarding Kosovo's accession request to the Council of Europe..

Since 2019, Dora Bakoyannis is Chairperson of the Greek delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly for Francophonie..

Since 2022, she is Chairperson of the Greek delegation to the inter-parliamentary cooperation between Greece, USA, Israel and Cyprus (Figure 3+1)..

In the elections of 25 June 2023, she received the most votes in the constituency of Chania, to be re- elected MP of the New Democracy. .

In July 2023, she was elected Chair of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on National Defence and Foreign Affairs..

In addition, she is Member of the Parliamentary Committees on European Affairs, on Armament Programs and Contracts and on state-owned enterprises, banks, public utility enterprises and social security agencies (DEKO).

Political/Social Activities

In October 1990, she was sworn in to the government of the New Democracy, as Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister.

In December 1992, she took over the Ministry of Culture.

In October 2002, she became the first woman in the history of the city of Athens to be elected Mayor of Athens, with a 60.6% vote, the highest percentage ever achieved by a mayor in the city. She took on the task of preparing the city of Athens to host the 2004 Olympic Games.

In February 2006, she took over as Foreign Minister in the Karamanlis government, a position she held until October 2009.

In November 2009, she vied for the leadership of New Democracy. In May 2010, she was expelled from the party, following her decision to support the stability programme for the Greek economy.

In November 2010, she founded the Democratic Alliance party. In 2012, the party, supporting the country's reform programme, collaborated with New Democracy, suspending its operation.

Dora Bakoyannis is a liberal politician with a deep belief in the European Idea. She is known worldwide for her adamant stance against terrorism. Her positions have been repeatedly published in the international press and she has participated as a keynote speaker in dozens of conferences, academic fora and debates around the world.

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