Giorgos Romeos: The Lambrakis Murder, PASoK and “Insurance”

Journalist and former politician Giorgos Romeos has died at the age of 89. He was the Director of “Vima Dis Kiriaki”, Director General of ERT, MP, MEP and Vice President of the European Parliament and Minister of PASOK governments.

At Christo Lauda, ​​on the second floor, next to the office of Christos Lambrakis, behind the piles of magazines was the office of the usually “suffocating” editorial director Giorgos Romeo, with two black and white photographs. One is Eleftherios Venizelos and the other is Grigoris Lambrakis. As the ambassador of “Vimas” and “Neos” in Thessaloniki, he was the journalist who covered the murder of Lambrakis and later made the most important revelations and investigations that helped expose the parastatal operating in the co-capital.

He was investigating political crimes

As a journalist he regularly investigated political crimes. As a manager, he helped young journalists and, many times, gave them the report, only when the journalist left his office, he told him: “Check what I said, check it, so there is no mistake.”.

As a member of PAK, he had a rich campaign against dictatorship. In 1971, he was arrested, imprisoned and tortured by ETA-ESA and spent six months in Korytalos prisons for his participation in Andreas Papandreou’s PAK.

He was born on April 14, 1934 in Pagios, Corfu. His studies were economic sciences at the then Higher School of Economics and Business Sciences (ASOEE, today Athens University of Economics and Business). After he graduated, he turned professionally to journalism and “insurance”. In this newspaper, he served as Parliamentary Editor, Political Editor, Editorial Director and finally Director till 1981. After returning from politics, he was a newspaper columnist and editor of history pages. He had several journalistic assignments in Cyprus (with interviews of Blessed Vasos Lissaridis and Glakos Cleridis), India, Thailand, Hong Kong, (then) East Germany, (then) Soviet Union and Lebanon. From 1976 – 1978 he was the Vice President of the Athens Daily Newspaper Editors Union (ESHEAA).

From journalism to politics

In 1981, he left active journalism, was a parliamentary candidate with PaSoK, but was not elected for the first time. However, with the election of PASOK, he was appointed Director-General of ERT, until 1984 when he was elected as a PASOK MEP (he was re-elected in the 1989 European elections). In 1984 he also assumed the role of Chairman of the first Governing Board of the Ionian University. For five years from 1987 to 1992, he was the Vice-President of the European Parliament.

When Andreas Papandreou returned to power after winning the 1993 elections, Konstantinos Mitsotakis was appointed Deputy Minister of National Economy (October 13, 1993 – May 4, 1994) and then Deputy Minister of National Economy (May 4, 1994 – September 19, 15). . In 1994, at PASOK’s 3rd Congress, he was elected a member of the movement’s Central Committee, on September 15, 1995, he was appointed Deputy Foreign Minister until January 1996 and the resignation of Andreas Papandreou. In the 1996 elections, he was elected Member of Parliament for Athens and served as Minister of Public Order until October 1998. As Minister of Public Order, he was initially successful, but his tenure ended badly due to the Sorin Mattei case. A police investigation is foiled by the farmers’ tractors (whose tires burst).

Medal

Georgios Romaios was honored with the Medal of the International Organization of Journalists (in Prague in 1971) and the Gold Medal of the Hellenic Red Cross. He married Maria Hatsopoulou and lived in Filoti. According to the third and last wife of Andreas Papandreou, in 1993 Dimitra Liani, the founder of PASOK, offered Giorgos Romaios the post of government representative, which the latter refused.